Honeymoon {Siena & Wine Tasting}

On our last day in Florence we woke up early and headed to the bakery....

....for yummy pastries of course.

We headed through town.....

.....and made our way to the bus station, which I read was quicker and easier than the train....

....to get to Siena!

I had heard about Siena since Maddie had studied there and it seemed like the perfect day trip to take from Florence to experience more of Tuscany.

I had researched online some wine tasting excursions in the area and came across MadonnaBella Winery just outside of Siena that came highly recommended by Rick Steves.  They thankfully were able to fit us in and after a bit of an ordeal trying to find a taxi in Siena to take us there {not easy!}, we arrived to the most beautiful setting in the Tuscan Hills......

.....and the sweetest message at our table, welcoming us on our honeymoon!

We also sat by the cutest group of Canadian women who insisted on taking pictures of us {thanks ladies!}.

The tasting included wine, olive oil, and lunch, and for 50 euro per person, it was a steal.  We started with some bruschetta and local cheese with the olive oil picked from the olive grove in front of us.

It was the most relaxing setting....

.....and we were so thankful that we booked this excursion last minute.

The main course for lunch was a ragu with homemade pasta, which was incredible.

Halfway through lunch, a little dog named Ernestino came to visit, and we later learned that he belongs to the house up the hill and always comes down during lunch time - smart dog!

The next course was a delicious slice of pork loin over greens, which was super light and refreshing after the bowl of pasta....

.....then we ended with gelato {when in Italy...}.

The ladies behind us really took their job of taking pictures seriously, and we loved chatting with them about their travels and life stories.

It was so quiet and peaceful there, and the shaded seating areas kept us cool from the intense sun.

After lunch we headed inside and they helped us pick out a few bottles to send home {we just had to!}.

They even called us a taxi to take us back to Siena, so while we waited we wandered around the olive grove....

....basking in the sunshine ….

….and not wanting to leave.

Amazing, right?

Happy honeymooners.

It was one of our most favorite things we did on the trip, and if you're in the area I'd highly recommend stopping by here!

Back in Siena we did a bit more wandering.

It was still crowded, but thankfully not as crowded as Florence or Rome.

We walked by the basilica.....

.....and through the tiny alleyways....

.....imagining all of the history here.

We loved the quiet walkways and streets {and lack of cars}.....

.....and Christian declared that Siena was one of his favorite cities!

Later that evening it was time to take the bus back to Florence, which was super easy and quick....

.....and we arrived back in Florence to a gorgeous sunset.

We couldn't decide where to go for dinner {everywhere was so busy}, so we walked into Antico Bottaio on the same street as our Airbnb and they luckily were able to fit us in.

We had a candlelit table in the back room which was absolutely perfect, and we ordered a salad to start {along with a bottle of wine}....

.....and I had the burrata ravioli with fresh tomatoes and basil {divine}.....

....while C ordered what became one of his favorite dishes of the trip, a beef filet with 3 pepper sauce.

And of course a little panna cotta to share :)  It was once again a perfect meal after a perfect day.

The next morning we woke up bright and early but couldn't get a hold of a taxi to come get us, so we packed up our bags, walked down those 49 steps from our Airbnb, and started walking to the train station {not advisable with large suitcases on the cobblestone streets, but we had no other options!}.

We loved Florence, but were ready to start the last leg of our trip on the Amalfi Coast!

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Honeymoon {Wine Windows & Sunset in Florence}

After our cooking class, we headed back to town and along the way stopped at Babae to grab a glass of wine from their famed Buchette Del Vino {wine window}.

There was a bit of a line but it was well worth it to order our wines through this sneaky little window that dates back to the 1600's where merchants could sell their wine to customers while avoiding direct contact after the plague {talk about social distancing, eh?}.

 

Once we got our wine, we enjoyed it out in the street with the other patrons {they have a basket for you to put your used cups in when you're done}.

It's a bit cheesy and touristy, but I'm so glad we got to experience a working Florence wine window.

Afterwards we wandered back through the leather markets.....

.....and enjoyed the wonderful sounds and smells coming from the city.

I had remembered from my first trip to Florence back in 2005 that everyone heads up to the Piazza Michelangelo with a bottle of wine or beer to watch the sunset, so after stopping back at our Airbnb for the essentials we started making our way up the hill to the Piazza along with what seemed like everyone else in Florence.

By the time we arrived at the Piazza, it was packed so tightly with people that there was no where to sit for the sunset, let alone have a quiet thought to yourself.

Luckily, Stefano from our cooking class had told us that if you continue past Michelangelo up to San Miniato there is an even better view and way less people.  So we decided to continue up the hill....

....and my oh my, was he right!

The views from up there were insane....

....and there were only a handful of people surrounding us.

It was crazy to think how many people were down at Michelangelo while just a few more minutes up the road we had these views almost all to ourselves.

There is an abbey and a cemetery here, and the cemetery {along with the rest of Italy} was overrun with kittens jumping and playing on the headstones {if you zoom in you can see them here}.

It was such a perfect place to watch the sunset and I'm so happy we continued up the road to this magical spot.

After it started to get dark and we started to get hungry, we left the abbey....

.....and headed down the hill....

....where we still had beautiful views....

....and Piazza Michelangelo was still bustling with crowds.

We said goodbye to the crowds....

....and headed back towards our Airbnb, where we came across Finisterrae, a restaurant at the Piazza Di Santa Croce that was recommended to us by our Airbnb host.

We sat outside and ordered a giant beer and Aperol Spritz....

.....and a pizza and salad to share, which hit the spot.  Another great evening in Italy!

xoxo,

stephanie marie