Siena
Siena is one of those cities where travelers go explore for a day when they are in the region. This is because it’s a smaller town with less to do than its neighbor Florence. During the Summer, it brings in many visitors when they host …
Tag: travel photography
Florence
A Florence guide on what to eat, where to stay, and what to see from someone who lived there for three months.
Winery in Tuscany: Castello Del Trebbio
During my few months in Italy, I had the opportunity to go to a wine tasting at a castle in Tuscany. Even writing that sentence feels like something from an Italian dream. Better yet, a scene in some romantic film about self-discovery and falling back in love with life. Although I didn’t experience self-discovery and falling back in love with life, I discovered the heart of Tuscany and fell in love with it.
Tuscany’s capital, Florence, is a 30 minute drive from the beautiful Castello del Trebbio. This location offers wine tastings, olive oil tastings, cooking classes, and wedding hosting. Near the castle are restaurants and hotels accommodations. It’s the perfect place to have a wedding or a short retreat if you wish to do so.
At the start of our tour, they walked us down to the land where they grow their grapes and olive trees. It was a wonderful experience to be hearing about the production of their wine and olive oil while standing in a field surround by endless Tuscan hills.
After touring the property surrounding Castello del Trebbio, we had a history lesson inside the courtyard before going into the cellars. It was difficult to get good photos since the cellars are ancient as well as underground. Most of the rooms were small (low ceilings) and dimly lit.
When it came time to actually tasting the wine, we went into a room with a snack buffet and dining tables. I’m not a wine drinker but I loved the snacks and dessert wine. I forgot to take photos of my wine, but we sampled about four different wines.
Italy + Wine
I’ve included some wine facts I learned while taking an Italian Culture class & living in Italy.
Wine is ingrained in the Italian culture, and this became obvious after spending time with locals.
Different wines are consumed with certain meals, and are seen as nourishment rather than a way to get sloppy and drunk.
Most Italians have some knowledge about the wine grown in their region, but not about wine from foreign regions.
Italians drink wine with lunch, dinner, or snacks like olives, nuts, potato chips, or small pizzas.
Translations:
Classico. Wine from a limited, historic core within a DOC* zone.
Riserva. Wine that is aged longer in the cask.
Superiore. Wine that is aged longer and/or has a higher alcohol content than DOC standard.
Spumante. Sparkling.
Frizzante. Semi-sparkling.
Passito. Wine made from dried grapes. Tuscany’s honey colored Vinsanto (or holy wine) is the most famous.
*DOC. Denominazione di origine controllata. This is wine that has a set of production standards and should only come from the region, town or vineyard that is on the label.
Wine Tours in Tuscany
A trip to Tuscany is not complete without a wine tasting tour. I have listed some tours for you at a variety of locations throughout this gorgeous region of Italy. Click the name to learn more about the tour description, activities, meeting points, and price.
Castello del Trebbio (near Florence)
Tenuta Torciano Winery (San Gimignano)
Greve and Castellina in Chianti (near Florence)
Montepulciano (near Siena)
Chianti Countryside (from Florence)
-Ayla♥
Affiliate links have been used in this post.
Naples
We didn’t have any plans when Grace and I went to Naples. All I knew about Naples was Pizza and the archaeological museum. Both things that this city is famous for.
Naples isn’t one of those cities that you fly halfway around the world to see. It’s not Rome. Naples is a stop you make along the way to Pompeii, Amalfi, or Capri. So even though Naples isn’t the most beautiful city in Italy (it’s a little dirty & rundown), I was still pleasantly surprised by some of the things it had to offer. Every place I visited in Naples, I would recommend to anyone.
Since we didn’t have a plan when we got to Naples, we grabbed a map and just started walking. We walked A LOT in Naples. The first place we walked to was along the coast. This was a great place to start because of the castles and restaurants along the sea. The castles were wonderful. We went inside of all of them and walked around each for at least an hour. Both Castel Nuovo and Castel dell’Ovo were amazing on the inside and had stunning views of the sea.
What to see in Naples: Castel Nuovo, Royal Palace, San Carlo Opera House, Piazza del Plebiscito, Cappella Sansevero, Umberto Gallery, San Francesco di Paola Church, National Archaeological Museum, Castel dell’Ovo, Castel Sant’Elmo, and Naples Cathedral
After admiring the castles by the sea, we took the long walk to the National Archaeological Museum. Make sure to look up museum tickets before you go because they do have discounts and free days as well as a strange schedule. They had a student discount but didn’t let us have it because we weren’t EU students. Rude.
I loved the museum. There was so much art and many artifacts (like from Pompeii) to see. We spent hours inside looking through all the rooms. I had to sit down a few times because my legs were exhausted.
Unfortunately, they are strict about photographing the exhibition pieces. I snuck in a few on my phone but they aren’t the best quality. Grace had a selfie stick with her that had to be put away. Probably a good thing they don’t allow them. Someone could accidentally hit a marble statue or knock something over.
After spending too many hours walking around the shore, inside multiple castles, and through the entire archaeological museum, we were exhausted. All we wanted was to go back to our beds, relax, and maybe stuff our faces with some Italian food. Although we were a little too tired to enjoy anything else in Naples, our walk presented us with some beautiful little surprised. Such as the Naples Cathedral. We didn’t go inside, again, we were exhausted, but I’m sure it’s as beautiful as the other Catholic cathedrals in Italy.
If you find yourself in Naples, I hope you get a chance to visit the museum to see the extraordinary collections of murals, frescoes and mosaics from Pompeii and Herculaneum, as well as enjoy a classic pizza margherita in the city famous for its pizzerias.
-Ayla♥
Affiliate links may have been used in this post.
Marseille & Aix-En-Provence
The first city that comes to mind when everyone thinks of France is Paris. Although Paris is lovely, it is different from the South of France. Paris is where you go to be overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the art, the shopping, the people, and the streets. …