Day 4: Tuscan countryside

I woke at 4.30 this morning.  I got five hours of sleep, so I wasn't particularly worried about flaming out during the day. Plus, given our planned activities, there will be plenty of opportunities for cat naps.  R, on the other hand, had a really rough night and kept his parents up all night.  So, W & R stayed in town while the rest of us hopped in a van with Massimo to venture into the Tuscan countryside.  D planned a day trip for us!

45 minutes out of town, our first stop was the Castello di Verrazzano outside Greve in Chianti.  The winery is owned by the descendants of the Verrazzano family (the same one with the narrows and the bridge named after them in NYC).  We had a tour of the grounds and then a wine tasting.  The winery is organic, so there are a lot of restrictions placed on what the vineyard can do on the grounds, including irrigation, pesticides, etc. H was tired for much of the tour, but she rallied when she was given colored pencils and paper in lieu of wine at the tasting!

After the wine tasting, we piled back into the van.  Massimo drove us into Greve in Chianti for a quick walkabout and a bite for lunch.  On the menu was ravioli with sage cream sauce, lasagna, and gnocchi (of course).  The shops were all closed, but the piazza was cute!

After lunch, Massimo brought us down to Radda in Chianti, an ancient mountaintop town.  We expected to spend around an hour in the town, but we only lasted around 40 minutes, partly because shops were closed, and partly because it was chilly.  

After we were done chilling ourselves on the mountaintop, Massimo drove us back to town as we all snoozed.   When we got back to Firenze, he took us to a pharmacy to grab some supplies for W.  We came back to the flat to visit with W & R, who were both awake and chilling out.  

S and I ran out to All'Antico Vinaio for delicious sandwiches for the whole family!  Then we put the kids to bed and failed to stay awake. Off to bed!  Another big day tomorrow!