Cool Tuscany Tours with Anna

When I was researching Florence, and asking friends for recommendations, everyone told me to go to Tuscany countryside. Yes, would love to..... but how the heck do I manage that with a toddler and not knowing anything about Tuscany.....or how to speak Italian? Finally, someone recommended Anna's CoolTours. I am not a tour bus fan, but this is different. I talked with Anna about what Duane and I would like to see with the caveat of the fact that we have a toddler in tow. She was more than flexible and came up with a customized private itinerary that work work best for us.

Anna promptly picked us up at our apartment for our private Tuscany tour at 9:30am and whisked us away to the countryside. She also has a little one so she provided a car seat and knew that we needed a flexible schedule with Grayson. Our first stop was in a teeny tiny (population 500) medieval town called San Donato in Poggio, that is about half way between Florence and Siena. No cars are allowed in 2 of the 3 roads within the 12th century city walls so Grayson could run around without me having to worry.




Grayson was a fan of Anna

Next we jumped back into the car and drove deeper into the Chianti territory, treated with stunning views of endless rows of vineyards mixed in with olive tree orchards, small woods, hamlets, farmhouses and wineries as we drove through the rolling hills. Our next stop was a family winery, Sant’Agnese Farm. Here they produce balsamic vinegar, truffles, and extra virgin olive oil, and wine (only 450 - 500 bottles annually). After a short tour around the grounds, we headed inside from the cold for a traditional Tuscan lunch with wine pairing.




This was the appetizer.....and the only picture I took because I was so focused on the food. Not show was the pesto pasta course, the beef chocolate stew with potatoes, or the vanilla gelato. IT. WAS. SO. GOOD.
The last place we stopped at was a bigger winery called Castello Monterinaldi winery located between Panzano and Radda in Chianti. We were able to go into the cellar and taste some pretty amazing wines.


the old cellar

The new cellar


the new employee
so many yummy wines
It was a long day, but so so worth it.


Location: Tuscany, Italy

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