In June, I had the good fortune and pleasure of spending two weeks in Italy. This was my second visit, the first being our honeymoon travels to Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan back in … well, a long time ago. Since then, I’ve been hoping to explore other areas of this picturesque country. As this was our kids’ first visit, we started out in Rome and ended in Venice, which was the city they were most excited to see. Envisioning the charming, leisurely lifestyle depicted in “Under the Tuscan Sun” (more so in the movie, than the book), we spent the intervening week relaxing in beautiful Tuscany. While I loved Rome and appreciate the novelty of Venice, my favorite part of the trip was Tuscany. Our week there was the perfect break from the busy-ness of the big cities and tourist attractions. The best part was our home base for the week — Poggio al Casone, a winery in the small town of Crespina, within the Province of Pisa, and about an hour-long drive from Florence.
I’m always hopeful that vacation spots are as good as they appear in pictures and Poggio al Casone did not disappoint. Once the gates opened, we drove up a pebbled road bordered by two roads of towering Cypress trees, beyond which were rows of grapevines.
As we reached the top of the hill, we saw three glorious buildings that house ten apartments and the office. Our apartment sat over the office, allowing us privacy and unobstructed, breathtaking views of the winery. The apartment itself was charming and comfortable. Although the kitchen was small, it was nice to be able to cook and eat at our temporary home for a change.
You know how Tuscany looks in the movies? Well, that’s how it was here. I literally took hundreds of photos of the grounds alone, but here are just a few:
The kids loved borrowing the bicycles and riding around the grounds. We loved going for walks after dinner (the sun didn’t set until about 9pm), grilling amongst the olive trees, and dining al fresco while enjoying our surroundings. And of course, the pool.
Poggio al Casone was the ideal location for our homebase in Tuscany. During our stay, we visited many small towns (check back for future posts) and were always happy to come back to this beautiful agriturismo.
Photos courtesy of RevolvingDecor.com
