The Castello is at the top of a hill, and in every direction you look, there are lush green hills; it is incredible. The Castello itself does look like an old stone castle. Not a massive fortress a king might live in, but an old greyish brick building a lord might sit in overlooking his countryside. It looks like it has ramparts running around it, but I am not sure, as we never got up that high. When you come in through the iron gate, you step into a large and open courtyard. A few trees, different doors headed off in different directions, but not much else. We were greeted by the host for the evening, who told us the tale of the Pazzi, also pointing out that this courtyard is home to the only remaining legitimate Pazzi coat of arms. Then he started the tour of the Castello. One of the first rooms is the "conspiracy room," where all the planning of the failed plot was done. See my last blog for details of what I mean. The failed Pazzi plot. It is a large, drafty, old wooden room, or a combination of stone and wood. Something you would see in Winterfell. In general, this doesn't seem too big a deal, but you have to put it in context. In 1470, Italy was a major global power, and the Medici family was a significant force within it. This would be like standing where they plotted to shoot Lincoln or Kennedy. (Not that Kennedy was a plot, let's not go there).
Then he told us the more recent history of the castello. This is a fuzzy recollection. There was an attractive young lady who married a much older man; he looked young for his age, so she didn't really know the difference in age until later on. I guess they didn't talk about it? I don't know, but the point is they got married. I was unaware, but in the 70s and 80s, Tuscany was where people should have been shopping for homes. These beautiful old castellos were on the market for dirt cheap. So one day the guy goes shopping, I can't remember what for, but comes back and tells his beautiful young bride they have a broken down castello now. SO they move out there and start a family and a winery. It is hard work, but they do fix it up, and slowly it starts to turn it around. Of course, he, being much older, passes away, and the wife is left alone with the kids; the older kids start working at the place. They do it, they make it a success! Now, I believe that over time, the daughter takes it all over, and it becomes her home. They hire people, including the tour guide, who is also the "wine master"? That may be a totally made-up title by me, but he is a grape expert and is heavily involved in the making of the wine.
Additionally, they produce olive oil. We did not get to see them, but if you are online, you can see they have rentals there, cabins, maybe you could call them and have weddings in this phenomenal site. They also have a restaurant and a store; it has really become a thriving business. It is a success story. After learning all that, we get an actual tour of the main building.
Something that strikes me is that in Italy, we saw many ancient things. From Roman times, and of course, the Renaissance, from which this Castello originated. You don't, or I didn't see a ton of middle-aged stuff. I associate the Middle Ages with knights. Drafty castles, banners, quests... That reminds me of England, and I really don't think of Italy like that. This place, though, was as close as I saw to it. Just a random side thought that popped into my head.
Kindness is a two-way street; if someone tries, don't be a dick back. One of the older, grumpy women tripped on a stone step during the tour and crashed down. My wife, being behind her, reached down to help her up. She is an old lady, for crying out loud! Instead, this lovely woman yanks her arm away and gets herself up. Glaring at my wife. I get it, maybe you're embarrassed that after 100 years on the planet, you still can't walk, but accept the help. It is becoming less and less common for people to offer it, and when someone acts like that, it makes it less likely next time a person will reach out. Side rant over, back to a beautiful Castello in Tuscany.
They took us on a tour of the main floor and the lower floor. We got to see the huge wooden vats in which the wine was being made. It was in the stone cellars; it could have been a movie set. Unlike many of the newer wineries, you can get a tour where everything is clean, new, and sterile-looking; this place actually looked like somewhere they may have been making wine for centuries. I am sure they have health and safety codes, and I am sure it was all good, but it wasn't the shiny and new wineries you see here. I mean, it is the EU, so yes, it was good, just saying! We had a quick lesson in olive oil. There are 3 things to look for in olive oil, we learned. So always buy extra virgin. No, I don't know precisely what that means, and no, I don't think there is extra slutty oil. Always buy a dark coloured bottle. Sun, well, UV rays are terrible for it. Also, nothing more than 24 months old. Hell, if it's close to that, don't buy it! We also learned that it is good for you. Not like do a shot of it in the morning, but use it on your salad. Use it as your cooking oil. They take you through dusty old rooms with dusty bottles; it is a nice touch. I am guessing solely for tourism, but it does really feel like an old castle, plus they still have a bottle, the very first bottle they ever made. To me, that is actually really cool. Do you ever crack that? Part of me would want to, part of me would want it built right into a wall. Forever a piece of the Castello.
So we are all brought into what I would call the dining room, and we receive wine lessons. Earlier, I claimed to like wine, so I probably should have paid more attention, but I stick to my motto: I try a wine, and if I like it, I like it. I don't need to say mmm notes of cherry, with some ash and blah blah blah. Lesson one, though you hold the stem! Don't put your dirty little hands on the actual glass; you are not supposed to be warming it up with your hot hands. Second, you want a ruby red wine; browner and more muddy are old wines. I mean, maybe you are going for vintage, but a ruby is a good one. Tilt the glass 45 degrees and use natural light to check the color. They had us smell the wine, and we were to guess the flavours. A funny thing is that my wife, who cannot drink red wine, self-induced, was the one who got all the flavours. On the bright side, since she doesn't drink reds, I got her glasses. Now, these weren't big; more like everyone got a small wine flight, but I got double, so that was cool. There were a couple of reds and a dessert wine. They were all excellent; I am guessing it was the best wines they make, but I will say they were all amazing. For my wife, it is sad they don't have whites. Then it was dinner time. It was home-cooked, and it was actually delicious. It was done kind of like a buffet at the head of the room. There was a long table covered in dishes for us to try. I had a scoop of everything, and everything was good. I actually should have had another scoop. I could have had more, but I hate it when you're in a buffet, and it doesn't look like a refill is coming. I also hate guys who rush to buffet lines when there are women and kids. At least let the kids eat for fuck sake. Not that this happened here, but it is really a big pet peeve. After a delightful meal, the tour was over, and we were let outside again.
I couldn't say it was an amazing sunset going over the hills, but dusk had set in. It was dimmer outside, and it did have a lovely ambiance. Everyone took a lot of pictures because it was the perfect time for it, and, of course, shopping happened. They opened up the store, which is another smaller building by the parking lot, and people started buying! We bought oil, a few things of olive oil. A tin or two to give to parents when we get home, and a bottle for us. There were people buying a lot more, though, and they knew it was for tourists, so for the right amount, they would ship it home for you. Rather than risk breaking it in travel or putting your bags over the weight limit. We were already pushing our weight limit, so wine was out, and as much as shipping some home would have been cool, I was still being cautious with money. Then they loaded us onto the bus and took us back to the villa. It was dark by the time we got back, and I think the bar was closed. Not that we planned on going to it, but none of the ones who usually did went either. It was a shower, and then crashing into bed after a long day. This probably was the longest day up until this point. I will be honest, most days in Paris, we were up early and going most of the day, but early to bed. The travel day to Rome and dinner out was long, but it was still early when we went to bed, and a lot of that day had been spent sitting. The bike tour day was again a workout, but it was followed by meeting the group, an early dinner, and bed. Even the first full day in Rome, which involved a lot of walking, didn't seem as tiring as a half-day in Rome with a ton of walking. Then a bus ride, which kills a person, then a tour, and a diner. Or it could be the amazing shower and the soft bed, but my head hit the pillow, and I was out until morning.
This AM was a cluster, not really, but it felt like it. They wanted us up early and on the road. So we were up early, got ready, went down for breakfast, and it was closed. As I said, they wouldn't open until 7 on the dot. So we got in right at 7 and ate, as I said, it was actually pretty good. Pro tip: don't check out of the room yet. After you eat, you can head back to the room and use the washroom or whatever you need, then get going. The truth is, it really wasn't a rush, but I think since it was our first single-night stay, it felt like it. On tours, really, you should only open your bag, take out what you need, and leave the rest, because first thing in the AM, you are re-packing. Everywhere I go, my room looks like a bomb went off, but that is dumb on a tour. They give you a tag and want you to leave your bag in the hallway. I realize some people won't like this, but there is something to keep in mind. It won't get left. No decent tour company is going to risk leaving your bag and have that on social media. It could ruin them. I assume they have checks and double-checks in place for that. The second worry I can see is people stealing from you. First, in general, you are in a decent hotel, and I am thinking it is safe. You can buy a little zipper lock if you want. We did, and no one can get in, so you should be good. I get it; I even get a little antsy about leaving my bag, but it was always fine.
Florence is an amazing city when you get into it. It is more for Italians, where we walked; yes, there were a lot of tourists, but it wasn't as packed as Rome. It was probably the most laid-back city we visited, so I suppose that's what made me feel like it was a little more local and a little less touristy. It was overcast and raining when we arrived, which was not great, as I hadn't brought anything to protect against the rain. My wife had an umbrella, which sort of helped, and it wasn't too much rain. Just enough to make a person damp and annoyed. This might be why it was a bit empty, but I'm guessing that if you are here on holiday, you'll brave the weather and not waste a day. You can tell this is where the Renaissance happened. The cobblestone walks, the open piazzas, and the statues on display. Perhaps it was the ambiance of the overcast weather, but for some reason, it was exactly how I had pictured the Renaissance. I can picture people in the piazza discussing ideas, moving away from the dark ages and into a better world. I don't know why I picture it as gloomy; maybe it's because the world was gloomy at that point. Or perhaps it is because there is so much architecture and art on display in Florence that it really screams Renaissance. If Rome is the ancient and eternal city, and Venice is alive and buzzing, Florence is the city of art and history. I guess, depending on the holiday you want, party, ancient world, or medieval history and art, you can pick between those three cities. I would love to return to Florence for at least a day. There was a lot more to see than we did, and we actually didn't have that much time in the city, which was a shame. I like art and history more than I thought I would. Something to keep in mind, though, these tours are all commerce.
A bit shorter entry. I was going to put all of Florence in one shot; however, that would be too long. So the next one will wrap up Florence. When I started writing this rough draft, it was just a pipe dream, but now I am booked to return to Florence this year. A couple of days to take in some of the things we missed. Also, I have now heard about wine windows. You can just go grab a glass from a window and carry on. I will 100% be giving that a try this year!!
Comments
Post a Comment