Day 3: Drive to Tuscany

We woke up to poor Ellie screaming as she had rolled off the mattress and onto the tile floor. The girls were not fans of sleeping in the other room so they ended up on mattresses on the floor next to our bed! It was 6am, hardly enough sleep after the day before. We had a nice breakfast and chatted with an old woman, whom we assume is the owner. She assumed we were English (most do in Europe). The kids ran all over the yard with the dogs while we sipped our cappucinos. I have decided that I love cappucino and dislike shots of espresso.

I noticed a sunflower field behind the farmhouse as well as some beautiful hydrangeas. These are special to us as we had pale green ones such as these as the main flower in our wedding!

We packed up and hit the road. For lunch we stopped at an Autogrill/gas station on the road. (You see, American's.. there are no drive thru's here or any road side restaurants. You walk up to a bar and order a ham sandwich or a slice of pizza. Those are your options. Everywhere.) The panini's and pizza were pretty fresh though at this one!

The drive to Tuscany was about 3 hours and very easy. Once in the San Gimignano area, the scenary was simply breathtaking. I felt like I was inside one of those precious post cards I used to stare at. I was a little sad as there were fields of sunflowers everywhere that would have been gorgeous about a week earlier. They were finished blooming and ready for harvest.

We arrived to our B&B - the Il Vicario- which is in Sant Andrea and overlooks San Gimignano. I was at first a little disappointed because the building connects with a couple others and was not out by itself. The others looked a little more upscale as well. The pool area was in need of some updates and was a bit cheap with plastic chairs and unstable umbrellas. However, the scenary around this place was amazing. It is honestly the most beautiful area.

Katia- one of our hosts, was very sweet and gracious. She's about my age. Her boyfriend is from Sicily and she's been working there for 5 years. She told us that the farmhouse is 15th century- the priest lived there. The connecting building was the church.

Our room was tastefully decorated and we had a pretty view. It wasn't a/c which I somehow missed when booking but it was okay with a fan. The evenings really cool off up there. We took the girls for a swim in the pool and Katia brought out wine and bruschetta. We napped for a few hours and went down to dinner. Katia's shift was over and Fulvio greeted us. He is a middle aged man with long curly hair and the most charming eyes you'll ever see. He is the warmest, sweetest man. He'd dance with the girls every night. He served us an amazing 4 course meal on the patio and by the time we'd finished it was 10pm! We went for a quick stroll down the dirt road since it was such a beautiful night. It was pitch black and so quiet. All you could hear were crickets. I looked up and saw a shooting star! (Seriously!! I am not making this up) It was just incredibly romantic.. even with 2 kids in a stroller. haha. We were so glad we chose to come here and had a relaxing day.

The next day we'd explore Sienna and San Gimignano before we headed up to Germany for a week!!