8/1 – While we were in Florence, we decided we wanted to do something different. Chad did a little research and found a wine tasting tour that was away from the city and out in the countryside, that is, the Tuscan Hills. Sounded like fun so we booked the tour for Monday and boy did we ever have a good time. We met the other participants and drivers at the old train station at Porta al Prato. We thought there were six of us going but it turned out there were twelve! The group consisted of three gals from California, one gal from Chile, a couple from Denmark, two gals from Sweden and the four of us. Turned out to be a wonderful group of folks. Jim and I were the oldest but we really enjoyed everyone and are pretty sure they enjoyed us!

The drive to the winery was an experience all by itself. We were in a Mercedes sedan with Jim up front and Chad, Michele and I in the back seat. Chad, being the most proficient and virtually bilingual, was engaged almost immediately by Fernando, our driver. A good thing you might say. However, once out on the autostrada (interstate-type of road), both men got into what we call an Italian conversation — all Italian, fast paced, sort of talking over each other, and other than for a few words, out of our grasp! Cool you say. Well, the speed limit on the autostrada was 100 kilometers an hour but the more the two talked, the slower we moved. Plus, with Chad in the back seat and having bucket seats in the front with the gap between both sides, Fernando spent most of his time looking at Chad over his right shoulder between the front seat backs as he became more and more animated. By the time we were halfway to the winery and vineyards, we were down to 30 km/hour on the highway! Thought we’d never get there. But I have to admit, quite the exciting entertainment.

The winery, Cantina Sociale Colli Fiorentinoi, was huge although considered a medium-sized factory. As the Sociale in the name infers, it is a consortium of local farmers that own and manage the winery. Many of the wineries in Italy are operated on this basis. Leonardo, our tour guide, who described what and how they did everything, was extremely informative and everyone learned a great deal from his story.

We then went to the cellar for a little more familiarization with the process and then a brief wine tasting and snacks – you must eat when you are at a wine tasting – this helps keep you from getting sick. Of course the focaccia bread drizzled with olive oil was yummy! This all took about an hour and a half before we jumped back into the cars to head to the agriturismo (Fattoria Palaia), a farm which also offers rooms to tourists like a B&B, where we were to have our snacks with different wines and then dinner with more different wines.

We first stopped at the vineyards and they were beautiful as was the landscape and the grapes were gorgeous. Leonardo told us we could taste the grapes. I did and they were very tasty. Normally wine grapes don’t taste that good to me.

Next we walked to the farmhouse which was just down the hill. The weather was cooler than back in Florence and the views were breathtaking as you will see from the photos. No one wanted to go back into the city where it was so darn hot. Plus all 13 of us, including Leonardo, just clicked. Perfect sense of camaraderie and of course, love for food and wine.

We sat outside at a table and Leonardo served tastings of so many wines I actually lost count. Different cheeses and snacks were served and I’ve never seen so many different cheeses in one place. Everything was delicious and the wines were excellent.

Next it was time to go inside for dinner. The table was set to perfection, absolutely gorgeous. Again more cheese than anyone could ever eat along with melon, breadsticks, different meats. Looked too pretty to eat but that did not seem to stop anyone. With every wine served, Leonardo described it and told what it was supposed to be like. He then asked for our opinions as to how we rated them. I tasted all of them, and I do mean taste since this little Italian doesn’t really drink wine. Leonardo could not believe I didn’t drink wine but was happy that I at least tasted them. He kept asking for my opinion and on one of the wines that was more acidic, I really liked it but I got a look from him with a comment that said I had strange tastes in wine. Everyone laughed at that comment.

After we finished with the wine and antipasto we had our pasta dinner. Thankfully it was a small portion because by this time everyone was full. Dessert and espresso were delivered and that was it for the night. Back to our apartments and by now it was about 11pm. This was an absolutely wonderful experience and so nice to meet other folks from different countries all sharing the same love of food!

What most of the group did not notice was that Fernando, our driver, had snuck out into other parts of the cellar and brought back surreptitiously to Jim, and only Jim, a shot of Grappa, a digestivo, to properly end his meal. I guess the two of them hit it off without being observed by any of the rest of us.

As you can imagine, Tuesday we laid low – heat and not wine being the excuse, at least that’s what we told people. Wednesday was Chad’s last day in Florence as he was heading down to Orvieto on Thursday. So, Wednesday night had to be the night for another experience for which Firenze is famous: Bistecca Fiorentina. Not only was this our last night with Chad, it was also our delayed 53rd Wedding Anniversary. We were just too tired and overheated to head out Tuesday night, our actual anniversary. Chad had done the research and settled on Ristorante Mamma Gina across the River Arno from Central Florence. Rather than describe the steak, let me show you.

While Chad headed off to the train station around noon on Thursday, Jim, Michele and I stopped off at the Sophia Loren restaurant in Florence. It is an excellent restaurant, we highly recommend it. The food was superb and the staff was excellent. Our guess was that Sophia checks on her restaurants often.

And with that, I’ll close out this chapter of our blog and get things ready to head off to Bologna tomorrow. As for Florence, and Milan for that matter, our recommendation — a somewhat strong one — is that those cities are best visited at any other time but July and August. Both have too many tourists and too much heat, at least this year, in those months. Still, awesome cities with way more to see and do and eat and drink than is possible in a short visit.

Domani, prendiamo il treno per Bologna. Ciao, a presto.