The weekend before my wedding, my Dad decided it would be an awesome idea to put a bet on an online charity auction for a week long stay in a Tuscan villa. Now, he didn't really believe he'd win it as it was a good price and you got a lot for your money, but low and behold... no one else bid. So fast forward 9 months, we were on a plane on our way for a week's stay in said villa. And can I just say...
I love Italy.
I wanted to split this blog post into three, as I wanted to talk about the villa and the holiday in general for one, Cortona in another and a third on Lake Trasimene. I loved our holiday so much, I just couldn't condense it into just one long post. So I hope you enjoy, and if so then I'll definitely do much more lifestyle/travel type posts for T&M. So let's start with the holiday in general, and our beautiful villa.
We stayed at the beautiful Villa Sole, which sleeps up up to around 10-11 people and is set up in the hills outside of Cortona. You're up a dirt track and completely isolated, so the peace and quiet is unbelievable. And for someone who has been working on moving house and organising this, it was exactly what I needed. The villa has four double rooms, one twin and one single, a kitchen, lounge, diner, gym and sauna. Most rooms have their own bathrooms, and all have air conditioning. It also had an outside kitchen with bbq and pizza oven, and an infinity pool. It was incredible.
On the trip was my parents, my husband and I, and both my brothers and their girlfriends - so 8 in total. And there was enough room to have some alone time, or a chill out, even with eight of you around. It was so lovely to spend a week just relaxing and hanging out with my family. Now we've all moved out we don't get to spend as much time together as we like, so it was nice for us to all come together and stop moving for a week. I felt utterly relaxed and comfortable. And I slept which was a nice change.
The area we stayed in was stunning, we had an incredible view of Tuscany, and we were hidden up in the hills so it was completely private. The weather was SUPER hot (although the UK had a heat wave the same week) so I came back with a nice sunkissed tan. I have to say. Italy is just beautiful in genera. Coming from the airport, the scenery was incredible and I just instantly fell i love. I've obviously been to a few countries before, but for me I've never fallen so instantly in love with somewhere as I did with Tuscany. And just in general, everyone was so friendly, super cheerful. And let's face it, it's the home of pizza, pasta, prosecco and Pinot - so I'm all over it.
Most days we did just relax around the pool, play some games, and have a bbq. There were a couple of outings (which will come in other posts) but one of my favourites experiences of the trip was having an Italian cooking lesson. A lovely couple, Ana and Franco came to the villa to teach up how to make tagliatelle from scratch and ragu. They then also made us a main of roast pork and a pineapple creamy dessert thing. I absolutely LOVED making pasta, and it was so much easier then I thought it would be. The end result was also the best pasta I've ever had in my life. It was so light, and not at all filling. I'll definitely be trying this again when I get a chance. Thankfully my new kitchen will be big enough to attempt it!
I absolutely loved our trip. I wish we could have stayed longer but alas - we had to get back and pack so we could move house (FYI - which we're doing today eek). I would highly recommend this area of Italy, and just a really chill villa holiday is perfect for family fun and some peace and quiet.
Where's your favourite area in Italy?
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