• Home
  • Contact
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

A Girl Who Travels | Female Travel Blog | Lifestyle Design

Lifestyle design and adventures with a soul.

  • Travel
    • Cities
    • Nature & Landscape
    • Lifestyle
  • Lifestyle
  • About
  • Work With Me
Highlights, Nature & Landscape

Exploring Tuscany with Walks of Italy: My Experience

13/07/2015

I’ve been living in Florence for a year and a half and yet, there are still many places in Tuscany that I haven’t got around visiting. It therefore comes as no surprise that when the lovely team from the Walks of Italy invited me to join them on their Tuscany tour, I jumped at the opportunity.

 

It wasn’t until a couple of days before the trip when the potential horror that I’ve always associated with organised tours kicked in. With the eyes of my imagination, I saw myself surrounded by a group of tourists armed with selfie sticks, marching one by one behind the tour leader holding a flagpole – an all too familiar sight in Florence.

Well, I’m pleased to tell you that I was completely and utterly wrong! So wrong in fact that if you happen to be visiting Tuscany this summer but are short on time and don’t want to go through the hassle of renting a car and figuring out your way through the Tuscan roads, I wholeheartedly recommend going on an adventure with The Walks of Italy. Keep reading to find out why!

Having met everyone at Piazza Della Repubblica, I was pleased to find out that the group was small and made up of about 8 people, mostly Americans, which made it feel more like a regular day trip than an organised tour. Ismael, the tour leader, was friendly and as it turned out, extremely knowledgeable about Tuscany – most importantly though, there were no flagpoles  in sight!

Piazzale Michelangelo, - best view of Florence

Our first stop after taking a few compulsory photos at Piazzale Michelangelo, a popular spot with great views of Florence, was Siena. This was my second trip to the town but my first time visiting the Siena Cathedral which turned out to house quite possibly the most impressive interior that I had the pleasure to see in Tuscany.

Siena with Walks of Italythe ceiling of Siena Cathedral, Italyinside the Siena Cathedral, Italy

We have then headed to Chianti, green hills and vineyards passing by in the window. The plan was to enjoy a few hours of wine tasting and a traditional Tuscan lunch. All my previous concerns evaporated like a mist the moment the smell of freshly cooked food welcomed us at our destination, a stone-built estate surrounded by lavender bushes, olive groves and a large vineyard at the back. Dreamt into life by Silvano, a former vet who decided to follow his passion for wine and become a winemaker, the villa looked like it came straight out of glossy pages of a travel magazine.

Tenuta Casanova, wine tasting in Chianti, Tuscanywiene tasting and Tuscan lunch, Tenuta Casanova, Chiantiphoto6wine tasting and lunch in Chianti, Walks of Italy

The time spent at the vineyard was a delightful blur of delicious wine and organic food prepared with love and care, with Chianti hills and the vineyard as our background. In a state that can only be described as a food coma combined with blissful contentment, we headed off to San Gimignano. It’s one of my favourite Tuscan towns so I was excited for the visit. Stepping inside its medieval walls always feels like going back in time – as soon as you turn into narrow alleyways, avoiding souvenir stores covering most of the main street that is!

San gimignano, Tuscany,ItalySan Gimignano Towers, Tuscany, ItalySan Gimignano, Tuscany, ItalyBest gelato in San Gimignano

The final stop was a nearby vigna overlooking the Tuscan hills with the silhouette of San Gimignano hanging in the distance. While the wine wasn’t a match for what we enjoyed at our previous stop, the views and the fast-approaching sunset casting long shadows over the hills most certainly made up for it.

view of San Gimignano Walks of Italy Tuscany Tour

The verdict? I had an absolutely fabulous time (and this is not just the delicious wine talking!). If you’d like to recreate my experience, head to Walks of Italy and book your tour – and don’t forget to tell them you I sent you! 😉

Have you ever been to Tuscany? What is your favourite place to visit? Let me know in the comments!

9 Comments

« Bosnia and Herzegovina: Heaven on Earth Waiting to Be Discovered
England’s Most Beautiful and Underrated Gem That You’re Missing Out On »

RELATED POSTS

  • Top things to do in CascaisCascais and Surroundings: Portugal’s Modern-Day Fairytale
  • Watergate Bay Hotel reviewSoul Cleansing by the Ocean: My Experience at Watergate Bay Hotel
  • Most Instagrammable Places in Florence, ItalyThe Best Photography Spots in Florence, Italy
  • William Goodenough Collage accommodation reviewExperiencing Uni Life in London: University Rooms Review

Comments

  1. Paul says

    20/07/2015 at 08:37

    Love Italy. Had some great holidays in Tropea Calabria.

    Reply
  2. Doreen syrewicz says

    03/09/2015 at 03:22

    Amazing beauty – wonderful dining

    Reply
  3. The.Restless.Worker says

    08/09/2015 at 14:52

    Tuscany is definitely top of my bucket list! Your pictures are gorgeous. The tour looks great as well, I have plans to be in Tuscany next May so I’ll definitely be keeping this in mind!

    Reply
    • A Girl Who Travels says

      17/05/2016 at 17:32

      Thank you! 🙂 I hope you enjoy your stay, Tuscany is gorgeous!

      Reply
  4. miriam says

    29/04/2016 at 15:41

    Hi Marta I wonder whether you have another photo of the house with the pink roses with possibly more of the wall showing and a little of the country below. With your permission I would like to paint it. Thank you in anticipation. Miriam

    Reply
    • A Girl Who Travels says

      17/05/2016 at 17:32

      Hi Miriam, apologies for a late reply! I’m afraid that’s the only photo I have, how lovely to hear that it inspired you to make a painting out of it! Would you still like to paint it using the current angle? Needless to say, I’d be delighted for you to do so, would you be kind enough to send me a photo of the finished piece? I’d love to see it!

      Reply
  5. Philip Hobbs says

    23/05/2016 at 19:21

    I remember Sam Gimignano and I took a similar photo holding the local Gelato!
    My favorite destination in Italy was a little medieval town called Lucca surrounded by an 800 year old fortress that kept it safe from neighbouring invaders
    Your pictures are all too familiar and very beautiful
    Thank you for sharing this

    Reply
  6. Bonnie says

    26/06/2016 at 22:00

    Where did you stay while you were in Tuscany?

    Reply
    • agirlw6_wp says

      27/06/2016 at 21:43

      I lived in Tuscany or over 1.5 years and I was based in Florence 🙂 It’s a great gateway to Tuscany but gets very hot in the summer!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?

JOIN THE LIST

  • Home
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
My first Swedish Midsummer 🌸 The time to celebr My first Swedish Midsummer 🌸 The time to celebrate the summer solstice, on the night that’s almost as bright as day. I danced till I couldn’t feel my feet, had way too much snaps, ate my body weight in herring and cake, and, of course, wore a white dress and a flower crown. The weather was incredible (which, as every person at the party reminded me multiple times, is apparently unlikely to ever happen again 😝), and by the time I got home at 2:30am, the sky was blue as if it was the middle of the day. Thank you for the memories @iva_jeretic 🌺☀️
It’s the day before Midsummer’s eve, and I wok It’s the day before Midsummer’s eve, and I woke up in the most magical lakehouse belonging to a dear friend of mine, just on the outskirts of Stockholm. I’m so excited for tomorrow, it almost feels like waiting for Christmas! Maypoles and dancing, and flower crowns, and strawberry cake, and a night that’s as bright as day. 💫 🌸The longer I’m in Sweden, the more I’m convinced  I somehow fell down the rabbit hole and found myself in Wonderland 🦋
Birthday gal 🎉🎂 Feeling so grateful For my w Birthday gal 🎉🎂 Feeling so grateful For my wonderful friends who made the last couple of days so wonderful! A whole week worth of birthday celebrations AND it’s #midsommar on Friday 😱😍. This is by far THE best week this year yet, especially with everything that’s been going on.

Sending lots of love to you all, together with a little reminder that once you take the leap and follow your heart, wonderful things come together 💫
#BlackOutTuesday Please stand up for what’s righ #BlackOutTuesday Please stand up for what’s right. Together we can make a difference. ✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿.
Snow and cherry blossoms 🌸❄️ I’ve just re Snow and cherry blossoms 🌸❄️ I’ve just realised I never shared this photo I took in Kungsträdgården a few weeks back. I thought it was quite beautiful.
Summers in Stockholm are dreamy. It’s only May b Summers in Stockholm are dreamy. It’s only May but the midnight sky is already marked with blue hues, and the sun rises before 4am. The air smells of summer, that deep scent that sticks to your lungs and fills them with light. They alleyways and parks are drenched in lilacs and the city suddenly feels more alive, and it rubs off on you. It’s like walking through a dream but with your eyes wide open. 💫
© A Girl Who Travels | PRIVACY POLICY
Blog setup by Digital Guru
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy