Ciao from Tuscany!

Roo Roo Roo Rooooo 

Leaving Florence was hard to do, but after an hour long bus ride we ended up in a little town called Tavarnelle De Pisa (by now, you realize we love us a small town). After a little hunting around we found our hostel and we were greeted by a tiny Italian women as we stepped in. Interesting fact about the woman mentioned… She had a piercing smack dab in the middle of her front tooth! Anyone ever seen one of these? Me either. She showed us to our room, we unpacked and headed out for lunch.

Pesto

I was craving more pizza, (if you had any idea how much was consumed in Florence you would be wondering how this was possible) so the search was on. We found out that there was three pizzerias to pick from, we also found out they were all closed until dinnertime. What was open? The lone café in the little town of Tavarnelle De Pisa, that turned out to be quite good. Pesto ended up being our choice for lunch and it was definitely the best I’ve had.

Similar to Vers, there was a vineyard within walking distance, so obviously that was next. After about a half hour of walking (and contemplating turning around) through some SERIOUS hills, we made it to a Chianti specialty vineyard called Poggio al Bosco. We walked up the dirt driveway and rang the doorbell labeled “wine tasting”. A very short, stocky, woman answered the door and started barking a thousand things in Italian that we couldn’t understand. We gathered from her gestures that she wanted us to wait outside and did. Soon after, out comes a large man in camo pants. Not just camo pants, but I had to mention them… He led us to his wine lair and promptly started pouring VERY heavy “tasting glasses”. He was also barking all kinds of things in Italian that we couldn’t understand. We tried eight or nine different kinds before we tapped out and proceeded to buy a few bottles, which we are bringing home! Get excited Jeanne and Keith… and possibly Oliver? Don’t worry Mom and Dad you have gifts on the way too :) 

Wine "Lair"

Our dinner that evening was one to remember. Alyson had “the best pasta of her entire life”, but I’ve heard that about a thousand things, a thousand times. Still, this time it may actually be legit. We ate an amazing pizza, followed by two servings of gnocci and homemade noodles with seven piccate sauce, and yes we also went through a liter of wine… plus dessert :/. I also used the word “y’all” for the first time while not imitating somebody… crap.

We capped off the night with a movie at the hostel, as there was no nightlife to speak of in the town of Tavarnelle De Pisa. I could barely sleep because in the AM we were off to THE AMALFI COAST! Get excited for the pictures, they’re beyond gorgeous. We’re a few days behind on our blog chores… sorry:)

"When you come to a fork in the road... Take it." - Yogi Berra

TO