Travel :: Villa Campomaggio

During our recent Italy trip we took a six-day road trip through Tuscany.  We started south in the Val d'Orcia region and slowly made our way north through Siena to the Chianti countryside.  When in Chianti we stayed at the beautiful Villa Campomaggio, an elegant 15th century villa that had recently been converted into a hotel.  The villa's perfectly groomed grounds {the only time I have ever seen grass as green has been on a golf course} were jaw-droppingly gorgeous - secret gardens, a pool overlooking rollings hills of grapevines, chairs for reading surrounded by lavender, cypress trees, dark, mysterious forests, all with a picture-perfect view of the Chianti countryside and the tiny town of Radda in the distance.  

We spent an afternoon relaxing at the villa, Ryan taking a nap in our gorgeous room and myself {never being one to miss out on a moment of adventure} went on a long walk down the dusty country roads with my camera.  At six it was time for aperitivo {the Italian "happy hour" where drinks and finger foods are served}.  We sampled four or five different regional wines and ate bruschetta with tomatoes and mozzarella on the patio overlooking the sun going down over the rolling countryside.  After a few days of questionable wifi access it was great to be able to sit on the patio and Skype with my mom, showing her the gorgeous surroundings.  After our drinks we headed into the adorable little town of Radda for dinner at the quaint Ristorante La Botte di Bacco where I ate homemade ravioli with Pecorino and pears that was out of this world phenomenal!  In the morning we awoke to the sun rising through our window and had a relaxing breakfast on the patio with cappuccinos and the largest breakfast spread I have ever seen {they definitely know how to eat in Tuscany}.  It was a really lovely place to stay and I only wish that we would have had more time to spend there!