Our first full day in Florence, we took a side trip to Tuscany (about an hour away). We spent the entire day touring with our guide, Angela. This was definitely one of our favorite parts of the Italy trip. Tuscany is beautiful and completely peaceful.
The first picture below is looking down on Florence as we were driving out of town.
On our tour of Tuscany, we went to two vineyards to taste Chianti Classico, olive oil, and honey. All of the vineyards in the area traditionally produce all three on location. We learned a lot about how Chianti is made and all of the regulations you must meet to get the DOCG certification for your Chianti. The photo below shows Cyprus trees at one of the vineyards.
Olive trees at the same vineyard (this photo was done in Antique colors)
Part of the castle where we ate lunch. I had the freshest, yummiest spelt salad!
Acres and acres of vines
A view of some of the tiny medieval towns scattered among the hills
Back in Florence now. Can't remember which church this is...
The Ponte Vecchio (Italian for "old bridge") over the Arno River. In addition to being a bridge, it is also the home to many goldsmiths and jewelry shops.
Facade of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (part of "the Duomo"). The campanile (bell tower) is on the right.
We climbed the over 400 stairs of the campanile to get better views of the Duomo.
The following are views of the Duomo from the campanile. The Duomo is still the largest brick and morter dome in the world.
View of Florence from the top of the campanile (done in antique colors)
The photos of the Duomo are definitely some of my favorites. It was hard to pick which ones to put on the blog!
