We decided long before that our last day at Italy would be spent on a bus tour out to Tuscany, complete with wine and cheese tastings. It was kind of a no-brainer, and a beautiful way to end the trip.
The tour was operated by City Wonders (formerly Dark Rome), and this was another great tour. It was an early wake up call, needing to meet the bus at 7:15am, but that’s what lattes are for…
Our first stop was a town called Montepulciano, made famous by the Twilight movies. It had been raining all morning, but luckily it cleared up in time for the long walk up to the square on top of the hill. From the narrow, windy streets, to the old churches, this was truly a Tuscan town.
We carried on to the church where the Gregorian Monks do their famous chanting of their prayers. Totally unexpected as a stop on the tour, this was an incredible thing t experience. The way the chants echo through the old walls was amazing, and the countryside around us was even more impressive. The golden fields of grain were where they filmed Gladiator, and I even stopped to run my hands through them like in the movie, it was pretty cool.
Lunch was served along with a wine tasting at a winery in Tuscany, where we fell in love with a few of their whites and reds, shipping a few home to LA so we can enjoy with friends back home.
The final city was soaked in rain, but we braved it long enough to break an umbrella and buy a teacup – success.
The bus ride home gave us a few hours to catch up on our blogging, and nap. Perhaps the coolest part, though, was driving back by Motelpuciano as the rain cleared and the sun came out, revealing a perfect rainbow right over the city. It looked like a cheesy poster, for over 10 minutes it hung there like it had been painted.
The cities in Europe have a way of sending us off with some dramatic weather. Maybe it’s just because they want us to come back soon.
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