A Morning In Tuscany

Our view from the AirBnB in Tuscany in 2016

Views from our time in Tuscany in 2016

Today's blog post prompt was A Morning In Tuscany, one of my most favorite places in the world! I can't believe it's already been 8 years since I've been to Italy, too long if you ask me. 

We're staying in the cutest little hotel in Tuscany this week. It's so charming, old and elegant. It was once a convent that has been redone into a beautiful boutique hotel. No detail remains untouched, but it still feels authentic and adds to the charm. 

Our room has an amazing view of the vineyards in the distance from the balcony off the bedroom, and out the sitting room window there is a view of the pool. We have a fun day planned and I can't wait to explore the neighboring towns. I'm especially looking forward to our cooking class this afternoon! It's always been a favorite activity on my previous trips to Italy. 

We woke up this morning and enjoyed the lovely coffee and pastry tray the hotel delivers each morning. We sat out on the balcony and enjoyed the view and our slow morning, reminiscing on the best parts of the previous day. After we finished our coffee and first bite of breakfast, we got ready for the day. There is a breakfast included each morning at our hotel, so we walked down to the courtyard to enjoy our full breakfast. I must have been Italian in another life, I love a European style breakfast. Fresh baked bread, cheese and prosciutto, yes please! The best detail is the fresh honeycomb, I'm sure we're supposed to only take the fresh honey that has dripped out, but I sneak a chunk of the honeycomb each morning. The courtyard is so dreamy, the perfect place to start our day and enjoy breakfast before the shuttle arrives to pick us up.

The shuttle delivers us from the hotel to our cooking class at Nonna's house up in the hills. It was this tiny, adorable house that was exactly as you imagine someone living off the land in Tuscany would look. The house overlooked the rolling hills, orchard trees, and chickens running around in the driveway. The class was in a stone wine cellar type room we had to walk down steps to get into. We made homemade ravioli and tiramisu for dessert. It was so fun! Everyone in the class was also so kind and friendly. When we were finished, we went up to her home for lunch consisting of the pasta we had made. She had a long table set up in the kitchen that would fit us all. It was so small, with low ceilings but it felt cozy rather than cramped. Lunch was so delicious, in addition to the ravioli she shared many other dishes of her own recipes paired with local wine. It was a delicious lunch I'll never forget! 

One the way home, the hotel shuttle dropped us off at the small neighboring village. We walked around a bit and poked our heads into the shops trying to find a few goodies to bring home for the boys. After we walked off our huge lunch, we decided it was time for an aperitivo. We found a quaint little restaurant that had a few bites out to accompany our drinks. It seemed like the time to order an aperol spritz. We sat and enjoyed a few bites with our drinks as we people watched and relaxed before heading back to the hotel. We didn't want to eat too much, because we were excited for our dinner that evening.

We managed to get a reservation at a restaurant nearby that is known for "mama's cooking." There is no menu, and they have two dinner seatings each night. We were at the later time, so our small afternoon snack we perfect to tide us over. 

The restaurant has a shuttle that picks up patrons at the neighboring hotels. We got on ours to arrive for our 8:00pm dinner. Once we arrived we had the most beautiful view of San Gimignano in the distance. It was a very low fuss, casual, and inviting space. We were brought to our table and the waiter asked if we'd like wine, then returned with a bottle of both the red and white house wine and placed them on the table. Since there was no menu, they started right away with a short story about the history of the restaurant. "You eat what Mama cooks" he told us. The food kept coming, and it was all incredibly delicious. By the time the dessert came, I was so full I could hardly manage, but of course we did have a little. It was one of the best meals we've ever had, and the experience was top notch. The energy and food was unmatched. 

Once we were back in our hotel, so full and exhausted from an amazing day, it was time for bed. Thankfully we had a relaxing day planned tomorrow, before we're off to our next destination in Northern Italy. 

These images are from a cooking class I took in 2010 that I described in this post. It was a magical day with my friend Emilee who I spent 4 weeks in Italy with that August. This explains the poor photo quality.

The breakfast courtyard at our Venetian hotel in 2010

This was fun to write. I took some of my favorite memories from my time in Italy over the years, and layered it into a single, lovely day. Only after I finished writing it did I remember the prompt said morning, but you got a full day instead! I'm excited for the day when I return to Italy! Until then, I'll dream of all my favorite memories from trips past.

Thank you for reading. See you here tomorrow for Day 29! My birthday!