Thursday, July 17, 2014

Italy Part 3

Heading off on a bicycle tour through Tuscany!!



We toured this castle first.  We were shown where they make wine and Olive Oil on site!  Very cool.


The wine-filled barrels

Then we got the sample the on-site created products!

Incredible views from the castle top.


These barrels of wine are stored here for over 100 years!






And off we go!  About to hop on ;-)

We stopped in a cute little restaurant for a delicious lunch.  And a much needed drying-off session, as the first half of our bicycle tour was accompanied by DOWNPOURING rain.  So nuts.  It was like a scene out of a movie.  I was so wet, it was as if I had jumped into a lake and then climbed out and onto my bike.


But we dried off easily after lunch ;-) the sun was out and shining.


One of my fellow bicycle riders, Matt.  I had a lovely dinner with him and his Mom later on this evening.  We all had a great click :-) lots of fun!





This is the same castle we toured...but from afar.  And check out those sunflower fields, whoa.




I loved it so much, I had to go back for seconds.  This is where Matt, Monique and myself went to dinner.  And I enjoyed for a second time the incredibly Gorgonzola and pear gnocchi.

And amazing chocolate torte for dessert.  SO rich and yummy.


My god, do I love pesto.  And especially in Italy.  One of the best pestos I ever had was here on this trip.

I Googled "Best Tiramisu in Florence."  This is where it led me.  And yes, it was excellent.

Spent my last afternoon here, reading in the rose garden perched high above Florence.






Pizza time!!!  And yes, I was skeptical when this came out.  In fact my heart fell initially.  I had been expecting pizza with tomato sauce and cheese, the whole works.  With the mushrooms, truffle oil and Parmesan added as toppings.  But no, this came out.  However it was shockingly delicious.




<3 love this photo of Florence.  I waited up here for an hour to get this, and the following photos of the city.






Last night.  Delicious Sacher Torte while watching the activity in the piazza and writing in my journal about my travels.



My heart stopped when I spotted, in the Paris airport, a Laduree shop.  An INCREDIBLE, well known pastry shop from Paris.  However they only had macaroons (which I am not a fan of).  None of the showstopping pastries they have in the actual shop in Paris.  Bummer.  So I just snapped a photo ;-)




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