Radda in Chianti with a touch of Siena

There were so many nearby villages to visit around our villa, we couldn't have possibly known where to go, if it wasn't for the handy little guide book Casa Cornacchi left us. The description of Radda in Chianti sold us on where to venture off for the day.

"Built in a panoramic location among woods and vineyards, Radda lies in the heart of the Sienese Chianti region. From 1415 it became the head town of the Chianti League and still retains its original medieval layout. The Fattoria of Montevertine, near Radda houses the Museo del Chianti, with exhibitions relating to popular traditions connected with aspects of domestic life and farm work. The nearby Fattoria Castello di Volpaia also offers the possibility of visiting it's winery and olive press"

So off we go in our white C-class!  The old buildings along the small country roads with the beautiful tall Cyprus trees that lined the roads and villas made the drive quite lovely. We arrived to Volpaia, only to find that the restaurant we wanted to eat at, in the castle of Volpaia, was closed =( Most places are closed at least twice a week on random days (usually Sunday and Monday), so if you don't call ahead, you can get screwed. Luckily, there was a cute restaurant nearby that we managed to get a seat at. Our first meal of our Tuscan adventure was none other than caprese salad and pasta with truffle cream sauce for me and pecoroni cheese salad and pasta with procini for Gerald. Topped off with a liter of wine and tiramasu and we were done! The restaurant we ate at was called La Bottega, which had beautiful views of the countryside.

After lunch we explored Volpaia for a bit. Volpaia is a tiny town with pretty much nothing there but the castle. We wandered around the castle grounds, going through the small narrow streets and alleyways and stopped off at the winery for a look around.






















Driving back down, we stopped at Castello di Radda winery for our first wine tour of the trip. This was a fairly new winery, so everything was nice and modern.


















At this point, the clouds were getting darker and it looked like it was about to pour, but we decided to stop off in the village of Radda anyways. Again, this town was surrounded by walls with cute little cobblestone alleyways and footpaths. There were a bunch of shops and enotecas (wine bar/shops) so we poked our head in a few and then the rain came down! We were forced to take shelter in the local grocery shop until the rain died down, so I was able to study all the meats and cheeses they had to offer. Pecorino is a fairly new cheese to me and I didn't realize how many different types there were. After having it once at Jamie Oliver's restaurant, I thought there was just that one kind, but apparently, not. So we bought some cheese and meats and made a run for the car as the rain was dying down.



We arrived at the villa for a quick nap and change of clothes and headed out to Siena for dinner at Enoteca i Terzi. After our 3 course lunch, we decided to again have a 3 course dinner. Gerald wanted the "Florentine" steak so I said I'd share it with him. What we didn't realize was that the steak was meant to feed 10, not 2, and it was 65 euros! You better believe we took home what we didn't finish and had it for another meal =) This is where we learned: portions are huge in Italy, and it is not necessary to eat 3 and 4 course meals, every meal, every day! Feeling stuffed to the max, we walked through the shell shaped square and back to the car for a nights rest after a food-filled day. We needed energy for our next excursion - Chianti wine tour with Franco.