Early this morning, we joined another group tour to the Vatican. We visited the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. The afternoon was free for us to enjoy Rome’s fashions, cafes and galleries.  We had a nice drink on our rooftop terrace and then headed off to Cornucopia for our last dinner together.  Some of us went to take one last look at the Trevi Fountain and eat our last gelato.

On our way into the Vatican Museum

The ceilings inside of the museum

St. Peter’s Square

Our last drink on the rooftop terrace of Hotel 47

Our last supper together at Cornicopia

The Trevi Fountain at night

The Trevi Fountain

We had the morning at leisure to do some exploring on our own. This afternoon, we joined a group tour to explore the sites of Ancient Rome. We enjoyed a panoramic tour of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Piazza Venezia.

In front of the Colosseum

Maryann and Carol in front of the Colosseum

inside the Colosseum

The arch of Constantine outside of the Colosseum

Some of us having dinner in Rome at Osteria del Circo

An amazing dinner at Osteria del Circo

The main tour ended today and we had to say good-bye to two of our lovely ladies, while the rest of us began our extension to Rome.  We were transferred to the train station for the Frecciarossa direct train to Rome. Upon our arrival in Rome we checked into our beautiful accommodations at the Forty-Seven Hotel.   We all enjoyed a nice lunch on the rooftop terrace and then headed out to explore the city of Rome.

Waiting for our Frecciarossa train to Rome

Enroute to Rome

Lunch on the rooftop terrace of Hotel 47

The Trevi Fountain

Vittorio Emanuele Monument

This morning, we met our beautiful Italian guide, Demetra, for a guided visit of the Uffizi Gallery to admire the spectacular collection of Italian art. This afternoon, we had some time at leisure in Florence for further exploration. This evening we enjoyed our farewell dinner together at the Cucina Torcicoda, which had amazing food as well as service.  We all said farewell to Bina and Jennifer.

Beautiful paintings in the Uffizi gallery

An amazing sculpture in the Uffizi gallery

The lucky boar in the Uffizi gallery

The ladies touching a replica of the lucky boar in Florence

Our farewell dinner at Cucina Torcicoda restaurant

Our yummy pasta for our farewell dinner

This morning we checked into our new hotel Hotel Balestri, then off to Florence, one of the loveliest cities in the world. Narrow alleyways, expansive piazzas, elegant buildings, and the River Arno plus all that spectacular art combined to make this one of the world’s great ‘must-sees’. We arrived in time for lunch and ventured off to find a nice restaurant to eat at before joining our guide for a walking tour of the city’s essentials. We discovered the Ponte Vecchio, the Piazza della Signoria, the Duomo and Santa Croce Church, which was absolutely stunning.

The statue of Perseus slaying Medusa in Florence

On our walking tour of Florence

Our delicious pizza at Obika restaurant in Florence

Pizza at Obika in Florence… so delicious

We enjoyed an authentic Italian lunch at Chef Laura’s home on the Querceto Wine Estate; here we cooked up a storm and ate a beautiful lunch together in Laura’s home. She shared her recipes so we can enjoy a Tuscan meal at home. Her home was absolutely gorgeous and filled with so many different owl figurines.  In the afternoon we visited Castello di Albola for a tour of their property and gardens.  We were given a tour of their wine cellars and offered a taste of their wines before returning to our hotel.  For our last night in Radda we all bought something to offer for our picnic dinner in our hotel.

Our cooking class with Chef Laura in Castellina in Chianti

Preparing our lunch with Chef Laura

Eating what we cooked together in Chef Laura’s home

Our picnic dinner at our hotel Palazzo San Niccolo on our last night in Radda

Southern Tuscany offered a very different, and no less spectacular, scenery. Today we enjoyed one of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful stretches of road as we drove south to the Val d’Orcia. Here we found barren hills, dotted with cypress trees and stone farmhouses. We visited the remote, serene Abbey of Sant’Antimo and nearby Montalcino, once an impregnable fortress and now the centre of Brunello wine production. We enjoyed a light lunch and wine tasting at Altesino wine estate. In the afternoon we took a stroll in Pienza; the streets are lined with delightful little shops filled with goodies. We sampled the region’s famous Pecorino cheese at a local artisanal cheese maker, and enjoyed dinner this evening on our way back to Chianti.

The view from Altesino Winery

After a great lunch and wine tasting at Altesino Winery

The view from Podere Il Casale, the farm we at our dinner at

The goats at Podere Il Casale farm, which are used to make cheese

San Gimignano is known as the ‘Medieval Manhattan’ for its tall towers; today we enjoyed one of the most extraordinary streetscapes in Europe as we explored the town that has scarcely changed in six hundred years. We enjoyed a light lunch and wine tasting at Podere La Marronaia located in the San Gimignano countryside. We continued on to Siena, the largest of Tuscany’s hilltop towns, still exquisitely elegant. With our guide, we visited the imposing green and white marble Cathedral and enjoyed a walking tour through the town to the famous shell-shaped Piazza del Campo. There was free time for shopping or a drink before dinner in Siena this evening.

The twin towers in San Gimignano

Lunch and wine tasting at Podere La Marronaia

In the vineyards of Podere La Marronaia

The Cathedral Complex in Siena

Dinner in Siena at Enoteca Compagnia dei Vinattieri

We had such a great day exploring the rolling green hills of the Chianti region, famous for its wines and castles.  This morning, we visited the prestigious new wine estate Marchesi di Antinori located at Bargino and enjoyed a visit of their wonderful cellars followed by a wine tasting of 3 different wines. We also visited the Panzanello wine estate located in the beautiful setting of Panzano where we enjoyed a light lunch and another wine tasting as wells their grappa. We also explored Greve in Chianti where we found some great jewellery. There was spectacular scenery along our route today; it’s a wonderful start to our trip.

Arriving at Panzanello for lunch and our wine tasting

Lunch at Panzanello

Grapes at the Antinori Winery

We enjoyed a full day excursion to Arezzo and Cortona today. This morning, we explored Cortona first as it was the furthest away from Radda and in the afternoon we visited Arezzo, made famous from the book “Under the Tuscan Sun”. It’s a charming town enclosed by stone walls dating from Roman times.

The view from Cortona

Our arrival into Arezzo