Under the Tuscan Sun- My Tuscany Travel Review
- elisamarinella
- Jul 31, 2019
- 7 min read
This month, 12 of my family members and friends journeyed to Italy for a trip of a lifetime! Our Italian Holiday began in Tuscany which was a dream come true for a wino like me! I began planning this trip back in October since I knew it was going to be a large task to tackle! Between the amount of time, cities and people, I wanted to make sure we got everything right!
Something my family has always talked/dreamed about was staying in a Tuscan Villa. For this, I of course turned to my trusty Airbnb. After an extensive search I found our Villa. As I've mentioned before, I love Airbnb for the filters to make sure you are getting exactly what you want. I was able to find a house that comfortably fit all 12 of us (with room to spare!) along with it being handicap accessible and in the location we were hopping for! Our beautiful villa led us to Cortona, right in the heart of Tuscany!
When we arrived, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Our Airbnb host , Franco, gave us an address he told us to meet him at and then he would lead us there. He lead us up a large, cliff-side mountain. The journey up was quite interesting, especially the first time, and if you're not the best with heights and falling off mountain type situations, however once we got up there, the villa was well worth it and we got used to driving up/down the mountain and actually came to love it! Secluded, with incredible views and a gorgeous in-ground pool, this home was essentially a compound with many different homes and apartments all part of it, so we all had our own space and privacy.
Even though I placed the filters on Airbnb to ensure no stairs, wide enough doorways and a handicap bathroom, I was skeptical as it is Europe and they don't exactly follow the ADA to say the least, however we were pleasantly surprised with the main home which had a ramp to enter and a completely handicap bathroom, even equipped with roll in shower!! It was perfect for Stath and my 84 year old grandfather!
Our host Franco was unbelievable! He was extremely helpful when we had car issues (one of our cars didn't quite make it up the mountain- its funny looking back now...kinda lol), did everything he could to assist throughout our time there and leading up to it (I obviously was annoying and had ALOT of questions in the planning process) and him and his wife even made us a traditional 5 course Italian meal! We were so sad to leave him! Also, as far as BoujE on a Budget goes, despite how incredible this place was, it was really affordable! With the 12 of us, it was only $265 dollars each for 4 nights! Airbnb for the win! Again, I began this process very early on, to really scan Airbnb thoroughly to find exactly what we were looking for at a reasonable price. I highly suggest that if you're planning a big trip! We also saved money by ordering in and cooking, another perk to having an Airbnb! Overall, it was an amazing place to stay and we loved our time there! Click the picture below to book our exact Airbnb for your trip to Tuscany!
Speaking of those car issues I mentioned above, if you are traveling with a large group, and staying off the beaten path in Tuscany like we did (meaning, out of the major cities and more in the countryside) I highly suggest renting cars! We went through Budget and it was a reasonable price. Given the fact that we were such a large group, plus lotsss of luggage and a wheelchair (as you can imagine, I'm not what you would call a "light packer"), I had to get two large vans. For this, it was about 125 dollars per person. If your group is less people and you can do smaller cars, it would be even less. PSA- many of the cars in Europe are standard. If you don't know how to drive standard, you can get automatic, its just not as popular and its a bit more expensive. You definitely would want to get your rentals ahead of time. I booked these in January. You also need to get an international license before driving in Italy and many other countries. This was super easy and took 15 minutes at AAA and only cost 20 bucks!
We picked our vans up right at Rome FCO airport and drove the 2.5 hours to Cotona, Tuscany. We then had them to travel about the Tuscan villages and towns, to visit the wineries and then dropped them back off once returning to Rome. Aside from the issue of one breaking down and having to travel to pick up another van, having the cars worked out nicely. Shout out again to our Airbnb host who drove us to pick up our new car and helped with communicating with the company in Italian! As far as the accessibility aspect of the vans, we transferred Stath in and out of the vans no problem with a two person lift and the wheelchair fit well in the back.
Now, Lets get into the fun stuff!! What did we do in Tuscany!?
Day 1
The first day we dedicated to exploring Montepulciano, a region of Tuscany famous for their Vino Nobile Red Wine and let me tell you, for a non-red wine girl, this stuff was delish!! We hit up two vineyards and it was HEAVEN!
Our first stop was Canneto. Here we had a tour, a tasting of 7 different wines and a "Light Snack" consisting of many different meats and cheeses. Side note, Italians version of "Light Snack" is like one step below Thanksgiving Dinner.There was a lot of food and a lot of bread! I was in heaven! Daniela was our tour guide and she was so knowledgeable about the wine and the process of creating it. It was super cool to hear about. If your heading to Tuscany, I highly suggest doing a tour at one of the wineries! The best thing about Canneto, other than the wine and food obvi, was the views! See below, they speak for themselves! We got many different bottles and even their homemade Olive Oil to take back to our Villa! Click the picture below to visit the Canneto Vineyard Website to start planning your trip!
We then headed to Salcheto, another winery about 15 minutes away from Canneto. This Vineyard came at recommendation from one of my besties (Shout-out Julia!) who visited on her honeymoon. At her rec, we had lunch here at their restaurant Enoteca, which was delicious and I also highly recommend. The wine was of course delicious here as well, but this vineyard is also special because its more modern than what you would expect for Tuscany and its environmentally efficient, focusing on reducing their carbon footprint. Salcheto also offers suites for accommodations, so if your traveling with a smaller group, this might be a good option for you! Some of the suites even have beautiful hot tubs powered by natural wood heat! The views at Salcheto, were also incredible! Click the first picture below to visit the Salcheto Winery Website.
PS- if you're traveling with a big group, I suggest booking your wine tastings and tours ahead of time, especially if you're travelling in peak season. I booked ours in April and both wineries were great to work with via email!
Day 2
On our second day in Tuscany, we explored Cortona. It was roughly a 20 min drive from our Airbnb to the center of this adorable Tuscan city. Here, we explored Basilica of Santa Margherita, a beautiful church with even more beautiful Tuscan Views, Had lunch at Caffe Vittoria in Piazza Luca Signorelli, did some shopping and had, in my opinion, the best gelato of the trip right next door at Gelatria Snoopy! They had a chocolate fountain which they covered the gelato in, game over! We had 2!
Heads up! If you rent cars and you're driving to Cortona and Siena, parking can be tough with a lot of walking, leave early to get spots. If you are traveling with a wheelchair, they'll need to be a lot of pushing up the cobblestone hills. Luckily, we had a lot of hands on deck and all helped out.( We all have calves of steel now btw lol!) You could also take cabs and get dropped off closer to the middle of the city center if you don't have a lot of assistance with pushing!
That afternoon, we headed back to our Airbnb to hit the pool before our cooking class began! I found our cooking class company through google and we LOVED them! We went through Tuscan Chef and because of the size of our group, they came directly to our Villa! Again, I booked this very far in advance as it is peak season,I suggest doing the same. I have been working with Alessandro at Tuscan Chef since January. We got to choose our menu from many different meal options and have a hands on experience with our personal chefs/teachers Luca and Elisabetta! They were great, veryyyyy patient and made our experience fun and informative! We made crostinies, homemade pasta and gravy(sauce), chicken piccata and lemon cake. This experience lasted 5 hours and was only 90 euro per person, talk about Boujee on a Budget! In the end, all of us sat down together and enjoyed the meal we created along with lots of wine and good conversation with our fearless leaders! They also gave us copies of the recipes so we can re-create them back home and they have an app with many more recipes! For a non-cook like me, they made the experience easy and so fun! Click the picture below to talk to Alessandro and book your own once in a lifetime cooking experience!
Day 3
The next day we headed to Siena. Again, we drove there and it was about an hour from our Airbnb outside Cortona. We did a walking tour to learn about the history of this very interesting Tuscan City. Anyone who knows me knows I love a good walking tour! Stath loves them too, especially for a guy who doesn't walk! haha JK, but really he loves them! I booked the walking tour through Get Your Guide and it was about 22 dollars a person for the private tour. It was great having the private tour because we could go at our own pace, ask whatever questions we wanted and stop to take pictures. It worked out much better than a public, free walking tour (I'll get into that in the Rome Review). Siena is a beautiful place with an even cooler history! We loved it and I highly suggest visiting! Click the picture below to book a walking tour through Get Your Guide.
That night we headed back to Cortona for our last meal prepared by our gracious Air B and B host, Franco. The next morning we were off to Rome! Stay Tuned for my Rome and Amalfi Travel Guides!
And now you're in the know on how to book a Tuscan Holiday that's BoujE on a Budget! Happy Travels!
-Elisa
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