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Report 1188: The Search for Bubble Wrap in Tuscany

By Bob from Boston from Massachusetts, Fall 2006

Trip Description: Staying at Agriturismo and driving through the countryside of Tuscany (Radda, San Gim, Pienza, Montalcino) and Umbria (Assisi, Todi, Montefalco, Spello) in search of great food & wine, with a final stop in Rome - September 12-27, 2006.

Destinations: Countries - Italy; Regions/Cities - Rome, Tuscany, Umbria

Categories: Hotels/B&Bs; Day Tours; Foodie Trip; Shopping; Sightseeing; Wine Trip; Independent Travel; 3-4 people

Page 1 of 16: Boston to Chianti via Rome

Intro: When on vacation we like to explore scenic areas from a home base such as an agriturismo located near a town with a medieval or renaissance tradition. We also like to experience typical Tuscan cuisine in a casual atmosphere as opposed to gourmet style, fine dining.

Preface: Our one regret from our trip to Italy in 2004 was that we took home just eight bottles of wine. We were determined to bring home more this time. Shortly before our trip new flight regulations regarding liquids were imposed, which meant we would not be able to carry wine on board with us, which we did on our 2004 trip. We knew up front that we needed to pack our wine very carefully in our checked luggage on our return trip home. Hence, the search for "Bubble Wrap."

Boston to Rome to Tuscany - Sept 12th-Sept 13th

We depart on a direct flight from Boston at 6:30pm on Alitalia and seven and a half hours later arrive in at Rome Fiumicino Airport at 8:30am. The flight goes well and we are able to sleep 3-4 hours, with the help of an Ambien each.

It takes almost an hour before we get our luggage off the turnstile. The luggage area was not air-conditioned and it was stuffy after a long flight. The hour turns from one to two when we get to the Rental Car area and see a line 50 people long for Hertz, from whom we are renting our car for our trip. All the other rental agencies had no more than two people in line. The moral to the story is use Auto Europe for your trip, not Hertz. Another hour later we have our car and we now exit the airport.

With the help of the info from SlowTrav (ST), we make it out of the airport with ease onto the GRA where we hit some congestion from construction and onto the A1 North. We are so dehydrated from the flight that we stop two times to buy water at the Autogrills. We turn on the radio and come across what sounds like Tony Bennett singing a rap song in Italian. We crack up because it sounded so weird. Even after our long flight we are in good spirits, we have a feeling this is going to be a fun trip.

Three hours later we get off at Montevarchi and proceed to our first stop, the SPACE (Prada) Outlet. Their goods are treasured by our two daughters who are in their twenties. Anne buys them a pocketbook each and 40 minutes later we are on our way. We pick up the SS 429 on the West side of Montevarchi and thirty minutes later pull into Le Noci in Radda, our B&B. Le Noci is 3 km from Radda on the road to Gaiole at the bottom of the hill below Ceramiche Rampini. The rooms are clean, breakfast is solid but the landscaping is not finished yet. Our only wish is that the rooms had windows. The door does have a glass pane with a curtain to let some light in, though. There is one window in the bathroom but it has no screen on it and will allow bugs into the room.

We try to stay awake as long as possible so we shower and go into Radda for a light dinner, but first we stop at the Café/Gelateria on the main road to email Tina & John about what to expect at the airport when they fly in the next day. We then have dinner outside at Dante Aligheri which is on the main road in Radda. We have a glass of wine each, bruschetta, tagliatelle with cinghiale ragu and caprese insalata. We ate here on our last trip and we are glad we did this time as well. The flavor of cinghiale is as delicious as we remember. We then walk through the old streets of Radda, purchase a bottle of wine for the next day, look to see if any shops carry "Bubble Wrap", (no), then head back to Le Noci. We sleep for 12 hours and wake up at 8:00 AM feeling refreshed for our first full day.