***DISCLAIMER*** (I'm still not quite sure how to pronounce this town's name. I butchered it EVERY time I said it in Italy to the hilarity of most Italians. I also have a hard time spelling it so don't judge!)
We awoke in Rome on Day 5 with only about 4 hours of sleep, not because we were up all night partying (that would be WAY cooler), but because jet lag was really starting to hit us. We both slept from about 1-3 and 7-9 and were WIDE awake all hours in between! In our groggy state we checked out of the apartment and grabbed a cab to Termini Station where we were scheduled to pick up our rental car. On the ride to the station our gracious cab driver gave us a couple tips for driving in Rome, the most important being "Roma doesn't have lines for drivers, just space!" Great!
We finally find our rental car bu, with one small problem. The car only had a 16th tank of gas which meant our plan to get out of the city center and onto the interstate was dicey. We decided to stick with the original plan and, praise the LORD, we made it onto the interstate with no wrong turns - I'm still not sure how we did this. Goal 1 of "find the interstate" - DONE! Now just to find that gas station! After one wrong exit, circling an IKEA about 2 times (yes, IKEAs are just as big and hectic in Rome as they are in the states) and some heavy sweating we finally found gas. Woo-hoo, we were on our way baby!
The drive from Rome to San Gimignano was beautiful and interesting. Cayce was driving (I can't drive a stick - oh darn!), and he has driven in foreign countries before (Mexico and Costa Rica), but this was a whole different level! It seemed drivers would either go about 20 over the speed limit or 20 under, there was no in between. Needless to say we got honked at a lot - mostly when trying to pass the slow driver and then holding up the really fast ones.
After about a 3 hour drive we found our home for the next 3 nights, Agruiturismo Niccoli. I was in awe when we drove into the driveway, it was EVERYTHING I wanted and more. Rustic, charming and luxurious all at the same time. It was relaxing time for me I slipped my bathing suit on and headed straight out to do what I do best - pool lounging, while Cayce ventured into town (we were walking distance to San Gimignano - about 10 minutes).
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| Pool Time |
After an amazing nite's sleep (a full belly and a bottle of wine per person really helps!) we woke up refreshed and finally feeling like we had beat the jet lag - woo hoo! I think part of our problem was taking a daily nap, once we broke that cycle we were golden, so my advice would be to fight it as soon as you can to beat the jet lag early!
For today I had pre-booked us a wine tasting a a nearby winery - Sovestro in Poggio - which I found out about through TripAdvisor. The wine tasting was probably one of the highlights of the trip! There were about 12 of us in the group. We toured the vineyards and the cellars and then sat down in the restaurant section of the winery for the tasting. We tasted 2 reds - the same wine one was aged in steel barrels while the other was in oak. Amazing to really taste them side by side and notice the difference! We also tasted a refreshing white, a dessert wine and a grappa (not a fan, Cayce got 2 grappas!). The tasting also included a lunch or snack option, for 13 euro each you could get the tasting plus bread/olive oil (also produced on the farm) and some meats/cheeses. I had booked us for this option but everyone else in our group had the lunch option which included a wild boar pasta, so I was feeling a bit jealous. Lucky for us there ended up being a mix up and we had been marked down for the lunch option (25 euro each) and I am so glad we got to try the boar, it was delicious!
During all of this we made friends with a couple from Ottawa and a couple from Belgium who were both on their honeymoons. Funny side note, the girl from Belgium was, shall I say, not very "worldly". Her first questions to me upon hearing I was from the States was "Which celebrities do you live by and have you ever met Richard Gere?" (WHAT????? #1 there are no celebrities residing in Edmonds, WA and #2 why are you, at the ripe old age of 22, are you such a fan of Richard Gere??? ).
The wine was really good, I wanted to buy some but didn't want to hassle with trying to pack it so we opted for purchasing a small bottle of Olive Oil which was also divine! A little toasted bread brushed with the oil and a crack of sea salt - yum!!!
Here is a pic from the winery:
The tasting lasted about an hour, after we decided to stop at San Gimignano since I had yet to see the town. We explored for a bit, the town is very touristy so we didn't stay too long, long enough to get the worlds best gelato though!
After expoloring San Gimignano we decided to head up to Volterra. I had read in the Rick Steves book that Volterra was just as "medieval" as San Gimignano but much less touristy which was totally on spot. I LOVED Volterra, it's amazing how medieval it really feels but people are actually still living there - so cool.
We ended up watching a great sunset from a top the town wall and had dinner at a little restaurant, not sure the name of it but it was nothing to write home about. We made it back home around 10 and took a bottle of wine to the pool and sat. talked and drank, it was a perfect end to the night!
Next UP - the rest of Tuscany!
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