Tavarnelle val di pesa
Italy has always meant a lot to us as we are both mostly Italian. Growing up, it meant unbelievable food, close family, and always listening to your Mother. We were curios to see how our experience in Italy would compare to the Italian ideals we had grown up with. Our first stop was a small Tuscan town called Tavarnelle Val di Pesa where we stayed in a villa at the top of a hill with porches overlooking vineyards in all directions. It was extremely hot, and the country was in the midst of a severe drought, but huge windows on both sides let the dry air flow right through the house. There was even a little pool that we had to ourselves, which was a necessity in the 105-degree heat.
We stayed for 10 days, day-tripping to medieval villages, including San Gimignano, Lucca, Siena and Florence. Some days we would spend hours just driving through the vineyards and taking pictures. We will always be tourists in Italy, but culturally, it felt familiar in a subtle way, we had a lot in common with this place and these people.