{"id":78,"date":"2012-07-07T07:54:10","date_gmt":"2012-07-07T11:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wherearemomanddad.com\/?page_id=78"},"modified":"2021-06-18T17:32:08","modified_gmt":"2021-06-18T21:32:08","slug":"2008-tuscany-by-vespa","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wherearemomanddad.com\/?page_id=78","title":{"rendered":"2008 Tuscany by Vespa Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Now that Mom is a certified Vespa rider, we decided to take a little ride through Tuscany on Vespas through the tour group \u201cItaly by Vespa\u201d (ItalybyVespa.com).\u00a0 We flew into Florence and spent an evening right in the Piazza della Signoria at the Residenza d\u2019Epoca.\u00a0 The next morning, our driver, Diano, picked us up and drove us to Radda which is in the middle of the Chianti region.\u00a0 We dropped our luggage off at the hotel (Relais Vignale Hotel) \u00a0and headed out on our Vespa adventure.\u00a0 Mom really impressed me.\u00a0 She rode her own Vespa and traveled through some fun twisties and hairpin turns, without even as much as a yelp.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Our first stop was at the Fattoria di Albola in Santa Catarina, where we took a quick tour of the wine cellar and grounds followed by a wine tasting.\u00a0 We tasted some great Chiantis (both San Giovese 80% Carnaiolo 20% blends as well as 100% San Gioveses), Super Tuscans (Sangiovese, Merlot, and Cabernet blends), and Vin Santo, which is a white dessert wine of dried white grapes of the region which are squeezed and fermented in oak barrels for a minimum of\u00a08 years.\u00a0 Yea, we brought a couple of bottles of the reds home.\u00a0 I even learned the proper way to drink Grappa.\u00a0 See, you can teach an old dog a new trick!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>We spent Tuesday at the Castle Verranzzano located on a hilltop overlooking the Greve valley in the Chianti Region.\u00a0 The castle was built even before Italy was Italian (the Etruscan era) and was settled by the Verrazzano family in the 7th century.\u00a0 Giovanni da Verrazzano was born here in 1485 and went on to discover what is now the bay of New York and the American east coast.\u00a0 The famous (and expensive) bridge in New York carries his name.\u00a0 The vineyard in at the Castle was making wine as far back as 1170 and is renown for its Chianti’s and Super Tuscans.\u00a0 Not only did we go on an extensive tour, but experienced a great wine tasting of 6 different wines and grappa around a 5 course lunch.\u00a0 Tony, I think I finally understand what being\u00a0Chianti means and how they differ from Super Tuscans.\u00a0 You’d have loved this!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>“Hello, my name is Joan…and I’m an alcoholic.”\u00a0 Wednesday started with an early morning ride through some beautiful curving roads through Tuscany to the Brolio Castle in time for a 10:30 AM wine tasting.\u00a0 The Brolio Castle is where the tradition of Chianti wine making began.\u00a0\u00a0These are Chiantis that we have had in the US for many years.\u00a0 The big surprise was a tasty white dessert wine (not Vin Santo) that is not available in the US.\u00a0 So we picked up a couple of bottles.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As the morning was still young and we barely had a buzz, we traveled to the “micro” vineyard called “I (pronounced “EEE”) Selvatici”.\u00a0 This is a family run vineyard that specializes in a 100% San Giovese Super Tuscan with a very limited production and easily the best Vin Santo in the world.\u00a0 In fact, Mom has completely disowned her 40yr old Ports for this Vin Santo.\u00a0 Yeh, we got a couple of bottles here too.\u00a0 Lunch was at one of the best seafood restaurants that I have ever been to, Il Posto Usuale (The Usual Place).\u00a0 We started with Proseco and appetizers of fried cod, salmon and swordfish salad, squid salad, sauteed mussels, followed by pasta with octopus, squid, and mussels, followed by fried calamari, shrimp, large fried sardines.\u00a0 With this feast, we drank an interesting white wine from the Vesuzius area of Naples.\u00a0 Dessert was a medley of profiteroles, sweet custard, and tiramisu with, of course, espresso\/cappuccino.\u00a0 Needless to say, the Vespas strained under the added weight of our fat butts after that lunch.\u00a0 Wait, we still had dinner too!!!!!!\u00a0 We went to Pizzaria da Michele where we had pizzas that were made on crepe-like dough and beer (Mom drank wine). For dessert we had, are you ready?\u00a0 Chocolate pizza.\u00a0 Yep!\u00a0 crepe pizza dough covered with mozzarella, nutello, and whip cream.\u00a0 Incredible!!!!!!!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Thursday morning we rode our Vespas for an hour through the countryside to get to Il Borro.\u00a0 Il Borro is the private estate of Salvatore Ferragamo which is a “neighborhood” of medieval buildings, renovated by the Ferragamo family.\u00a0 The estate includes villas for rent, a vineyard, church, and the home and shops of local artisans, as well as L’Osteria del Borro which is the restaurant where Mom and I, took a cooking lesson from Chef Leonardo Bindini.\u00a0 We and four lovely ladies helped prepare our lunch which consisted of pear and pecorino risotto, tortelloni stuffed with zucchini and ricotta in a butter and thyme sauce, followed by minestrone soup, typical Tuscan tomato soup (crusty bread cooked right into the soup), and finished with chocolate mousse.\u00a0 The lunch was accompanied by a lovely bottle of local Super Tuscan.\u00a0 Check out the photo album for our cooking experience.\u00a0 The Vespas will definitely need some air in the tires before our trip tomorrow.\u00a0 We had dinner at Il Chiasso dei Portici in Radda.\u00a0 Dad started with a light eggplant lasagna, followed by a delicious stuffed quail to die for.\u00a0 Mom had a mixed salad and sliced beef with rosemary oil and roast potatoes.\u00a0 The wine was a great 2001 Brunnello from Santi Vineyards and dessert was a cinnamon apple muffin with stewed apples and ice cream on the side.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>On Friday we rode into Siena.\u00a0 Mom and I had been to Siena in the past and did the tourist thing, so we did a little shopping.\u00a0 We visited the Vespa dealership there and also looked through some of the leather shops and jewelry shops.\u00a0 We had lunch in a little place called da Trambicci Osteria.\u00a0 Mom had a hearty Tuscan soup and potato and meat croquettes.\u00a0 Dad had Bacala in tomato sauce and string beans and shared a half liter of homemade Chianti.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>On the way back to Radda from Siena we stopped at the exclusive Campanelle Vineyards, currently owned by the Orient Express.\u00a0 This vineyard first started making wines in 1994 and are noted for their Chianti Reserve, and three super Tuscans; a 100% San Giovese that is no longer available (we drank this the other night with dinner, see above), a 90% San Giovese 10% Black Malvese called Solare, and a 50% San Giovese, 50% Merlot called 50:50.\u00a0 They also make an incredible Chardonnay that would rival the best California Chardonnays!\u00a0 Only the Chiantis and the Solare are available in the States.\u00a0 Don’t worry Tony, we picked up a couple of bottles of the others!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Saturday we rode into Greve in Chianti and strolled through the open market.\u00a0 Vendors from all over Chianti have come to the central\u00a0piazza in Greve to sell their product every Saturday, non stop, since before the Medieval times!\u00a0 You can find just about everything here including groceries, clothing, and hardware.\u00a0 One of the delicacies sold here is a porchetta panino, which is a pork sandwich where the pig was stuffed with its spiced “innards” and then slow roasted on a spit.\u00a0 Hmmmmm!\u00a0 From Greve, we rode to lunch at Montagliari vineyard where we tasted their Chianti and Super Tuscan wines and lunched on an\u00a0crostini, insalata mista, roasted pheasant, and stewed lamb.\u00a0 It rained on the ride back, but Mom handled it like a seasoned rider!\u00a0 We had dinner this evening at the hotel restaurant where we ate pici in veal ragu, tripe in tomato and parmesan cheese, insalata mista and grilled pork\u00a0chop with a 1998 Brunello followed by tiramisu.\u00a0 Guess who ate what.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Sunday was our last day in Tuscany and what a day!\u00a0 OMG, we covered over 250 KM today and you guys would not believe Mom.\u00a0 We rode about 1.5 hours to the Banfi Estates in Montalcino to taste their Super Tuscan and Brunello.\u00a0 I don’t think Mom will ever taste a blush or her “Wild Horse” merlot again.\u00a0 We then rode for another hour to Arezzo for lunch.\u00a0 Mom was incredible!\u00a0 Not only did she keep up, but she was cooking at 65 mph on the autostrada!!!!\u00a0 We were traveling so fast that Mom couldn’t keep her jacket closed, so we had to wrap my belt around her to keep the jacket closed and Mom from getting airborne!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>We had lunch at this completely out of the way restaurant called Osteria da Giovanna.\u00a0There is no way we could ever find it again without a guide.\u00a0 This is a great family restaurant that actually started as a truck stop on the road between Siena and Le Marche and is now a secret local gourmet restaurant.\u00a0 Lunch today included: liver pate on crostini, ravioli stuffed with ricotta and spinach in butter and covered in slivered truffles, paparadelli in goose ragu, bacala in tomato sauce, grilled bacon, tripe, pork snout stew, pork liver with fennel, and white beans.\u00a0 Lunch was accompanied by a local Super Tuscan and we had chocolate torte for dessert.\u00a0 We needed the fortification for the long and chilly ride back to Radda.\u00a0 Can you believe that Mom ate pork snout??!!!!!!<\/p>\n

Here are a few more pictures and stories.\u00a0 Either click on the “slideshow” or arrow down to page through the pictures one at a time.\u00a0 Enjoy and don’t forget to leave a comment in the Guestbook!
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