A day in wine country

Just got back to Florence after a day in the countryside of Tuscany. We started the day first at the Rocca delle Macie winery in the Chianti region between Florence and Siena. We got a tour of the winery and saw different parts of the production process. After that, we had a wine tasting of three different wines, one white and two red. We also tasted the olive oil and honey that the winery produces. Let's just say that between the 18 of us, a lot of wine and oil were purchased.

On a tour of the Rocca delle Macie winery

After that, we headed to Brolio Castle, a Medieval castle still owned today by a baron and baroness. We toured a few rooms of the castle and walked around the grounds before sitting down for lunch. This was not just any lunch... First of all, it took a couple of hours and many, many plates. It started off with bread, white wine, and a plate of bruschetta, anchovies, meats, and vegetables. I was sitting next to Corrin, and his expression when he tasted the anchovy was priceless. Good thing Gibb liked them--he got donations from many of us... After that, our second course was asparagus risotto. Yum! Then, the third course was steak, grilled potatoes, cauliflower, and spinach, served with red wine. And finally, for dessert we had zuppe inglese, which is kind of a trifle/bread pudding with coffee flavor served with very sweet white wine. After the meal, we were completely stuffed. We made it back to the bus and most everyone fell asleep immediately until we arrived at our next stop...

Gibb inside a Chinese parasol tree (Firmia simplex)... as identified by our own Liz Ball.

A beautiful view from the Brolio Castle

Our final stop, Villa Gamberaia, is a 16th century villa southwest of Florence. It's now a very expensive bed and breakfast with beautiful gardens and views of Tuscany. The gardens are small but very comfortable, and there was a little swimming pool on the hill that Garry, Bill, Liz, and Allison and I all stuck our feet in for awhile. It was very close to heaven.

Allison, Alex, and Liz poolside at Villa Gamberaia

Tomorrow we're leaving Florence, visiting a few gardens and stopping in Pisa before spending the night just a few blocks from the Mediterranean!