Tuscany Now - A Competition

I am entering a competition by Tuscany Now and we have to answer a question and post this answer on our blog.  The question is:- What is our favourite element of Tuscany? The prize is a stay for two in one of their villas in Tuscany.  

What is there not to love about Tuscany? Basically for me it was very hard to pin point my favourite elements.  But I thought I would list a few below:-

1. The happy feeling you get a you look around the countryside

2. The clean images everywhere - the undulating countryside



3. The fantastic cities:- Florence, the birthblace of the Renaissance, famous culture and history (Leoardo da Vinci and Michaelangelo) yet a vibrant city, friendly city today.

4. The Duomo (cathederal in most cities - Florence and Pisa for example)

5. Vibrant and alive street markets - we walked for hours around the markets of Florence heading to a local restaurant for refreshment between bargain hunting.

6. Food markets - only the freshest and seasonable ingredients for the Tuscan table - home or restaurant.

7. Definitely the food, the freshness and simplicity of it. Seasonal and imaginative yet enduringly simple.

But most of all:-

8. Stopping off for a refreshing Prosecco, staying for lunch, more Prosecco, and even more Prosecco and just watching the world go by from the comfort of a local streetside seat!

These are some of the things that I love about Tuscany but they are also things I love about Italy in general.  The people, the scenery, the culture, the food - the absolute Italian-ness!!!


All photos courtesy of Google images