Last updated on March 18, 2022
In May, Steve and I joined his Mum, Dad, two brothers and their wives, and one baby for a family holiday to Tuscany. It’s about time we shared the photos.
We stayed in this villa in a charming Tuscan hill town named Impruneta.
It’s one of those places where time is not a priority,
…character is plentiful,
…and beauty stretches in all directions.
One day we went to visit San Gimignano, a nearby walled medieval town in the hills of Tuscany.
The pottery was gorgeous,
…and the gelato, award-winning.
It was serious business trying to choose a flavour.
Another day we went to Siena,
…where we wandered the ancient streets,
…and people-watched in the square.
The city’s centre piece is the Duomo, a candy-striped cathedral,
…full of elegant statues,
…and delightful details.
It’s a building where you need to look up,
…again,
…and again.
When we went to Florence, perhaps one of the most beautiful cities in the world, we mysteriously failed to take any photos, apart from of our meal at the excellent Al Tranvai (thank you Never Ending Voyage for the tip).
It was the perfect example of the Italian’s mastery of simple ingredients…
…delivering awesome taste.
We also discovered a revolution in wine tasting, which deserves a post of its own (next week). It was a beautiful week, not least because we were surrounded by family. It’s not often our two becomes nine.
Steve was so excited, he became Italian.
Have you been to Tuscany? Any tips for our next trip (we will of course be back. The gelato and food demands it).
More posts on Italy
Most of the travelling we’ve done in Italy predates this blog, but we recently went to Puglia where we visited the incredible Notte delle Luci festival of lights. Steve made a beautiful video of the psychedelic spectacle. We also explored some of the Salento region and have written a round-up of some of the things to do in Puglia. We love Italy so no doubt we’ll be back soon and will be sharing more stories filled with pizza, gelato and pasta. We also went on and amazing road trip in North Italy including Como and Cinque Terre. And another from Florence to the Amalfi Coast.
Beautiful photos! As for Tuscany, I recommend Pienza and Abazia di Monte Olivetto. Just lose yourself in there!
https://foodforthoughtdiaries.blogspot.fr/2012/11/through-heart-of-tuscany-pienza.html
Looks gorgeous. Thanks for the recommendation:)
So want to go!!! Beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing 🙂
No problem, pleased you enjoyed them. Italy is so magical!
Loved your photos. And comments! x
Thank you for such a beautiful holiday! X
Bellissimo!
Exactly!
Beautiful photos. I’ve always wanted to see the Italian countryside!
It’s stunning, and so romantic. I was totally enchanted.
I love the photo of Steve being all Italian 😉 But seriously, all of your photos make us miss Tuscany and we hope we’ll get to go back soon – one of our favorite places in the world!
I love that photo took — captured a moment perfectly!
Love these photos! And, isn’t that gelateria in San Gimignano the absolute best? We kept making excuses to go there just to eat their chocolate gelato.
Oh yes, I could have eaten there three times a day. SO good!
These photos are stunning and I love the way you’ve used them to tell the story of your holiday. Sounds like it was brilliant. We travelled with Dave’s parents and my parents earlier this year and it was wonderful.
Thank you Carmen. It’s definitely a great place for a family holiday.
We always push Tuscany down on our list because it seems like some place we could easily go with family some day … but really that gelato might make us re-think our priorities.
the gelato is definitely reason enough!
Delightful pictures, incredibly mesmerizing. Tuscany is high on my travel list.
Do it! It’s wonderful 🙂
You’re definitely making me want to go to Tuscany again – and making me hungry! Great photos.
Italian food. Mmmmmmm!
So wonderful that you were able to spend quality time exploring with family and shift your travels to have that experience. Lovely journey through a region of the world I love (though — no photos of Florence?!) 🙂
I know! the thing is I’ve been there before and it was quite liberating not to take photos for once.