Is there any other way to experience Tuscany than in a villa perched on a hill, views for days, and no neighbours to be seen or heard? Having been to the region twice before I can confirm that yes, you can do it without the villa, but it was pretty fabulous – one of those ‘once in a lifetime’ scenarios that feels like you are living out a movie scene. Of course seven bedroom, eight bathroom villas with a pool don’t come cheap, and we were lucky enough to join a ragtag group from across the globe who could all be in the same place at the same time.
Flying in from all corners was my mum Jane, uncle Martin and his friend Gregg from Australia, our cousin Lynn and her friend Jane (life is better with two Janes!) from the UK, their friend Gary from the US, and we drove across Switzerland from Germany. After almost 4 weeks of being with friends and family and moving through 5 countries, we had a grand plan of chilling by the pool, eating a little healthier, drinking a little less, and taking the odd day trip to the beautiful towns and cities within reach of our temporary home.
As with many plans, this one went awry, and our week of chill out time turned into a week of day trips across the region – there are simply too many beautiful places to visit in this area, and whilst the lure of the serene surrounds of ‘home’ was strong, there is little that can beat a day trip to Florence! Although it was our third time in the region, it was Mum’s first Tuscan adventure, and it was a welcome surprise to return to some cities we had visited before and find new things to see and do.
The villa was ideally positioned a 20 minute drive from the quaint town of Volterra, which offered the perfect starting point for Tuscan dwelling with delis, a market and a liquor store. We were less than an hour from San Gimignano and about 90 minutes to Pisa, Siena and Florence, and dependant on the destination of each day’s adventure, there was a combination of villa-dwellers who came to each city to drink coffee and wine, eat gelato and soak up the late summer vibes in the piazzas.
San Gimignano was a standout for us 10 years ago, and was the perfect place for my birthday lunch and an icecream; Pisa was on the return list for Mum and Martin’s benefit but it is still striking the second time around, and the baptistry and church are beautiful structures to explore (and much cheaper than the hike up the tower I’ll add). The trip to Siena provided us with one of those awesome travel experiences of familiarity thanks to two previous trips, and for new visitors to this region it is a must see for its very special duomo and the vast elliptical piazza that hosts horse racing events annually.
And finally Florence, one of the most visited cities of Italy and a treasure trove of places to explore. It’s best viewed from above, which is how we started our day up on Piazzale Michaelangelo, and then wandered down into town making our way from place to place. It was the biggest day of the week clocking up over 18km in walking! Once again we marelled at the stunning duomo that is the centrepiece of the city, but it was the Basilica di Santa Croce that was the highlight this time, a fascinating complex that is home to the remains of Michaelangelo, Galileo Galilei and Machiavelli to name a few.
It was an action packed week, and the laughs and memories provided by our villa crew added to the experience. Showing Mum around Italy was a real treat, and such a lovely way for us to see some of those places again that had impressed us so much a decade ago. The highlight of the week though was the very special birthday dinner that we had in the villa, prepared by a cook onsite for our whole group. Homemade ravioli and cacciatore, with enough cheese, salami and wine to feed a group three times our size was quite a spectacular way to enter my 40th year, and such a special memory to share with a beautiful group of humans.
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