Day 8: Driving a Vespa Through Tuscany
Today we went on a tour of Tuscany via Vespa. Prior to the tour, we didn't know what to expect, but it was a blast.
First, a bus took us from Florence's city center to a small town 30min out of the city. Here, it was much less crowded and much more beautiful. You could see rolling hills in every direction.
This tour was a group of about 10 people. Most people rode their Vespas single, but Kassidy and I - plus a couple other couples - chose to double up on their Vespas.
Here's a photo of us at our first stop:
Preparation
The tour description said you didn't need any Vespa experience to participate. They would provide a quick tutorial and test drive. Even with this preparation, it wasn't entirely easy to get the hang of. Regardless, we passed their informal test and felt sort of comfortable taking the scooter to the road!
The Views
Like I said earlier, there were rolling hills in every direction, and getting to see it all from the Vespa made it even better. Kassidy was taking photos and videos the whole time from the back seat! Here's a couple:
Wine Tasting
After the Vespa ride, our tour guide brought us to a nearby winery for wine tasting. The view here was great too. The two wonderful wines we tried may have made the view even better.
Dinner at another Winery
After the first winery, we wrapped up our tour with dinner at a second winery. They gave us a brief walkthrough of the premises, starting with their "new cask room" which was built in 1760. That doesn't sound too new until you hear that their "old cask room" was built in the 1400s! Here's a photo of the old one:
After a walkthrough of their premises, we had dinner there. It was nice to get to know a bit more about the others on the tour as well. Turns out many of them are headed to Rome the same day we are!
This was our favorite day so far by a long shot. Riding the Vespa together through the hills of Tuscany felt so adventurous. The wine tasting and traditional Tuscan dinner that followed was just the cherry on top.
Bonus for the Day: Tuscan Cats!
We're always happy to find cats along the way, and today we saw two. They were friendly and happy to let Kassidy pet them.
