Wine fraud, Gucci and a Xylophone

The title sounds like the start of a joke - but keep reading - it's all in there!

Siena was lovely from the beginning. To start with, our hotel was literally across the road from the train station, had an excellent shower and was close to a supermarket. I know this sounds like I’m joking but these are the things that matter when you travel for extended periods!

We were a short walk from the old town which was quaint and very pretty. The Siena Duomo is truly spectacular both outside and particularly inside - I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Other than visiting the old town our planned time in Siena was pretty much all centred on one activity - a wine tour of the Brunello di Montalcino region. My girlfriends an I had been looking forward to this, envisioning rolling hills bathed in sun, pungent cheese, rich aromatic wines - and the tour did not disappoint! We were picked up in the morning by Franco who runs his own business. Already in the van were a couple from Ireland, who may in fact be the nicest couple I have ever met! We set off in to the hills together for a day filled with fresh produce, amazing scenery and great company. it was clear Franco’s whole life was wine and more specifically the wine of this region which is serious business. Brunello wine is ONLY made with Sangiovese grapes and the whole process is so regulated that a) each winery can only produce a certain number of bottles per year even if the harvest is fantastic and they could make more b) has to be certified by the government and sealed with a label that is printed at the mint and c) imposes up to a 6 year prison sentence for anyone who intentionally commits ‘wine fraud’!!!! Okay I made up the term ‘wine fraud’ but the sentence is real and this strict adherence to process is what make Brunello wine so prestigious

Aside from the beautiful vineyards, hospitable people and amazingly yummy produce, what struck me about the day was how in awe of such incredible, bountiful and natural surroundings all of us city slickers were! The idea that we could pick and eat fruit straight from the trees (which we did), that plants were used as natural insecticides and that so many of the processes were carried out by hand not machines, were all things that were so foreign but so alluring. The amount of times I heard someone yell ‘look it’s a pumpkin!’ and ‘oh my goodness check out these pomegranates (/zucchinis/ tomatoes etc etc)!’ was a reminder at how far removed from nature most of us are.

Exhausted from all the excitement of a brilliant day, we had an early night to get up for our train ride to Monerosso the next day. However in the morning, we arrived to a completely empty train station. Trenitalia decided to strike for 24 hours! We finally managed to cram ourselves onto a bus to Florence in the rain, with many grumpy tourists, locals and a few of their canine companions and due to our very packed schedule and no way to get to Cinque Terre that night, sadly decided to forgo that part of our plan for 2 more days in Florence.

Florence is incredibly special to me so the decision was bittersweet. We spent the next few days filling our eyes, brains and of course stomachs with all that Florence has to offer. I went back to a restaurant to eat the Spaghetti Vongole I had been dreaming about since I ate it over 4 years ago! We browsed a history of fine fashion (including one of 200 special edition Gucci Cadillac Sevilles!) at the Gucci Museum, visited the Ufizzi and the Academia, watched an Orchestra play in the Museo Orsanmichele, heard 12 Arias sung by a baritone and soprano in a little church on the other side of the Arno and of course drank more than one Aperol spritzes while sitting by the Ponte Vecchio.

We sadly said goodbye to Florence and then jumped on a train to the last part of our Italian adventure - The City of Canals - Venezia. While immediately beautiful, getting anywhere with luggage in Venice is a pain in the ar$e! We hired a porter at the station and walked over a million bridges (okay like 7) to our little Air BNB in the Jewish Quarter. This area was fantastic. It was still bustling and beautiful but not insanely busy or expensive like it was in San Marco. We took it pretty easy in Venice. We ticked off a few of the tourist attractions - a visit to Saint Marks Basilica (stunning - particularly on the inside) as well as had the obligatory $50 glass of prosecco at Cafe Florian. We actually didn’t make it onto a gondola but saw many of them! Our highlight was a gorgeous last night dinner at Osteria Al Cantinon, right near our apartment followed by a couple of hours listening to a brilliant jazz band consisting of a piano, double base, drummer and a xylophone (!!!!) at the Venice Jazz club.

My last evening with my two Sydney travelling companions! (I would post a photo of the 3 of us but am protecting their privacy for when my blog goes viral..) Although the past 3 weeks had been a great mix of highlights and driving each other slightly nuts, it was sad to say goodbye and go our separate ways. The next day I jumped on a plane for a ‘travel break’ in London with my surrogate brother and family. As much as I could write an entire post on how adorable Paul and Kym’s daughter Milly is - I will skip over that week and touch base again soon to update you on Amsterdam.