This past weekend I travelled to the land of Tuscany and explored the beautiful Tuscan cities inside Italy. I’m really grateful I’m able to go on weekend trips with my school. It makes travelling a lot easier and it’s nice to have planned itineraries to follow.
Our first stop in Tuscany was Pisa, which is only a couple of hours away from Rome. The leaning tower in Pisa was actually a lot bigger in person than I expected. We were given an hour and a half long tour about the Square of Miracles, Campo dei Miracoli, and the leaning tower itself. The piazza or the Square of Miracles was a huge open space with really green grass surrounded by huge medieval walls. As expected, the square was full of tourists scattered about and posing in just the right angles for the perfect “leaning tower photo.”
The next day we travelled to Florence where I visited the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower and I went for a lovely stroll throughout the city. The Basilica was absolutely gorgeous! I really liked the architecture. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I appreciated the design, the colours, and the detail in the basilica and throughout the city of Florence. In the city, I visited Palazoo Strozzi and Piazza Della Signoria among many others. I really enjoyed the atmosphere in these squares as they’re completely different from the ones in Rome.
On the last day, we travelled to a beautiful winery in the town of Trequanda. In the early days, it was not common for women to work or run the winery but with strength, the Fattoria Del Colle winery became the first. They’re known mostly for their Brunello wines. They don’t produce a large number of bottles but instead, they produce a low quantity of high-quality tasting wines. The rolling hills of vineyards were beautiful even amongst the rainy and grey weather. The wine tasting was a really cool experience and I learned about the proper way to taste, drink, and select a wine for an occasion.
Also at the winery, we took a cooking class where we learned to make homemade pasta. We made a nice moist dough from flour and a few other ingredients. We then used a hand roller to flatten it out and we greased the puppy up with olive oil to lock the moisture in. From here, we took small pieces from the large portion and used our hands to roll the dough out into actual thin pasta strands. It turned out really good. I was really looking forward to actually eating the pasta we made but we didn’t. I still have no idea what happened to it. But now, I’m looking forward to using the recipe and method to make a nice homemade pasta some time in the future.
Overall I really enjoyed my trip in Tuscany. I could’ve asked for more time in each location because every city felt like a brief commercial but even so, I really enjoyed my visit and I’m so grateful I got to see these parts of the world.
Until next time,
Robert