Florence to Borgo di Tuopina…..a week in Tuscany > Part I

September 27th

A nice morning, as we get sorted out, the first order of business is to exit the garage without hurting the car no problems, and we are off, following the very clear instructions from our host. Departing is really quite simple and very quickly we are on the road to the hamlet of  Borgo di Tuopina which is relatively close to Castellina in Chianti.  We are out in the countryside surrounded by vineyards, olive groves, and wheat fields…the only downside is that stores and restaurants are a drive away…a bit of geographic context of where we now are after arriving from Corsica in Savona, Italy:

 

Tuopina dates back to medieval times, it was uninhabited for some time but in 1989 renovations were started and completed 2 years later, creating 35 condo units (pic from developers site)…

….ergo our home for the week:

The goal is to absorb as much of Tuscany as we can by driving/walking in the countryside and of course visiting some of the key towns as well as some lesser-known places.

The next morning we look out the window and the weather is a bit dicey…what to do??… we opt to go, and we head for San Gimignano a hilltop top town (elevation 334 m), with its numerous towers, of which there are still thirteen today. As everywhere in these parts vineyards abound…

Apparently, wealthy citizens would have these towers built and at one point there were over 70, must have been quite a sight!! Dark clouds are all around us but GEEPS sets a good course and we arrive in San G  with the sun actually breaking out… parking is easy (although when we walk out the attendant is putting up a sign  “completo” > full) and close to the city gate… 

The town is easy to see and definitely worth a visit…

Market day with a lot of vendors, the fellow cutting the porchetta in the food truck made your mouth water !!…we even persuade ourselves to buy a tablecloth “such a deal”!

But the star of the show is the town …another beauty:

The clouds start to roll in and we decide to roll out, taking a chance to squeeze in another town…it seems to be a repeat of this morning weather wise and we arrive to a bit of sun!!

Volterra is a classical walled mountain top town southwest of Florence dating back to the 8th century B.C. It is quite well preserved…much quieter than some of the other towns we have visited, very walkable and just has a good feeling about it…on the walk up from the gate we dropped into a small chapel, simple, yet so in character:

Team Peugeot or at least a group of cyclists in vintage Peugeot jerseys get set to take off from the main piazza after a brief rest…just the sound of their shoes clipping into the pedals resounding of the walls:

The Duomo or Cathedral Santa Maria Assunta…

Some nice vistas to take in although the rain showers in the distance suggest we should make haste…

We head home with a quick stop at a Coop Super Mercato > a bit of a challenge to find but hunger can make one persevere…another great store with a fantastic selection and good prices. On the way back we run out of luck and the heavens open up with thunder and lightning all around …nevertheless a great day as we felt we stole one from the weather gods.