Travelling Light: DAY 06: Rain in Chianti.

Pie for breakfast!

We took off to the Chianti region of Tuscany this morning. A 45-minute (and very curvy!) drive later, we arrived in Castellina in Chianti. The town was much smaller than we expected and it was raining quite hard by time we arrived. We decided to stop for a cappuccino just after arriving to warm our bones a bit. We didn’t end up doing a whole lot other than some window shopping, but were able to stop for a nice lunch before heading back to the car.

The beautiful textures of the Chianti countryside.

A typical scene from our Italian adventures: us wearing garbage bag-like ponchos.

At Re Gallo, we were treated to artichoke ravioli with a sage and butter sauce, a pecorino omelet, and a traditional pici (thick spaghetti-like noodle) with Sienese sausage and porcini mushroom sauce. This place was quite the find for the low cost associated with it. I think we spent less than $10 per person, but left fat and happy!

The rain let up slightly, but we still dropped our plans to continue on to Radda in Chianti. The drive had been a bit nerve-wrecking and we didn’t want to get any further on without knowing if the roads would be dry on our return. So, we turned back to San Gim. The ride was certainly scenic, filled with grapevines and olive groves. We even saw a farm filled with what appeared to be truffle hunting dogs! We were all blown away by the diverse look of this area.

Back in San Gim, Mom and I decided to take a walk through town in order to seek out the perfect ceramic purchase. I bought a few goodies and finally decided on a ¼ liter wine carafe with Chianti’s signature black rooster hand painted on it. Mom purchased a lovely red poppy spoon rest and a “ciao bella” shirt for Aubree. Awhile later, we met Shawn and Liz for the “world’s best” gelato at Pluripremiata in the Piazza della Cisterna. We couldn’t disagree with their award-winning gelato—it was incredible! They had a unique selection of flavors including raspberry with rosemary, limoncino, and vernaccia wine. I’m still regretting not ordering a second serving with the creamy orange-chocolate variety.

One of San Gim's lovely ceramic shops.

A store in San Gim selling none other than... Chianti.

The sun finally appeared late in the afternoon, so we took a final walk along the old wall. On the way back, we picked up some pizza to create a mish mash of a picnic dinner back at our hotel. It was our cheapest meal yet, but nonetheless light years better than most things we can get at home for a comparable price. Not to mention that we really had a lot of fun eating as a group in the little dining area just outside our hotel room!