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<\/a><\/p>\nThe fog we saw on the valley floor would be repeated quite a bit during the first part of our drive.<\/p>\n
We drove north for over an hour until we reached our first stop of the day, Castello di Monsanto.\u00a0 This was our last winery visit of the trip.<\/p>\n We had excellent weather so we took a vineyard tour.\u00a0 You can see a platform in this photo at the top of the hill and right in the middle of the vineyards.<\/p>\n Gorgeous views in every direction from the platform!<\/p>\n Group photo time!<\/p>\n One last shot as we were heading back down the hill (“Poggio” in Italian).<\/p>\n We took a tour of the aging cellars, with more of the huge neutral-oak tanks.<\/p>\n They also have some wine aging in a tunnel that connects the winery owners villa with the wine making building.\u00a0 This long tunnel (maybe 200 meters?) was built completely by hand.<\/p>\n There are spots along the sides of the tunnel where they are storing wine, and you could see roots sticking out of the tunnel walls.\u00a0 We are about 30 feet below ground here.<\/p>\n The library wines were in easy reach of the winery owner.\u00a0 Not sure how often he comes down to grab a bottle, but I’d surely try this 1962, my birth year.<\/p>\n Here is the lineup of wines we tried in their tasting area, directly adjacent to the tunnel.<\/p>\n This is where I had my two favorite wines of the tour!\u00a0 First up is the 2022 Chianti Classico Riserva, an excellent expression of Sangiovese!\u00a0 Love this wine!!<\/p>\n The second wine that we were very impressed by was not supposed to be part of our tasting, but after three of us asked separately about it they opened this Chardonnay, which is excellent!<\/p>\n William is hopefully already working on acquiring some of these two wines from his contacts in the wine business (he works for a distributor).<\/p>\n Our last stop was lunch at the Michelin Star restaurant Osteria di Passignano<\/a><\/strong>, set amongst the medieval Abbey of Passignano.<\/p>\n The entrance to the restaurant was very inviting.<\/p>\n The Tortelli Mugellani with Wild Boar Ragout was excellent!\u00a0 I stopped taking photos after the first course, but it was all amazing!<\/p>\n Our tour director Filippo pulled out all the stops for this final meal, as they were pouring some great wines!\u00a0 They were all really good but the Tignanello and Solaia, both by Antinori, were excellent!!\u00a0 What a great lunch!<\/p>\n After lunch we drove the final 45 minutes to our hotel in Florence where we said goodbye to our expert wine guide Alessia and our wonderful driver Max.\u00a0 Thanks so much for everything you two did for us!<\/p>\n We checked into the Hotel Bernini Palace<\/a><\/strong>, located perfectly in the center of historic Florence, just in time to take a walk as the sun was starting to set.\u00a0 A short 3 minute walk from the hotel is the stunning Basilica of Santa Croce.<\/p>\n The area just above the main entrance was still lit up by the sun.\u00a0 We will be visiting this church later during our time in Florence.<\/p>\n To the left of the church is this statue of Dante Aligheri, the famed classical Italian writer of “Dante’s Inferno” fame.\u00a0 The statue was built by Enrico Pazzi in 1865.\u00a0 I’ve gotta admit, I haven’t read any of Dante’s works.<\/p>\n One of the wonders of Florence is the plethora of “wine windows” along the narrow roads and alleyways of the city.\u00a0 You hit a button or ring a bell and order a glass of wine through the little window.\u00a0 These windows started in 1559 when Cosimo Medici allowed noble families to sell surplus wine from their homes, bypassing taxes.\u00a0 These small openings became more important in the 17th century during the bubonic plague, allowing safe transactions without close contact.<\/p>\n We still had some light so we walked along the Arno River, with this view of the Uffizi Gallery, a definite highlight of Florence we visited the next day.<\/p>\n Also on the Arno River is the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge, which seems to be perpetually packed with tourists.<\/p>\n After crossing back over the Arno River we turned back towards our hotel and had this view of Palazzo Vecchio.\u00a0 It seems everything looks better at sunset!<\/p>\n One last shot from our first night, the Fountain of Neptune directly adjacent to the Palazzo Vecchio.\u00a0 It was commissioned by Cosimo Medici in 1559 to commemorate his son’s marriage.\u00a0 It sustained considerable damage over the years and was restored in 2019.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n