Taste of Tuscany

Chi mangia bene, mangia italiano ;)

I think there is no one, who has never tasted a good italian wine, olive oil, or just ate italian food. But tasting all this in small italian villages, surounded with countless vinyards, nice sunny weather and passionate italians - sweet ....

Living right next to Italy gives us the opportunity to visit it with a car, so a few days off work and sunny forecast gave me the best excuse to go and taste what Tuscany has to offer. Located at an agriturismo (Antica Tenuta Le Casacce in Seggiano) in Val'd Orcia, with the best breakfast and view of the whole valley that has been added on Unesco list of world's heritage, was our base for four days. With no plans at all, just admiring the valley and tipical tuscany rural scenery, we did the best tour that fed us and our travel bug.

Val d'Orcia

Seggiano

 

The southern place that's still in the region of Tuscany is Monte Amiata - extinct volcanic massif popular as a winter skiing centre. Here where autumn gave beech trees marvellous colour, we made a short stop and let our inner child to play with fallen leafs :)

Exploring began and the near mountany road led us to a small village called Bagno di San Filipo, known for natural thermal water with spa and welness. But as we're firstly nosy and curious travellers, we walked down to the water stream and found out, that water made natural whirpools where people bath, and all this for free :) No need for hotel spa, right? :) The only thing that can bother you is the smell of rotten eggs as we say, because of the sulphurous water, but my skin was smooth as silk after the bathing.

Exploring the surroundings of Seggiano, there are small medieval villages on the hills and endless cultivated landscape, one of the most beautiful villages as such is Montepulciano.

What else but chocolate gellato and a bottle of regional wine to end a perfect day in Tuscany!? :)

Region of river Orcia is something, cultivated hills with villas or tuscany farms on the top of the hills, with cypress trees leading way up, but Chianti region is something else, but both, a landmark of Tuscany. We chose to visit Chianti because it's known for its wine, but the countryside and vast vineyrads were a treat.
 

Food in a small local vine/bar was amazing! A bottle or two from 100 year old enoteca (wine shop) in Castellina in Chianti and the night ended joyfull as always :)

With all the serenity and painting like sceneries, the next day we've visited San Gimignano - the town of towers or Medieval Mahattan :)  One can also get a delicious scoop of ice cream here - of course if the queue of american tourists doesn't bother you...

Once you master dolce far niente style of living, there's no other way to go - good food, good wine, gorgeous scenery and tasteful food - a true gem for enjoying dolce far niente is a small, quiet village of Sant' angelo in Colle! Tipical tuscany cousine - italian food which makes you lick your fingers at the end!

foto: Marija Demšar

 For soulsearching or for those who just seek a little peace, Sant Antimo it's the place to go.

From the southern stunning place in Tuscany - Monte Amiata to the north, goodbye from Tuscany has to be stoping at another landmark -  the leaning tower in Pisa to closly excamine the "wonder" (read - to crowd in front of the tower where something went terriblly wrong when it was constructed :) ).

What has become of it, it's an "instant Italy" and truly not what Tuscany is all about - marvelous landscape and exquisite food! So to enjoy our last day in Italy, what better to graba abike and cycle to slice of pizza in the city piazza?

Just a traveller or a passionate gourmet, Tuscany is a land to taste!

I guess a little vitamin C can't hurt, right? :)

Do we live in nature or does nature gives us a place to stay?
Surely we would have to give more respect to the "mother", but it's also society that made us do all that we do, to survive.
Living respectfully towards nature and making a living for ourselfs with what natures has to offer, is the way it should be.

With spring -  there is new life, new beginings, new cicle...

We can make a lot for ourselfs, just go out to the woods, meadows - in the nature, and be amazed what a huge health factory this place is. You'll be relaxed and you'll have a new plant or a herb to make something of it, whether it's a tea, syrup or a jam.

The beginning of May is the perfect time to harvest spruce tips or spruce shoots. All you'll need is few hours in the woods, brown sugar and jar glases.

 

Put one layer of each in tha glass (sugar first, then spruce tips, then sugar again) and seal it. Put the glasses in the sun and leave it for a month or two - as long as the sugar needs to melt. After that just pour the syrup in different glasses and put it in a dark space, until you'll need it.

Different name for this is also a cough syrup, so it's good for you when you have a cold or sore throath. Spruce is filled with vitamin C  - and I guess a little vitamin C can't hurt, right? :)

Green is all there is to be

If you don't fancy the reading - just look at the pictures and VISIT Ireland!!!

But if you don't mind, please read the rest ;)

Sure this blog is about pictures and expressions, but this post deserves a little more than just pictures - it deserves a few more words about the actual experience of traveling and as for the travel blog should be - a travel itinerary. Why? Because Ireland's west coast is just to enchanting not to visit it, when on the island! And I wish that at least one person who will read this, will go and see this mistical island.

It took us five days to visit the west coast by car, if travelling on foot or by public transport, you should multiply this with at least 2 or more.

After browsing a million of tourist brochures - which by  the way, you can get almost everywhere - we decided to visit three main areas: 1. Connemara national park with  famous Kylemore Abbey, 2. Drive around Ring of Kerry, and on the way back also drive around Dingle Peninsula. Basicly drive part of the wild atlantic way, anticlockwise.

Started in Galway and traveled through Connemara, embrasing tipical landscape, which is blanketed in naturally wild bogland, that Irish dig by hand, dry the turf and use it as fuel during the winter. As I've read somewhere: this is Ireland unplugged - and it sure is! The landscape is so rough and places are so remote from all that citylife back in Galway, that you can truly feel the irish spirit. It's also irish speaking area - Gaeltacht. But you'll get through with english ;)

We visited Spiddeal, Maamcross, mountains of Connemara, drove through village of Leenane, stoped at Killary Fjord (Ireland’s only fjord), where we saw  the salmon and mussel pots floating on the surface of the water where the fish are farmed. And on the peak of the tour - arrived at the Kylemore Abbey. 

Peaceful and almost fairy tail alike place, which was built in 1867 as a romantic gift from a man to his wife. 

It sure gives a woman a lot to think about - at least it gave us a thought, if this kind of mansion is worthy of giving birth to 9 children :) History aside - it's truly peacuful, wild and far far over the hills - a place to spend an afternoon at, just embrasing the Ireland unplugged.

Kylemore Abbey

Killary Fjord

After returning back to Galway, we decided to rent a car - much more conveniant way to see Ireland. Driving on left is an interesting experience, but deffinately worthy one (just make sure you're over 25 ;)!

Driving along the coast, you'll get from rocky cliffs to long sand beaches and amazing green landscape, full of sheep. Castles and stone houses are as common as sheep, so this is for my oppinion the most impressive and wild Ireland there is! 

Firstly we drove from Galway to County Clare, stopping at Kinvarra for a coffee, visited Donguaire castle and continuing on the wild atlantic way to Doolin - a small town from where you can take a ferry to Aran islands or just stay and treat yourself with a local food, pint of guinness and live irish music in a local pubs. Here Irelands landscape varies in many ways - from tipical "Burren" - limestone, cliffs, sandy beaches and of course green whereever your sight reaches.

Here is where I remembered why I love to travel  - people actually say hello, they all come to a pub in the evening to play and listen to native music, they are proud of their natural beauty and aren't shy to show and promote it - he're you can get a glimpse of how this society lives, remotely on an island, facing atlantic ocean, affected by history, living with it and not trying to change it. Just living with what nature gives them and not taking advantage of it.

Burren landscape

Dodaj napis

Cliffs of Moher

View from Cliffs of Moher to Aran islands

Doolin

Poulnabrone

Donguaire castle

All the time in Ireland - the weather was amazingly sunny, but the real irelands rainy day was awaiting us, so we took the highway from Doolin, passing Limerick, turning to Adare and heading to Killarney, which was our starting point for the Ring of Kerry.

Elderly irish said: "I remember last summer, it was nice, it was a tuesday" - humor aside, we truly had a wonderful weather all week.

Even rain has its charm, so we left the town and visited the Muckrose house, passed the Killarney lakes and started to adore the shore. Even the sun fighted its way through the clouds and amazing evening blesed our jurney.

Muckrose house

Killarney national park - Arbutus (or Killarney Strawberry Tree)

way to Torc Waterfall

Killarney national Park

Muckrose lake

Lakes of Killarney from ladies view

After reaching Kenmare we tried to find a place to stay, but there was something pulling us all from inland to the shore. Also there was no room for us in Kenmare, so we continued the atlantic way and the Ring of Kerry. The best decision ever - the winds sent the clouds away, sun had the best canvas to paint - and it did! the paintings were amazing!

Waterville was our rather gohstly stop for the night, but the morning brought sunny day! 

Morning meditaion on a deserted beach and a round tip to Dingle Peninsula as the day evolved. Day brought breathtaking views, surfer paradise beaches, picnic on a cliff along slea head drive, some sort of mammel watching :), passing Conor pass (the highest mountain pass in Ireland) and wrapping our roundtrip by returning to Galway.

There was so little time and yet so much to see - but something has to stay undiscovered so the traveler has something to return for, right?

Back in Dublin for a quick city tour and relaxing with, of course, pint of Guinness! ;) before returning back home...