Florence's Chianti Hills

Refrains from Andrea Boticelli’s Sogno album belted out as we made our way from Rome through Umbria and then Tuscany countryside, on our way to the only four star campsite in the Chianti hills. The home we sold to take this journey would fit perfectly anywhere in this lovely corridor and it some how feels a little like home.

We do want to visit all the great sites in Florence, but we will skip it this time around and enjoy a little luxury and gorgeous Italian countryside as cities are not the best for fast travel. We have Venice, Athens and Istanbul to explore in the near future, so we will savour Florence in the fall, hopefully when it is a little less crowded and cooler.

There seems to be a heat wave going on in Italy, so it is very hot and that is also coloring our choices. We liked the idea of heading to a luxury campsite that had a water park and several pools on the grounds. We left Rome a little earlier than planned due to the heat and crowds, since we know we will be back soon. With this beautiful sunshine, we are in a family vacation frame of mind.

We had hoped to meet with an online friend who has been spending the year nearby in Greve with her husband and eight year old grandson. I have mentioned her earlier on this site and her lovely blog: http://www.janeandken.com/

We had both left California around the same time, so shared a lot during that process and had much in common. It did not work out though as her son was making his first trip to Europe to visit them and our schedules did not mesh. She actually passed right by us on their way home from Rome, but sadly we did not know that until too late.Some how our phones did not work, so we were stuck with email communications which makes for time delays on the run. Hopefully we will meet them at some other point. We at least got an idea of the splendor they have been enjoying in their year in Tuscany as this campsite is only fifteen kilometers away.

Most of these landscape pictures were just taken as we drove along the A-1 from Rome. Not all of it was beautiful, but there was more than enough to make us look forward to exploring the smaller roads and villages when we return in the fall. It was less than 300 Km from Rome, but we were ready for the quiet and water play after a half days drive.

The setting for the Norcenni Girasole Club campsite in these Chianti hills of Tuscany is spectacular. It is a gigantic place, but we were off by ourselves in a quiet area, yet in close walking distance to all the action (restaurants, stores, fitness center, wine tasting, pools, kids club, tennis courts etc. etc.).

Ahhhh, yet another place that will be very hard to leave. We could easily stay here a few weeks, but will have to settle for a few days this time and we will come back for more in the fall.