Viva L'Italia - Placid Tuscany, Toscana

  Airplane, boat, train, now it was time for car. According to my friends' opinion and internet information, traveling in Tuscany by car is more convenient. Therefore we rented a 7 seater van from HERTZ. I am not familiar with manual transmission vehicles at all. On the contrary, my aunt is one of the best drivers I know. So don't worry, with my aunt's driving skill, a Ford Galaxy, and Garmin GPS, we can go everywhere in Europe.



Pisa:
Here, you can see everyone posing as if they are holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa. That was what we did as well. However, the tower is much smaller than we expected. And the weather was really really hot. We didn't stay here for long.

I carried the lean tower on my back

Chianti:
Castello di Meleto, belonging to the family of Rainerii de Ricasolis, is a castle with 15th century fortifications and now open to the public to stay overnight. Located in the famous Italian wine region Chianti, the castle has its vineyards and produces high quality wine. Choosing the castle as our base in Tuscany, we got free tour guide of the castle including wine testing. That was really interesting though I can't hold my liquor well. Moreover, there is a swimming pool by the castle that faces the wonderful Tuscan valley so you can swim and enjoy the Tuscan scenery. Unfortunately, we didn't bring our swimsuits with us. But I still try to swim in the pool. Nakedly !!!!!!! Because I woke up very early and the water was warm so I had chance to do this without anybody's witness. Sorry I cannot show you the photo of it (yes, I took some pictures during swimming.)

The castle we lived in

My cousin Minmin with a lovely baby girl

The swimming pool by the castle with a wonderful view

Panoramic view of the castle

Wine testing

San Gimignano:
San Gimignano is one of my favorite places in Italy. It is a a small walled medieval hill town. Having the name "the Town of Towers," San Gimignano has done well in conserving fourteen towers out of seventy-two for centuries. While eating dinner at the outdoor seat of  a restaurant, we bumped into a Gypsy performance that   matched the atmosphere of the town perfectly. We also ate delicious ice cream in Gelateria di Piazza where the master ice cream maker is a member of the Italian team that won the Ice Cream World Champion from 2006 to 2009. We even tried to dance on the streets of San Gimignano when the night was coming. Good night, San Gimignano.

The gate of San Gimignano

Towers

Outlets:
One of my goals in this trip was to buy high-fashion bags. Since Italy is a country of fashion and generates many fashion labels, we were able to buy fashion product in relatively low price plus tax refund. So I arranged a half day shopping tour in two outlets in Tuscany- Prada Space and The Mall. We drove to Prada Space first, where I was a little disappointed because there was only limited choices of the bags for men. My aunt bought two bags there, one for herself, and one for her sister-in-law. Although I didn't find any bag that caught my eye, I still bought a pair of shoes, a pair of sunglasses, and a key chain. Then we drove to The Mall, where you can see a collection of the world's most exclusive brands such as Gucci, Salvadore Ferragamo, Armani, Tod's, also Prada, and so forth. I am not a fashion enthusiast. All I wanted to do was to buy a nice men bag that can be used for all my life :) It was a pity that I didn't find it in The Mall, either. But that doesn't mean I didn't spend money there - I bought a bag from Prada for my Mon using LINE to show the bags to her so she could choose what she liked simultaneously. Why Prada again? Because I am fond of its low key luxury. I decided to find my bag in the Prada boutique in Rome.

I bought a Prada bag for my mother

Tuscan countryside:
On our way leaving Tuscany, we found a enchanting wheat field accidentally. We jumped out of the car and ran in it. The cypresses lined flawlessly on the curves of the hills and combined with the azure sky to form a postcard-like painting. On the moment, I thought we were very lucky. I love Tuscany.

Beautiful wheat field in Tuscany