Coming to Tuscany is about catching up with friends. Dani and Olga are our longest standing, dear friends in Tuscany – and despite not seeing them for 2 years we pick up just where we left off. Dani’s wicked sense of humour is a delight and Olga’s ability to always look out for us is special.
Tina our friend from Auckland is visiting Tuscany. We only seem to catch up with her when we’re half a world away from home but we’ve sworn to make sure we catch up closer to home in future.
Matteo and Francesca who produce the best olive oil in Tuscany are also special friends who we met through Olga. They are the proud owners of Pornanino Olive Oil which we believe produces some of the best olive oil we have tasted.
When we all get together it is a wonderful mix of stories and laughter in Italian and English (and occasionally gibberish), always over a meal (or three) and a glass or two of wine.
Dinner at our hotel – first day in TuscanyDinner at our hotel – first day in TuscanyThe Relais Vignale pool – hotel in the backgroundBBQ at Dani and Olga’s placeThe two of usLovely table settingDani in his workshop – our gift of koru sculptures in frontBBQ team – Tina, Dani, Olga and your’s trulyTina, Francesca, Matteo and Dani
Siena used to be our local town when were in Italy in 2011. Our cottage was an easy 10 mins drive from the town and we visited often.
We love Siena. It is unique with its Campo, Duomo and multiple contrada who compete in the Palio horse race each year. Historically it may have come second to Florence but in our minds it’s number one.
Our friend Tina has rented an apartment near by and so we set off from Radda to visit her and spend a day walking the narrow streets, shopping, of course, and sitting in the Campo watching the world go by.
Despite there being a break in the hot, hot weather in Tuscany, it was still warm so the walk into the town was spent moving from shaded street to shaded street and resting when possible. The ideal place for that being Al Mangia bar in the Campo. I set up camp there while the girls spent time shopping and looking, and shopping. For lunch we moved to the shaded side of the Campo – along with many others.
It has been a few years since we last visited and it was great to experience the sights and sounds of the Siena again.
Saturday was a travel day starting at 9am in Positano and ending at Relais Vignale in Radda in Chianti at 5:30pm. The bulk of the travel was by train from Napoli to Firenze followed by driving through the Tuscan countryside in our zippy Ford Puma rental.
We are lucky enough to have friends in Tuscany and we all got together for dinner at San Felice. It was a wonderful night, great food, great wine and great company.
Three Kiwis and four Italians, what a special experience.
On Tuesday we moved from Relais Vignale in Radda to San Felice for a few days. Jean has really been looking forward to getting here and was like a kid on Christmas morning – up early on Tuesday, packed and ready to go before breakfast, just wanting to get here although it is only a 20 minute drive.
For those who don’t know, we visited San Felice last year and Jean fell in love with it – so this year we get to stay a few days.
San Felice is a hotel which is made up of an entire traditional Italian Borgo (village). It retains a village feel but has around 50 rooms and suites in the old buildings as well as two restaurants (one of which has a Michelin star), a pool, indoor and outdoor bars, shops, a wine tasting room and two churches.
Jean fell in love with the room, so she shot one of her famous one take videos.
Our room at San Felice
After a couple of days by the pool and a dinner with friends last night in the casual restaurant, San Felice is living up to expectations. Jean doesn’t want to leave – which could be a problem on Friday when we move back to Rome.
Walking to our roomOur front doorOur front door – but closerLooking out our front doorWelcome gift from the hotelView from our windowJean enjoying the view from our tablePoached eggs for breakfastFriends out for dinnerAgeing local on a benchThe poolThe poolThe street where we liveSan Felice gardenA visitor enjoying the poolFeet by the poolThe pool
We have been in Tuscany for a couple of days and the contrast with Positano is dramatic. Gone is the bustle and noise of the busy seaside town, replaced by the quiet of rural Tuscany. The noisiest thing we hear are the church bells ringing out on the hour or the distant sound of tyres on white roads (gravel roads).
The constants are the long lasting summer weather and the incredible sunsets.
We moved into Relais Vignale in Radda in Chianti a few days ago and it felt like catching up with an old friend. We booked the same room as last year so enjoyed our own private garden and a room with enough room to swing many cats – if we so wished.
Marco still runs the bar like a military operation and remembered us from last year. The pool was still there but with new seats and loungers. The big change was the restaurant – Vignale Ristorante – which has a new manager, who has taken it’s slightly tired and stodgy menu and reinvented it with traditional local cuisine with a modern feel.
The restaurant uses its terrace view to great effect and we spent the first evening enjoying some delicious food – lots of meat and not much seafood, excellent local wine and the view of the sun slowly setting beyond the olive trees.
If you’re staying at Relais Vignale in the next wee while (that would be you Tony W) give the restaurant a shot. I’m sure you’ll be in for a great evening.
We have also been able to catch up with our friends Olga and Dani. We’ve had meals out and meals in – including a traditional kiwi barbecue at their place, with an Italian flavour. Marinated chicken, Italian sausages and a huge slice of prosciutto went on the barbecue, accompanied by arancini, courtesy of Dani, focaccia courtesy of our NZ friend Tina and everything else courtesy of Olga.
There was food for a dozen people but the 5 of us made a good dent in it.
Relais Vignale pool from the barAperol Spritz – cliched but a true taste of ItalyRestaurant Vignale’s terrace from the barThe view from the restaurantOur place – for a few daysSome bloke at the barbecueTwo barbecue expertsHome made Focaccia breadHome made AranciniTuscan sunset with a kiwi flavourSunset from Dani and Olga’s terrazzo
We weren’t planning to visit Italy this year. Last year’s trip was on such a scale and the credit card bills were so large that we were genuinely planning a “stay at home” year.
But last year, on a whim, we had pencil booked a two week stay at Casetta Arienzo in Positano for August this year.
We ignored the time late last year when we usually book the early bird flights to Europe. We were mentally not going, we had checked out, so to speak.
Until an email arrived in May from the lovely people at Eden Roc Hotel asking us to confirm or cancel the booking for Casetta Arienzo. That changed things.
Or more accurately, we came to our senses.
Within a fortnight in May we arranged everything – flights (thank you Petra our lovely travel agent of 25 years), hotels (some old favourites and some new experiences), train trips, rental cars in Italy and all that goes along with a holiday.
We are going for a month, staying in Positano for two weeks, spending a week or so catching up with friends in Tuscany and making up the remaining time in Rome.
Time has flown and it’s now mid August and we’re flying out in a couple of days. We can’t wait.
We’ve been home from Italy for just over a month. Time for us to settle back into home life, sort through all the photographs we’ve taken, and load a selection into a holiday gallery on SmugMug.
If you’d like to see some shots from the blog and some new ones you won’t have seen, click here.
All the photos were taken using iPhones – as opposed to the usual Nikon camera back and lenses I have lugged to Europe in the past. All in all, apart from not having any real control over the depth of field, they look pretty good.
This week we have been out and about in Tuscany with friends. We have known Dani and Olga for many years. We got to know them when Olga helped us find villas to stay in and our friendship has grown since then. It has been 4 years since we last saw them so it was great to reconnect.
We have been spoilt this last week with dinners and days out. Tina, our friend from back hom who has spent the last few weeks holidaying in Positano. She came north for a few days so we could all catch up.
We have visited some great restaurants and eaten so well. But the most special meal was at Dani and Olga’s place – a kiwi barbecue – with friends Matteo and Francesca who own Pornanino Olive Oil farm which produces some of the finest olive oil we have ever tasted.
Olga and Dani, thank you so much for making our visit so memorable.
Frescobaldi RestaurantFrescobaldi RestaurantFrescobaldi RestaurantBoys around a barbecueFrancesca’s apple pie for dessert
Footnote: The barbecue we used is a Lotus Grill charcoal barbecue. It’s a very clever design that burns charcoal but is pretty much smokeless. It’s a really clever piece of kit designed in Germany. Fathers Day isn’t far away …
San Felice is a luxury hotel complex located in the heart of Chianti. It is an old village that has been bought and developed as a hotel, while still retaining the feel of a typical Tuscan village.
It is a magical place with 30 suites and 29 rooms plus two churches, a range of shops, a spa, a winery as well as two restaurants, one of which has just received their first Michelin star.
Our friends Dani and Olga showed us around and we spent a hour or so wandering through the Borgo and tasting wine in the cellar room which was lovely.
On Monday we arrived in Radda in Chianti, our home for the next few days. Radda is a hill top village located between Firenze and Siena in the Chianti hills.
We have stayed at Relais Vignale before and it’s a great base to discover the Chanti region and all it has to offer. The hotel spans several buildings, all in a style which is called “toscana rustica” – the same style as the stone villas and cottages we all see in photos of Tuscany.
We were lucky enough to have our room upgraded to a junior suite so we now have an enormous room and a courtyard outside where we can sit in the evenings.
The style of food has also changed – from the seafood of Venice and Liguria to the meat and poultry of Tuscany. On Monday night we ate chicken and steak, expertly prepared in the hotel restaurant – all washed down with a fine bottle of local chianti.
The next few days will see us catch up with our dear friends who live here as well as explore some of the local towns and villages.
Our room with courtyard in frontRelaxingMoretti Beer – tutte beneBreakfast view – typical Chianti – grape and olive tree covered slopesRelais VignaleRelais VignaleCourtyard viewView from the terrace
Toscanakiwi 