Tuscany 2

Today was such a wonderful day! Michael and I awoke this morning at the Felsina winery to Antoinetta making us breakfast in the downstairs kitchen of the guest quarters. After breakfast, we were given a private tour of the property and the cellars at Felsina. The property is over 500 hectres, which honestly means very little to me but looked like a huge amount of land! The vineyards are divided up by 11 separate areas, each having their own house. A few of the houses, including the one in the pictures, dated back to 1000 A.D. They were built by monks and originally used as monasteries.

Following the tour, Antoinetta made us a four-course lunch to accompany the wine tasting of each of Felsina's wines. Felsina recently was given one of the highest awards in all of Italy for their wine....so in addition to the beauty of Felsina's winery, their incredible hospitality and Antoinetta's great cooking, we had the great pleasure of drinking some of the best wine in all of Italy!!

After an amazing lunch, we said our goodbyes at Felsina and made the 20 minute drive into the medieval town of Siena. Siena is a completely walled-in town consisting of steep, narrow streets and extremely friendly people. In the town's center is the Palazzo di Campo, which is a sloping town square at the base of their ancient lookout tower. The square is now bordered by small cafes and restaurants and is the gathering place for the community. In the evenings, everyone relaxes in the Palazzo and children play games in the square.

The weather is very warm, so Mike and I enjoyed a dinner outside on the cobblestone streets at one of the quaint restaurants. We walked back to our bed and breakfast through the bustling night town.....stopping twice for gelato:)