Chapter 12 - A Michelin Star Tuscany welcome

Goodbye Florence

As we left Florence for Tuscany, we asked the driver to pull over for one last picture.

This is one of the gates to the original city wall.

Florence was just a flat-out great experience. We learned so much about the Renaissance, had great walks and at great food. But our excitement looking forward was high, we would soon be fulfilling one of the main objectives of our trip, visiting great Italian wineries and tasting their wares. That was to wait two more days at a more relaxed pace after much city touring and walking, starting with Elaine's Tuscan cooking demonstration/class.

The Tuscan Cooking Adventure

We headed south out of Florence into Chianti province to the restaurant, Il Colombaio. It is located in a small village just outside the walls of the medieval town Casole d'Elsa, in the upper part of Val d'Elsa, on the borders of the province of Siena and not far from San Gimignano and Volterra. This is their view - so Tuscan!

The young chef (who has already won one Michelin star) showed Elaine how to make tortellini filled with ricotta and blue cheese in a pumpkin sauce and a wonderful apple cake,

Elaine and the chef walked in the restaurant's garden to pick the fresh marjoram, oregano and thyme.  

Meanwhile, Lester watched the staff make...gelato!

Then the best, eating the food for lunch in the lovely dining room with wonderful art.

The meal added delicious appetizers and breads to what the "team" made.

Here is the finished pasta.

They added a main of chicken cooked sud vide and then sauteed to a perfect crust. This was paired with two beautiful Tuscan reds.  

The desert was the apple cake.

What is amazing is that the restaurant was charming, with wonderful art superb food yet completely reasonably priced—excellence without pretension.  

Our Fabulous Tuscan Hotel

The ride from the restaurant to the hotel was another hour of panoramic views of rolling countryside and vineyards.

Our hotel, Villa Poggiano, a renovated private estate, was the most magical stay on our trip. It is located about 2 km from Montepulciano in a park-like setting. This is the entrance drive.

The grounds are lush, charming and full of statuary.

There is a lovely pool, but early May was a bit too cool for a dip.

Our favorite spot was a patio at the back of the property overlooking farms, vines and the Tuscan hills. This is part of that view.

It was a great spot to read or catch up on email.

The main view was breathtaking, whether by day...

or evening.

A Great Dinner that Became an Adventure

Our first Tuscany dinner restaurant was in Monticchiello about 15 minutes from the hotel up winding roads. There is only one taxi in town so we were completely at their mercy. It was 30 euros to travel up the 5-6 miles of winding roads to reach the restaurant. A travel lesson for those without a car - check on this ahead of time. 

Monticchiello is a walled town very picturesque at the top of a hill. Though inside a very old building, the restaurant was very modern.  

We began with Prosecco and a cannoli bean amuse Bouche. The starter was hare liver pate with onions jam on toast—so light and flavorful. 

Then risotto with pear, red cabbage and Gorgonzola. An unusual combination that was so delicious and the highlight of the meal.  

The main was a very rich beef cheek in red wine sauce—very flavorful and tender - and dessert was a yummy citrus cheesecake accompanied by a local dessert wine—a nice touch. No gourmet gelato stores in the sticks!

We both drank local wines—Elaine had an incredible vino nobile while Lester had another local Montepulciano red. The staff was so warm and friendly.  

The real adventure started when we called for the taxi and they said it would be an hour. While waiting for the taxi we took a short walk around the beautiful old town.

70 minutes and two calls later the taxi ( a different car and driver) showed up. He dashed us back to the hotel via back road in less than 10 minutes. There is definitely a back story there although we will never know what it is.  

The happy ending - when we returned to the restaurant after our walk, they gave us a taste of a remarkable Montepulciano and then the rest of the bottle. Just such a friendly warm touch to finish the evening and get some bad taste out of our mouth.