Feb 3, 2010
By Lisa T. Bergren, 2007, updated 1/31/10
We did a March 2007 trip with two grandparents (in their 60s), two parents (in their 40s) and three kids (ages 11. 8 and 4). Our first leg of the trip was in Rome, and our third was Venice, but Tuscany, as always it seems, stole our hearts.
Day 1:
We drove up from Rome (about 2 hours from the airport) on Saturday afternoon and had to get groceries before reaching our agriturismo, the incredible Odina, where we shared the luxurious, roomy, fabulous Redento villa, complete with full kitchen and wood-burning pizza oven (see pizza oven tips below). With four bedrooms and three baths, an amazing living area, this could be a destination stop, and there was plenty of room for our party of 7. There are three smaller villa options as well, if you have fewer numbers traveling with you (or want to do a family reunion!).
Because of our late departure from Rome (2:00 by the time we got our cars at the airport), and the crazy grocery store run, it was late when we reached the Odina. Poor Gloria, the caretaker, had to wait until 9:00 and we arrived—two hours after deadline—and I couldn’t get our international cell phone to go through to her to tell her. We felt terrible for keeping her late.
TIP: Saturday night grocery store runs are INSANE. Sunday is a big family day in Italy and the grocery stores are closed, so get there early!! But what a great experience! After that first nutsy stop, we came to anticipate our grocery runs with pleasure.
DAY 2-4
The Odina is located outside of Loro Ciuffenna, perched high on a hill above olive grove upon olive grove. You have an amazing view over the Arezzo valley and over into the Chianti region. Our time here was a highlight, because it was more relaxed for the kids. We ate in the house and slept until a decent hour, then took half-day treks to Greve-in-Chianti, Arezzo and Siena. Warning: It takes about 1-1.5 hours over winding roads if you’re heading anywhere west. There is a good interstate when you near Siena, but it isn’t as picturesque; still this is a good option for at least one way (maybe when you’re heading home).
Our highlights were a winery stop in Greve-in-Chianti, where we shared a family picnic on an old olive press wheel table (the kids watched a movie in the car while we had a brief wine tasting). And we all loved Siena (be sure to climb to the top of the campanile (tower) in Il Campo–it’s a lot of steps, but even our just-five-year-old made it.)
The nine rays you see going out from the base of the public building, out across the seashell shape of Piazza il Campo, were symbols of the Nine, the governing nine men of the ancient city. Also be sure to go the zebra-striped Duomo, a fantastic church with inlaid marble floors and a pulpit that took decades to carve.
Siena was a superpower among the grand cities of Italia, constantly at war with Florence, flourishing in banking, which made her especially strong. A visit here will give everyone on your trip a strong sense of medieval city landscapes.
San Galgano
We went to a very cool church site outside of Siena, San Galgano, with a 13th Century basilica that was abandoned (there’s no roof). Legend has it that Saint Galgano buried his sword in a stone when he gave up his vocation as a crusader and dedicated his life to God (sounds a little like Camelot, doesn’t it? But this legend predates that one!). You can see the sword, apparently, but we there off-season and off-hours, so we didn’t get to.
We returned home to the Odina to make pizza in our woodburning oven, laden with Italian sausage, peppers, onions, and fresh mozzarella.
TIP: Making a pizza in a wood-burning oven? Burn the fire where you’re going to bake the pizza, burn down to embers, move the embers aside, throw down cornmeal or flour and do a test mini-crust to see if it works. (If it does, just add cheese and finish. If not, keep experimenting!) Pop the bubbles as they rise. At the store, pick up lots of fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, sausage, pepperoni, peppers, onion, cornmeal/flour (to keep it from sticking) and frozen pizza dough. YUM! Also makes for great lunch leftovers to pack.
DAY 5-6: FLORENCE
We left the Odina (so sad!) and went to an inexpensive inn I wouldn’t recommend beyond friendliness and price (even though it included a cereal/coffee breakfast). The rooms were old and yucky, but we’d spent a good wad already and were planning to splurge in Venice, so we held back here. A traveling family has to cut back somewhere to make the budget work!
Downtown Firenze
We went to the famed basilica and the kids climbed the tons of steps to the top of the dome (they were a little whiny and a lot under-whelmed over the view; think they were still tired after our trek up the steps of the campanile in Siena), but it’s cool for them to know they’ve been to the top of one of the most famous landmarks of the world. And doing the climb gives them a close-up view of the artwork inside the top of the dome, something you can’t appreciate from the duomo floor.
Mmm…Trattorias!
Dinner at Il Latina in the north of the city is not to be missed. It’s a fabulous family-friendly trattoria that Rachel Ray recommends. People line up an hour before their 7:00pm opening, so get there at least 30-40 minutes ahead. You’re seated at a table and we recommend the cheese/salami appetizer, the white bean soup, and sharing a couple of the mammoth (you’ve NEVER seen bigger!) T-bone steaks. Famous! Amazing! (And the house Chianti ain’t bad either.) Tim and I had been here before with friends; this night I returned for a special occasion: My big 4-0!
The next day we went to the Accademia (to see Michaelangelo’s David—an excellent, short stop with kids) and the Uffizi (to glimpse a million other world-famous art pieces).
TIP: If I was to do it again, I’d take either another day in Florence or skip the Uffizi—too crowded and overwhelming for kids our children’s ages. PLUS we were leaving right after for Venice, and again, I had planned too much for the day of transit. If you’re doing the Rome-Tuscany-Venice plan, be sure to plan on transit days between regions as just that—transit days. You’ll be much happier than we were on those days!
We reached the hotel, grabbed our bags and set off for Venice, about a three hour drive.
Have YOU been to Tuscany with kids? What are your favorite stops, restaurants, inns or agriturismos? Please comment below!
Posted on Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Tags: Arezzo, Firenze, Florence, grocery shopping in Italy, Italy, San Galgano, Siena, travel with children, travel with kids, Tuscany, wood burning pizza oven
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