Trip Report
Tuscany with 3 Generations
Tuscany, Italy
DAY
1:
We did a March 2007 trip with two grandparents (in their 60s), two parents
(in their 40s) and three kids (ages 11. 8 and 4). Our first leg of the trip
was in Rome (you can read that separate
report).
We drove up from Rome (about 2 hours from the airport) on Saturday afternoon
and had to get groceries before reaching our agriturismo, the incredible Odina
(www.odina.it) where we
shared the luxurious, roomy, fabulous Redento villa, complete with full kitchen
and wood-burning pizza oven. With four bedrooms and three baths, an amazing
living area, this could be a destination stop, and there was plenty of room
for our party of 7. There are three smaller villa options as well, if you
have fewer numbers traveling with you.
Because of our late departure from Rome (2:00 by the time we got our cars
at the airport), and the crazy grocery store run, it was late when we reached
the Odina. Poor Gloria, the caretaker, had to wait until 9:00 and we arrived—two
hours after deadline—and I couldn’t get our international cell phone to go
through to her to tell her. We felt terrible for keeping her late.
TIPSTER: Saturday night grocery store runs are INSANE. Sunday
is a big family day in Italy and the grocery stores are closed, so get there
early!! But what a great experience! After that first nutsy stop, we came
to anticipate our grocery runs with pleasure.
DAY
2-4
The Odina is located outside of Loro Ciuffenna, perched high on a hill above
olive grove upon olive grove. You have an amazing view over the Arezzo valley
and over into the Chianti region. Our time here was a highlight, because it
was more relaxed for the kids. We ate in the house and slept until a decent
hour, then took half-day treks to Greve-in-Chianti, Arezzo and Siena. Warning:
It takes about 1-1.5 hours over winding roads if you’re heading anywhere west.
There is a good interstate when you near Siena, but it isn’t as picturesque;
still this is a good option for at least one way (maybe when you’re heading
home).
Our highlights were a winery stop in Greve-in-Chianti, where we shared a family
picnic on an old olive press wheel table (the kids watched a movie in the
car while we had a brief wine tasting). And we all loved Siena (be sure to
climb to the top of the tower on the piazza.) The nine rays you see going
out from the base of the public building, out across the seashell shape of
piazza il Campo, were symbols of the Nine, the governing nine men of the ancient
city. Also be sure to go the zebra-striped Duomo, a fantastic church with
inlaid marble floors and a pulpit that took decades to carve.
We
went to a very cool church site outside of Siena, San Galgano, with a 13th
Century basilica that was abandoned (there’s no roof). Legend has it that
Saint Galgano buried his sword in a stone when he gave up his vocation as
a crusader and dedicated his life to God (sounds a little like Camelot, doesn’t
it? But this legend predates that one!). You can see the sword, apparently,
but we there off-season and off-hours, so we didn’t get to.
TIPSTER: Making a pizza in a wood-burning oven? Burn the
fire where you’re going to bake the pizza, burn down to embers, move the embers
aside, throw down cornmeal or flour and do a test mini-crust to see if it
works. (If it does, just add cheese and finish. If not, keep experimenting!)
Pop the bubbles as they rise. At the store, pick up lots of mozzarella, fresh
basil, sausage, pepperoni, peppers, onion, cornmeal (to keep it from sticking)
and frozen pizza dough. YUM! Also makes for great lunch leftovers to pack.
DAY 5-6: FLORENCE
We left the Odina (so sad!) and went to an inexpensive inn I wouldn’t recommend
beyond friendliness and price (and it included a cereal/coffee breakfast).
The rooms were old and yucky, but we’d spent a good wad already and were planning
to splurge in Venice, so we held back here.
We went to the famed basilica and the kids climbed the tons of steps (they
were a little whiny and a lot under-whelmed over the view; think they were
still tired after our trek up the steps in Siena), but it’s cool for them
to know they’ve been to the top of one of the most famous landmarks of the
world. And it gives them a close-up view of the artwork inside the top of
the dome, something you can’t appreciate from the duomo floor.
Dinner at il Latina in the north of the city is not to be missed. It’s a fabulous
family-friendly tratoria that Rachel Ray recommends. People line up an hour
before their 7:00pm opening, so get there at least 30-40 minutes ahead. You’re
seated at a table and we recommend the cheese/salami appetizer, the white
bean soup, and sharing a couple of the mammoth (you’ve NEVER seen bigger!)
T-bone steaks. Famous! Amazing! (And the house Chianti ain’t bad either.)
The next day we went to the Accademia (to see Michaelangelo's David—an excellent,
short stop with kids) and the Uffizi (to glimpse a million other world-famous
art pieces).
TIPSTER: If I was to do it again, I’d take either another
day in Florence or skip the Uffizi—too crowded and overwhelming for kids our
children’s ages. PLUS we were leaving right after for Venice, and again, I
had planned too much for the day of transit. If you’re doing the Rome-Tuscany-Venice
plan, be sure to plan on transit days between regions as just that—transit
days. You’ll be much happier than we were on those days!
We reached the hotel, grabbed our bags and set off for Venice,
about a three hour drive.
| Don't Miss: • Dinner at il Latina: Sample the traditional Tuscan meal of fire-grilled T-bone!  |