Hey friends! I’m so excited to finally share my Italy travel guides with y’all! Since we returned so many people have asked questions about our trip. I’m so glad I now have a way of sharing all the details with you! I hope you enjoy these guides as much as I enjoy putting them together! Let me know when your next trip to Italy is. I’m happy to answer any questions!

Italy has been a destination that I’ve wanted to get back to for years. I fell in love with Italy when I was a teenager and couldn’t wait to travel back as an adult with my husband! Italy has been such a popular travel destination lately and for good reason! I’ve traveled a lot in my life and it’s my favorite country (so far). We’re currently trying to plan our trip for this year, so please comment below and tell me your favorite place!

I’m going to start with my Tuscany guide, since it was our first stop on our amazing 10-night Italy adventure. Let’s go!

What I packed in my carry on:

My Sony a6300, extra batteries, Euros (we pre-ordered through Bank of America and highly recommend ordering through your bank ahead of time), two memory cards, chargers, Apple AirPods, a change of clothes, all of my jewelry, my makeup bag, and medications.

What I wore on the flight:

Since I knew we wanted to waste no time when we arrived I showered and did my hair the same afternoon we boarded our flight. I’m always freezing on planes so I made sure to dress in layers! I wore my favorite yoga pants, zip up, a large scarf that doubles as a blanket, and my blush pink Vionic sneaks. My intentions were to sleep the entire flight, since we boarded at 4:30pm EST and were flying through the night. But, neither of us slept a wink. We were too excited!

How we got to Tuscany:

Since we had 10 nights in Italy, we chose to travel as direct as possible. We splurged on all of our transportation, and it was totally worth it!

We booked a non-stop, round trip flight on Delta and it was amazing. Since we wanted to go to Italy for years we saved up plenty of SkyMiles for the trip. Our flight into Rome was actually early. The Delta service coming and going was top notch!

Once we deplaned, we made our way through the massive crowd at customs. Let me just tell you there aren’t very many employees working the lines and managing the crowds. We quickly made some American friends and worked together to navigate through the lines. Since we landed early we were still right on schedule!

TIP: Check ahead of time to see if your passport can be scanned electronically to get through customs. Saves a lot of time!

Booked a private driver:

We booked a private driver through Rome Airporter (€300) and I highly recommend using them. It was the lowest cost and highest quality we found during our research! When we reached out, we gave them the GPS coordinates to where we were staying and they gave us the exact price. Most drivers only accept cash, so be prepared.

After you pick up your luggage, you will meet your driver in the main hall. Trust me you won’t miss it. You will see dozens of drivers standing there waving a sign with your last name on it. We spotted our name, met our driver, then he led us to a very clean private bathroom where I changed my clothes, shoes, and brushed my teeth. From there he led us to his beautiful black Mercedes. It was so clean and he had cold bottled waters waiting for us. Since I knew it would take 2 hours to get to Tuscany, I did my makeup in the car. If you need to do your makeup or take a power nap this provides you the perfect opportunity with stunning Tuscan views.

Getting Around While in Tuscany:

After booking our stay at Follonico I received an email from our host, Fabio, with a detailed eBook that included information about what to do, eat, visit, and drink in the area. I used his eBook to plan our stay. Since we didn’t want to rent a car, I wasn’t sure how we were going to get around. This was the one thing that caused the most stress during my planning. I emailed Fabio and asked him if he had any driver recommendations. I sent him our detailed itinerary and asked if he knew anyone that lived nearby that would be willing to drive us around during our stay. Well we were in luck! Fabio had a friend in a nearby village, Montefollonico, who would agree to be our driver! Even though he didn’t speak much English, we had the best time together. He couldn’t wait to show off his city and he took our photo at all the stops!

Day 1

Arriving in Tuscany:

After miles of country roads, we made it to our little slice of heaven, Follonico! There wasn’t any traffic on the roads and we arrived earlier than expected. Our hosts, Suzanne and Fabio, greeted us with the most amazing cappuccino! We got acquainted with the property, their two dogs, and all the beautiful farm animals. The property exceeded my expectations.

Funny story… I had a specific vision of Tuscany and wanted something I couldn’t even describe. Trust me, just ask Michael. One night I couldn’t sleep and was doing some research through hashtags on Instagram. Desperate to find a place I came across a beautiful photo. I almost woke Michael up, but I decided to wait until the morning. With only one room left for the dates that we were going to be there I said should we book and without hesitation he said yes! It was so relaxing and knew immediately that this was going to be a place we would return! 

Authentic Italian cooking class:

When we were planning our trip to Italy we each made a must do list. One thing I couldn’t wait to do was an authentic Italian cooking class. We wasted no time, and after two hours of relaxing on the property our host, Fabio called us into his kitchen to get started. He poured us a glass of delicious red wine made from the grapes grown on his property and got started.

What we made:

Sourdough bread – Fabio makes fresh sourdough bread every single morning so we had some of that with EVOO, salt and pepper. So simple, yet so tasty!

Raw Zucchini Salad – We sliced some raw zucchini, chopped some mint from the garden, tossed it all in balsamic vinegar, and topped with shaved pecorino cheese and cracked pepper. This made for a cold refreshing side before we got started with the homemade pasta.

Pork Tenderloin – If it doesn’t come from their own farm, then it comes from Podere il Casale. One thing I loved so much about Italy was that everything is locally sourced, fresh, and they don’t use nasty chemicals. We cooked the pork chops in a pan on the gas stove with a delicious red wine roux. Michael was in heaven!

Handmade Pasta – We made two different kinds of pasta by hand. A butter, sage, and parmesan ravioli and my personal favorite a pumpkin, nutmeg, butter, and parmesan fettuccini. Making handmade pasta is a workout, but so worth it! We recreated the pumpkin pasta on Halloween, so I’ll be sharing that recipe very soon!

Tiramisu – We actually made the tiramisu first since it had to be kept in the refrigerator for some time before we could eat it. It was by far the best tiramisu I’ve ever had and still want to try and recreate it at home! Should I?

After our cooking class we got the keys to our suite. With only six rooms on the property we booked the Verde Intenso, the only suite that was still available. We loved our room and highly recommend it!

Once we settled in a bit we decided to change into our swimsuits and take a dip in the infinity pool. We ended up falling asleep by the pool and had a much-needed power nap. The property is far away from everything, yet magically close. With miles of vineyards and rolling hills you can only hear the nature that surrounds you. Every chirp, splash, sheep bell, and nay!

Dinner in Montepulciano:

We met our driver for the first time, as he came to pick us up for dinner. We ate at one of Rick Steve’s highly recommended restaurants, Osteria dell Acquacheta, in Montepulciano. You can only make reservations over the phone and they only have two seating times per night, so we had our host make us reservations a couple of days in advance.

If you’re visiting Montepulciano, I highly recommend eating here! The menus are hand written and always changing. What doesn’t change is that they have a wood-burning oven and a huge wooden stump on which there is always a loin ready to cut for the “Fiorentina” steaks. We asked for the smallest cut of meat, and after they chopped the Fiorentina steak nearby in their open kitchen, the server brought it to our table and wrote 1.55kg (3.4lbs) on the placemat. We ate the whole thing and also shared a €6 liter of house wine.

We waddled out of there with a full belly and couldn’t wait to get a good night sleep for the next full day ahead!

Day 2

After a good night sleep, we were excited for our full day exploring Tuscany!

We woke up to one of the most amazing breakfast I’ve ever had. Our hosts prepared a fresh four course breakfast every morning (a foodie’s heaven!). Breakfast starts at 8am and we were one of the first ones at the table. We met other couples staying on the property as well. After enjoying breakfast outside overlooking the vineyards, it was time to meet up with our driver.

Montepulciano

First stop, Montepulciano. We strolled around the city and admired all of the cobblestone sidewalks and the architecture. We stopped inside Caffe Poliziano to grab a drink. Make sure to take in the picturesque views of Tuscany from the balcony! From there we went searching for Terrazza Del Palazzo Comunale! It was a windy and a very narrow climbed to the top. Make sure and bring a camera, because this corner of Tuscany is straight out of a story book!  

On our way out of town we drove by the Church of San Biagio and it was beautiful! If you’re spending the day in Montepulciano there’s a restaurant that came highly recommended right beside the church called La Grotta.

Now it’s off to enjoy some wine! We drove through some windy country roads before arriving at Salcheto for a tour and tasting. Salcheto was the first company in the world to have certified the carbon footprint of a bottle of wine. How neat is that! Their wine is all organic with no added sulfites, leaving you feeling great even if you drink a whole bottle yourself. Gosh don’t you just love Italy already? Our favorite was the Nobile di Montepulciano. We bought a bottle to enjoy during our stay. We’re kicking ourselves for not buying more. Funny story, when we were in Chicago in December we looked around Eatly for the wine and they had it! We bought a bottle and enjoyed it in our hotel room. (Check out my Winter Weekend in Chicago post here).

Pienza

Our second stop was Pienza and it was my favorite! Before visiting the Pienza city hall we stopped for lunch at Podere il Casale. This ancient farm is 100% organic, home to a farm-to-table restaurant serving fresh Italian dishes, with some of the best views of Tuscany. We started with the cheese plate and it was the best we had our whole trip. Pienza is the capital of pecorino cheese, so you have to have some while you’re there. After finishing our lunch, I knew they had animals onsite so we asked if we could go visit them. They said absolutely. With wine in hand we got to play with the animals and even met a pig named Prosciutto (I know, I know). I highly recommend coming here. Everything was delicious! Make sure to call ahead and specify a nice table with a view of Pienza. 

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After lunch we headed to the Pienza City Hall. Pienza was my favorite Tuscan town! It is so charming, quaint and I felt like I was in a fairy tale walking along the cobblestone roads. We got tickets and visited the beautiful Palazzo Piccolomini Gardens. Walk to the end of the gardens and just admire the views. I could have stayed there all day.

From there we walked toVia dell’Amore (love street) and took a selfie under the romantic sign. You will find beautiful views of cypress trees, country roads and hillside landscapes.

When doing my research I stumbled upon a small family owned wine shop that made wine good enough for the Pope! They offer tastings between 3pm – 8pm. Luckily we were there during that time and got the pleasure of meeting one of the brothers of Enoteca Di Ghino. We came in as strangers, but left as friends. We even brought back a bottle of our favorite wine we tasted to have that night.

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Before we left we grabbed our first gelato of our trip from Buon Gusto Gelateria. Just the first of many!

Monticchiello

On the way to Monticchiello you will pass by the Monticchiello View Point. Make sure you stop and take photos of the cypresses winding road with famous postcard views of Val d’Orcia. It’s absolutely stunning! Our driver snapped this photo of us.

We arrived at the small sleepy town of Monticchiello to visit the grounds of La Porta and to enjoy some wine and espresso atLa Guardiola Wine & Food. We sat under fig trees and relaxed with beautiful Tuscan views. 

After relaxing a bit, it was time to head back to Follonico. As we got closer our driver said in broken English, “Can I show you my home?” We of course said yes and he was so excited to show off his hometown, the Village of Montefollonico. It was so quaint. I loved the fact that Tuscany is still mainly made up of locals. It has such an authentic feel and the locals are so nice.

Once we got back to Follonico we freshened up, changed for dinner, and opened a bottle of wine we had gotten from Salcheto earlier that day. We noticed that our hosts were going to feed the animals, so we grabbed our camera and went to join them. I was in heaven.

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After the sun went down it was almost time for our driver to pick us up for our dinner reservation. We sat outside finishing up our wine gazing up at the stars. The property is so quiet and is pitch black at night since there are no surrounding properties.

We headed to the village of Bettolle to have dinner at Walter Redaelli. We sat outside in their garden and had a wonderful dinner. By the end of dinner, we were exhausted! What a wonderful day exploring Tuscany!

Day 3

We woke up early enough to get the most of our last morning on the property! Boy we were sad to leave, but we were excited to continue on our Italy adventure at the same time. As I said earlier once we arrived we immediately knew this was a place that we would return one day!

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We enjoyed our last 4 course breakfast at Follonico, relaxed, and took more photos of the breathtakingly beautiful property, then said see you soon to our hosts. Our driver came to pick us up and he drove us to Florence! It was so nice being with the same driver the whole time. He was right on time and so friendly. We felt safe and taken care of the whole time. I highly recommend this service when you visit. It allowed us to enjoy wine and enjoy the countryside without getting lost or fumbling for directions! We met some other couples during our stay at Follonico that said they had never fought so much and got so frustrated trying to find their way around.

Thank you for following along on our Tuscan adventure!

Be on the lookout for my Florence travel guide coming up next!

P.S. I wanted to share some other recommendations I came across during our research!

To Stay:

Lupaia    

Fattoria Lavacchio

Mormoraia

Salvadonica

 

To Eat:

La Grotta Ristorante

La Bandita Townhouse

Latte di Luna

 

To Do:

Wine Tours

Truffle Hunting

Avignonesi Wine Tour and Lunch

 

Inspired, Maryashley Fisher