Heidi Visit, Part 1: Florence & Tuscany

Taylor's  mom, Heidi, flew out from California to spend ten days with us in Italy. I had been looking forward to her visit for weeks! Logan was excited to see his Grams, and Taylor and I were eager to show her some of our favorite places in Florence and Rome, as well as visit Tuscany and some hill towns in between...and eventually make our way up to Venice! We did so much during her ten-day visit, that I will have to break it up into more than one blog post!

Heidi arrived on a Wednesday evening, traveling on three different flights during her journey. I planned one of our favorite Italian meals at home: bruschetta (a recipe I learned to make in my cooking class), pesto on trofie pasta, and a salad. After dinner, we went out for a quick evening stroll to show her our favorite place, Piazza della Signoria, beneath the Palazzo Vecchio, and then we grabbed gelato while sitting beneath the Duomo (the first of many gelato treats during her stay).

Heidi's first evening in Florence. We took her for a gelato by the Duomo.

The next day we toured the Duomo (The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore), the bell tower (Giotto’s Campanile), and the Baptistry (Baptistry of Saint John). We bought our tickets and started the morning with our climb up the bell tower. 414 steps up for a gorgeous 360 degree view of Florence. Logan did the climb with us (with a bit of help). It was beautiful at the top and fun to see all of our favorite places from above. After we came down from the climb we toured the church interior, and ventured beneath the church where they are doing some archeological excavations. 

Next up was a tour of the Baptistry. The Baptistry of Florence is almost 1000 years old, one of the oldest buildings in the city. It was constructed between 1059 and 1128. Many important Renaissance figures such as the Italian poet, Dante, were baptized here centuries ago. The inside of the Baptistry is breathtaking. A golden ceiling of heavenly scenes beckons you to gaze upwards. Jesus sits at the front of the dome and gives the ultimate thumbs up or down regarding entry into heaven. Beneath him a three-headed devil consumes sinners as a meal. It's no wonder that staring at this ceiling as a child, Dante was inspired to write the incredibly graphic poem about taking a trip down to hell and back up to heaven in his Divine Comedy. Logan loves going into churches, and in the Baptistry he looked right up at the golden Jesus on the dome and told me, “That’s my friend, Jesus!” 

The ceiling of the Baptistry. Logan's friend, Jesus.

After spending our morning hours at the Duomo sights, we had worked up quite the appetite. We wanted to show Heidi the Central Market, so we headed there for lunch. Upstairs above the stalls of gorgeous fresh and dried fruit, vegetables, meats, cheeses, flowers, spices, oils and more, there is a variety of stands serving freshly-made Italian specialties, along with wine and beer. We ordered gnocchi with pesto, mushroom ravioli with a meat sauce, and a margherita pizza. The gnocchi with pesto was one of the most amazing meals I've had since coming to Italy!

We left Florence on a Friday to head into Tuscany for the weekend. We would be headed through Tuscany in a rental car on our way to Rome. After an irritating experience with two car rental companies who didn't have a car seat for us (both of which we had a reservation with that included a car seat), we finally found a company that was able to accommodate our needs (for a price) and we headed into the hill towns of Tuscany. 

Our rental car for the Tuscan weekend!

Our first stop was San Gimignano, about 45 minutes outside of Florence. Sitting on a hill with 14 stone towers (those remaining of an original 72 towers), it is a well-preserved medieval town. We followed the narrow streets through town, stopping for a delicious lunch (pesto on pappardelle pasta for me - I can't get enough), and got a gelato in the center of town where Logan played on their large well. Then we walked up through town to an old olive grove and climbed a free tower for a view of the city. Tuscany is stunning from both the ground and from above!

Outside the restaurant for lunch.

Shopping for souvenirs.

Logan on the well, town center.

In the olive grove at the top of the town.

After our tour of San Gimignano, we finished our drive to our home for the next two nights: Il Canto del Sole, a renovated 18th century farm house a few miles outside of Siena. Luciano (who owns and runs the B&B with his wife, Laura, and their son, Marco), greeted us with a warm welcome and showed us to our room. We settled in and explored the property. Outside our room was a lovely sitting room with a fireplace, antique furniture, and a covered patio outside French doors. Logan quickly discovered the farm's friendly, young, orange cat, Cece, who was napping on a couch in the common room. Cece was completely content to have an extremely excited toddler pet, kiss and pull on her while she purred and drooled with joy.

Luciano was able to provide us with a bottle of wine and three glasses which we gladly carried outside to enjoy beside the saltwater pool with a view of vineyards all around. Logan explored the grassy area and enjoyed getting his clothes soaked by leaning over the edge and splashing in the pool. We later went to dinner five miles down the road at a pizzeria recommended by Luciano.

The next morning, after enjoying a personal, friendly breakfast at the farm, we headed into Siena. 

Parking by Porta Romana we walked into town. Siena is gorgeous with a vast central square (Piazza del Campo) shaped like a big sea shell. 

Heidi and I loved browsing the shops and seeing all the different flags for the different townships that make up Siena. 

We made our way towards the Siena Cathedral, which is beautiful and is covered in a plethora of statues and color. 

We then made our way back to the square where we picked up some delicious and inexpensive sandwiches, then sat and ate while we watched a car show that was cruising through town. While we all quite enjoyed the beauty of Siena, there were unfortunately lots of tiny flies that kept biting us on any exposed skin. Logan was getting upset by all the bugs, and none of us enjoyed them either. They were clearly annoying the throngs of tourists milling about swatting and scratching at their arms, necks and legs. So after lunch we headed quickly out of Siena and decided against returning for dinner.

We got back to Il Canto del Sole in time for Logan to have an afternoon nap in our room while the the rest of us sat just outside the door, in the sitting room, and finished our bottle of wine and read our books. 

When Logan awoke later, Heidi and I took him down to see all the farm animals (donkeys, horses, cats, dogs etc.), and discovered Luciano working with the tractor for the grape harvest. Logan sweetly asked Luciano, “I drive?” and Luciano kindly complied, pulling Logan onto his lap for a cruise through the vineyards. This was definitely the highlight of Logan's time on the farm! 

We found a kitty in the planter!

A tractor ride through Tuscany!

Later that evening we went to a second restaurant recommendation from Luciano and enjoyed an amazing Tuscan meal outside with a beautiful view.

The next morning we had to get up early for a two and a half hour drive to Rome where we returned the car and set out on a fast-paced tour to show Heidi the best of what Rome has to offer: the Colosseum, Pantheon, Giolitti’s fabulous gelato, the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica. Read about Rome, and our return to Florence to see Michelangelo’s David in the next blog!