What do you do with a free day in Florence? Obviously, take a Vespa tour through the Tuscan countryside and enjoy a wine tasting.
Today was amazing. Emily, Carrie, and I had a rocky start in the morning when the original Vespa tour we had wanted to book was full. We looked at other options as we walked around the city to no avail. But, after scouring the internet I found an amazing sunset Vespa tour through the Tuscan countryside for a pretty solid price.
After securing our tickets online we trekked across the city to the booking office to make sure this offer wasn’t too good to be true. When we arrived at the Tuscan Cycles office we were greeted by an employee who had studied communications at the University of Pittsburgh. Small world, isn’t it.
She recommended a great spot for lunch before the tour and the three of us were able to try the famous Florentine steak. It was absolutely incredible and practically rare, but I loved it. It was so flavorful and juicy and was the perfect source of energy for the rest of the afternoon.
After absolutely devouring that steak we hopped in a minibus and headed into the Tuscan countryside, into the Pontassieve area. Our first stop was a wine tasting at Castello del Trebbio where Carrie and I both agreed we had the best wine we had ever tasted. Only in Italy would they host a wine tasting before you are supposed to operate a Vespa, but that’s neither here nor there.
A tour of the wine cellar followed the tasting and it was fascinating. Aging a wine is a truly scientific process. I cannot even comprehend how people discovered that you need to store Spumante at an angle so the bubbles are the right size.
Then it was time for the Vespas. Even though we had a guide I was still very nervous to drive one due to my inability to ride a bike and my lack of real driving experience despite having my license. I kind of proved myself right. I could not balance to save my life and ended up riding on the back of Emily’s instead. It was so enjoyable to just take in the beauty of Tuscany without the stress of navigating the roads.
The mountains and vineyards surrounding us were amazing and our guide was a great photographer which was a nice bonus. At the end of the two-hour ride, we all popped open a bottle of strawberry wine and took in the views of the country for the last time.
I always dreamed of exploring Tuscany and now I have, this day could not have been better (even though I can’t stop sneezing and my throat is as dry as heck.)
Tomorrow we have our afternoon in Venice and then it’s off to Milan for the last leg of the trip.