Florence, Pisa, Siena, Montepulciano, Montalcino, San Gimignano, San Miniato, Pienza, Vinci, Lucca
This spring for our first anniversary we decided to discover Tuscany and enjoy its sunshine, green hills, fields of poppy and other colourful field flowers, imposing medieval towns that rise over every bigger hill, but also its food and wine which are like a beautiful melody for your taste buds. Are there any reasons why somebody wouldn’t want to visit Tuscany?
A whole week we were exploring Tuscany and on the last day of our visit we went to see the unavoidable national park Cinque Terre on the Ligurian coast of Italy. We visited Florence, Siena, Lucca, Viareggio, Pisa, San Gimignano, San Miniato, Vinci, Monteriggioni, Arezzo, Montepulciano, Montalcino and some other smaller towns.
The first few days of our stay was rainy and cloudy, but still wonderful. When we got bored of this moody weather we decided to drive south where we were met by beautiful sunshine that highlights all of the spring colours that are found in the landscape. Tuscany is very popular in the spring and summer because of the landscape, colours and scents that you can enjoy in, but I also believe that it has its winter magic because you can spend days touring around picturesque little towns along Tuscany without getting enough of their beauty. In spring and summer these towns can get really crowded, especially Florence which is wonderful but too much commercial and full of tourist for our taste.
Every day we were driving in our car with the windows lowered down enjoying the landscape. The nature there is fascinating, just like it is on the postcards, only the experience is more special if you add real things into the postcard like a light breeze blowing through the tall grass, scents of field flowers, vineyards and the warm rays of sun shining on your skin.
We were particularly fascinated by green hills with a few cypress trees that outlines the vast landscape around Pienza, red poppies that decorate the village roads. We were delighted with Siena, a special city with special energy, a town on top of a hill that stands out in an imposing landscape, marked by impeccable architecture and art. We were stunned by San Gimignano with incredible medieval skyscrapers also charming Montepulciano which rise steeply over the numerous vineyards of the famous Vino Nobile. We were delighted with the food, wine, olive oil and ice cream! We visited the fascinating leaning tower of Pisa as well, for which we had no idea that it was that skewed. Also the circular square in Lucca was an experience which was also used as an amphitheater in the past. Overall the food in Italy is something you can’t leave out of and it is an important part of the culture. In Italy it is quite normal that a shop will lure you with a variety of gourmet treats than clothing. We couldn’t resist ourselves and had to bring with us to Croatia several types of pasta, cheese and red wine from Tuscany. Delicatessen are located on each corner. Almost every agritourism, every village and every town has its own specialties and wine and it didn’t happen that we encountered bad food in any place. Be sure to try the famous Tuscan wines Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello di Moltalcino. Also don’t miss to order T-bone steak at a restaurant at least once. Whether you are a huge meat lover or not, you will really enjoy it. On a daily basis we enjoyed in perfect Italian ice cream and coffee, but also pasta dishes which were often so simple and with divine taste, completed with aromatic spices.
Tuscany is pure hedonism. You can enjoy in the nature, get lost in the picturesque streets of medieval towns, see some masterpieces of art, experience a piece of history, but also immensely enjoy the perfect food, wine, Italian cappuccino and pastries. In short, to live “dolce vita”. 
