After our first 2 days in Rome we took the train to Montecatini Terme in Tuscany. On our short walk to the hotel we saw the above going down the street and I thought “How cute is this?” I knew I was going to like it here.

The view from our hotel window the next morning. This was going to be our home base for our week long tour of Tuscany. We were about a half hour west of Florence and close to many of the Tuscany sites.

On our first morning in Tuscany we headed out for Chianti and I was able to catch the above shots on our way to Greve. The countryside here is beautiful.

We started the morning with a walk around Greve which was quiet and calm after the crazy over-crowded Rome. Settled in the 11th century this small town supports the Chianti wine and olive oil area. There was a small Sunday morning market going on with locals walking around talking and visiting with each other.

We went into one of  Italy’s oldest and most renowned butcher shops, the Macelleria Falorni. They also had a cheese room which smelled amazing.

The bells were ringing at the Propsitura di Santa Croce, the 4th church we went into during our stay in Italy.

Completed in 1835, it’s one of the more simple churches we went into. Mass was going to start soon so we just peeked in for a few minutes.

For lunch we headed to nearby Casa Museo Machiavelli. In the 15th century, this winery is where Niccolo Machiavelli, a famous diplomat and author, was living during his exile from Florence during the Medici period.

Before having a wine-tasting lunch we toured the winery.

The view from our table.

After a fabulous long Tuscan lunch and trying many wines (I only tasted the sparkling ones) they brought out the Limoncello. I’m not a big drinker anymore since I’ve had stomach issues over the years but what is that saying? “When In Rome?” I did have a few sips and it was so good. Everyone was dozing on that 30 minute bus ride back to the hotel late that afternoon.

The next day we went to Cinque Terre and I think that was my favorite but more on that later.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) at Image-In-Ing.