Tuscany & Florence / Italy
Day 1
After our time in Rome we made our way north through Tuscany to spend a couple of nights in the beautiful city of Florence. Unfortunately I didn’t do the most thorough research on Tuscany and missed Val d’Orcia which is south of Siena. If you see a postcard from Tuscany, the landscape from Val d’Orcia is what you’ll see. We instead took the A1 to Sienna from Rome (note this was the first time driving in Italy!) and ended up in the middle of the old town. Which apparently is a ZTL (Limited Traffic Zone) and if you don’t have a permit you’ll be fined. Upon finding out we left as quickly as we could, but not with driving through tiny cobbled streets with people everywhere, quite the embarrassment and stressful!
We then got on the SR 222 road bringing us into the Chianti region, with our next stop being the quaint town of Panzano. With a lunch recommendation from friends, we were lucky enough to get a table on the terrace overlooking the hills and vineyards – accompanied by delicious food! Our next stop was a small family run vineyard called Casaloste. We did a wine tasting and hung out with their dogs!
Our last stop before Florence was a small medieval hamlet of Montefioralle. It is pure picturesque, a tiny village that was an important stronghold during the wars between Florence and Siena. The streets and houses are all made of stone. And we had, what it seemed, the whole place to ourselves amongst the locals.
It would have been nice to see the region in the early hours of the morning or during sunset, but I guess that means we’ll just have to go back one day! It was then on to Florence, after checking into our Airbnb and doing a supermarket run we narrowly missed the sunset from the famous Piazzale Michelangelo.
Day 2
Unfortunately, I lost photos from before lunch. And we hadn’t booked any museums, art galleries or churches so we walked around Florence until it was just too hot – which at one point was 37 degrees! We grabbed lunch at Mercato Centrale, a food market with good food options on the top level. Re-emerging from our nice and cool apartment a few hours later we grabbed a quick pizza before heading back up the Piazzale Michelangelo, and this time seeing the sunset! We had one more day in Florence but we instead headed out to the coast to Cinque Terre – that’s the next post!
I love creating images that speak to me.
I grew up in a small town that nobody really knows about, Levin. Spent a good ten years in Hamilton making some of the best friends anyone could have. And now I’m living, working and playing in the city of Auckland, New Zealand. Also a small country that people have trouble locating – I’m looking at you America!
Life is about stories, and that’s what I love to capture and document. My shooting style is unobtrusive. You may be a natural in front of the camera, or have no idea what to do but before we even start I’ll make sure you’re comfortable and relaxed.
Things I love: Travelling to wherever I can, my partner Monita, homemade burgers, wood fired pizzas, the smell of rain on a hot summers day, mountains, the snow, sunsets and sunrises, star gazing, natural light, the aesthetic of wood, crashing waves and day dreaming.