Blogs from Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy, Europe

We rented a car in Florence and drove to a winery (Antinori) where the adults had a little wine tasting while I hung out with Maja outside where the grapes were growing. We played with a ball and I spoke briefly with a Brazilian woman and her small child. After that we had lunch at the restaurant at the winery (Rinucchio). Following, we drove up this windy road which made my step mother nauseas which was cured by arriving at our next wine tasting at La Fortuna. We then decided to go to our hotel Palazzuolo where we then went around and bought salads, bread, cheese and made a delicious picnic dinner. It was nice to just relax with the whole group while eating what definitely tasted like real organic food. The kids, including me, forced ... read more

Growing up as a devoted history lover, I have always daydreamed about living in a castle. I used to recreate that magical word in my phantasy, populated with vassals and fortune tellers, with dames and cavaliers. This summer, my stay at the beautiful Tuscan resort Castello Banfi Il Borgo in Montalcino, Italy gave me the chance to turn this dream into reality.This beautiful property is set in an ancient stone hamlet that was built in the 1700 sunder the protective walls of the 13th Century Castle “Castelloalle Mura”. What was once used as a dwelling for farmers who toiled with their noble landowners has today been restyled into the luxurious rooms and suites of this jewel of Tuscan hospitality.While the architectural style remained unchanged and very authentic, the interior was renovated with modern comforts, premium fabrics ... read more

We pointed Suzy in the direction of yet another Tuscan hill town. This time Montalcino. Well what is it about Tuscan hill towns we love so much?. Montalcinos location is just west of Pienza, close to the Crete Senesi in the Val d'Orcia. The Etruscans were here before us and it had a church built in the 9th century. Its name derives from the oak trees that used to cover its hillside location. And what a stunning one with extensive views as far as the eye could see . It's a long climb up to the parking sosta even for Suzy. There are loads of spaces for cars down the bottom of the town but for some daft reason the town prefer to make the motorhomers park high above on a dedicated large but empty site. ... read more

Saturday June 9 Cont'd Onwards and upwards I was to go to Orvieto by train today, but Ian (another student from Oz) and I hired a car. As he wanted to take a look around the area and I had to get to Orvieto, we went halves in a car, which was a fabulous idea as we were able to see so much on the way. We had a fine lunch at Montalcino of fresh local pasta with porcino mushrooms (a delicacy, even here), and we just had to try some of the local Brunello. The same Montalcino Brunello… made famous by the book by Ferenz Mate called ‘A Vinyeard in Tuscany’. Reading his books is what brought me to the Tuscany region in the first place… and even though we didn’t have time ... read more

Saturday, Oct 8 Leaving San Gimignano Today was our day to leave Poggiacolle. We spent quite a bit of time visiting with Stefano this morning. He is such a super guy. We have to return to his farm to see how it changes over the years. He has many plans. From there we went briefly into San Gimignano to get some souvenirs that we wanted. Then it was off to Montalcino. We arrived in Montalcino at around 2 pm. It gave us 2 hours to wander the small town before we had to leave to meet our host at the next Agroturismo. Montalcino is a pretty standard old Tuscan city, like many of the others. It is famous for Brunello wines – the reason for us stopping. We picked out a trio of wines – a ... read more