An escape to Italy: Tuscany

The final part of our trip to Italy was spent on a food and wine walking tour around the Chianti region with Exodus Travels. We stayed in one villa for the entire tour, Villa Casalta, based just outside of Castellina in Chianti. The villa was a big, old, traditional building full of thick timber beams with a terracotta ceiling and roof - it really did feel like Tuscany! The walking tour went over seven nights with six full days plus an extra day before flying back to London on Saturday evening.

While the name of the tour sounds like it involves a lot of walking, it was really quite relaxed without too much incline. On the first day, we drove to Greve to have a quick look around, including visiting the famous butcher, Dario. I couldn't help but buy some of Dario's famous salt to have with bread. Technically, you're meant to put lard on the bread first but I think I'll stick with butter... We then walked to Montefioralle, a fortified village up on a hill. The guide also provided cheese and wine for us to taste at one of the stops, which was a nice addition.

The next day involved the longest walk of the trip but at 12km, I wasn't too phased. This walk went through some woodland areas, which provided a different view and more shelter than the sunny vineyards the day prior. The walk took us to Radda, Chianti. Like most villages in the Chianti region, Radda is full of beautiful Tuscan buildings with terracotta tiled roofs. In the afternoon, we stopped at Castellare, a local winery for a tour of their cellar and to taste some of their local Chianti wines. The wine tasting experience at this winery was great. I hadn't tried many Chiantis before this tour, so it was good to branch out and try something new.

We took a break from walking through the countryside on our third day and visited the enchanting city of Siena. Having not really read much about Siena before the tour, I really had no idea what to expect but I can now say I definitely recommend visiting Siena! In fact, I enjoyed it a lot more than Florence. The history of the 17 contrade (wards) in Siena is so interesting. If you visit, you really need to do a walking tour to hear all about this fascinating tradition, which still lives on. It was great to see the flags of the district who had recently won the famous Palio di Siena hung around the city.

While in Siena, we visited the Duomo di Siena. The exterior is amazing but the interior was even better. It is absolutely full of detail from beautiful frescos to mosaic floors and the black and white columns throughout the cathedral. We couldn't go a day without a customary wine tasting experience so we visited the Tuscan Wine School in the afternoon to learn all about tasting wine.

Our free day in the middle of the tour turned out to be my absolute favourite of all the days spent in Tuscany. I signed up for an Italian cooking class thinking it might be ok but nothing amazing. While I absolutely love eating, I wouldn't describe myself as the sort of person who really enjoys cooking. I was clearly wrong! This cooking class was so amazing that I'm still thinking about the delicious food that we made. It was more of a fun and sociable class than the sort where you are rushing to produce dishes. Everyone worked together on the recipes so we each did different tasks from kneading pasta dough to processing herbs.

We made fresh pici pasta with pesto for the first course, pork escalope with roasted potatoes for main course and a modern tiramisu for dessert. I was surprised to learn that this tiramisu recipe didn't have any mascarpone in it - in fact, it had soy cream! It was really nice so I definitely plan to have another go at it. The class was held at Fattoria Tregole near Castellina in Chianti.

Our fifth day was spent in the ever so popular city of Florence. I had been to Florence ten years prior but didn't remember a lot about the city. While it is without a doubt a beautiful city, the masses of tourists that we had to deal with really took some of the enjoyment out of it. The day started early, getting us to Florence at around 9 am. This was pretty much a free day so we opted out of doing a tour and instead enjoyed an espresso before exploring the stationary shops. I bought a cute little wine book to record all of my favourite wines and a journal for my boyfriend.

We had tickets book for the Uffizi Gallery so we didn't have a lot of flexibility. We quickly rushed to Mercato Centrale Firenze for an express lunch but I wish I had more time to spend there. It reminded me a bit of the markets in Barcelona but even bigger. We tried some of the delicious bruschettas for lunch. The Uffizi Gallery was interesting, but to be honest, it was a bit overwhelming. It is laid out in such a way that you have to get through the entire upper floor before you can even have a break. I found the historic art was very interesting but quite repetitive.

We walked to San Gimignano on the last full day of the tour. This was probably my favourite of all of the towns and villages due to the quirky old towers spread around the town. The story goes that these towers were built as a sort of competition between landowners during the wealthy time of saffron trading. It's hard to believe just how odd these towers are until you've been there! We had a delicious antipasti style lunch of various types of prosciutto and salami with cheeses, bread, and wine - the best way to eat in Italy! After lunch, we went for an aimless wander and discovered the incredible views from Parco della Rocca. There is also another good view from the side of the town, Punto Panoramico.

Before we knew it, the tour was over and it was time for me to fly back to London. I loved visiting parts of Italy I hadn't seen before and it was especially nice to be there at a warm time of year. In fact, we had so much warm weather, I don't think I would want to hike in Italy much earlier than September. As with all holiday destinations, Italy has its ups and downs. These are the things that stood out to me.

Things I love about Italy:

Appertivo and the complimentary snacks served when you buy a drink
Paninis
Delicious food everywhere you go
Great weather when the UK is starting to cool off

Things I dislike about Italy:

Having to pay to use public toilets, even when they're sub-standard
Having to pay for water everywhere you go
Service is so unpredictable - some people are lovely and then there are the bad experiences...
Higher crime - having to be more alert than I'm used to