Lucignano

This was the biggest and most unique calzone we had ever seen. It was called the "Secret"...Marcie had no idea what she was getting herself into. Turns out they stuffed a calzone full of every ingredient in the kitchen. It was amazing!
see all photos »

Marcie and Tom picked Sara, Ali, and myself up in the town of Arezzo. We drove to the small Tuscan town of Lucignano and searched for the villa that would be our home for the next week or so. We got a little lost but finally we found the bright blue gate that led us down a path of cyprus trees and ended at the beautiful villa. The place was absolutely incredible. The home is owned by an artist from Manhattan and had an amazing art studio built in. The house overlooked giant sunflower fields, that sadly were not in bloom at that time of the year. The backyard had a beautiful pool and area to just lounge, drink wine, read, and play games. After we were at the villa for a day or two, Ali left to go back to Florence, and Marcie's friend Kathy came to visit.

Our first meal in Lucignano
see all photos »

The town of Lucignano itself was distinctly medieval. From the villa, it was a windy road uphill to the small town. Lucignano sat atop a hill and from up above you had incredible views of Tuscany. Wandering through the town was like trying to navigate through a maze. The streets were so small and narrow that only locals were allowed to drive within the city walls.

One night Tom took us all out for a fantastic Tuscan meal. As we walked into the restaurant Tom muttered under his breath, "Prosecco all around," but the best part was that there were no waiters anywhere in sight. Low and behold two minutes later we were sipping complementary Prosecco and ordering some of the best food we had our entire trip. The wine throughout Tuscany was fantastic and regardless of what you tried it was never bad.

The back of the house
see all photos »

One day Tom, Marcie, and Kathy drove to a small town south of Lucignano called Deruta. Instead of going, Sara and I decided to spend the day in Lucignano. We braved the dangerous walk up to town and spent our time going from cafe to cafe drinking cappuccinos and watching the locals go about their days. At one point an attractive waitress even tried to hit on Sara. All in all it was a very good day.

The time we spent in Lucignano was some of the best of the whole trip. As great as all the day trips we made from the villa were, there was really nothing better than just lounging around the house, eating good food, and playing games.