We stayed at a farmhouse in Tuscany for a week

This past trip to France, we decided to stay an extra week and go somewhere new with my parents-in-law. We threw some ideas around like Berlin, somewhere in Austria, somewhere in Portugal, Florence, Corsica (just for Tristan really), Crete, and Prague. In the end, Florence with the surrounding area in Tuscany won. Florence was initially suggested by my mother-in-law so I'm glad she was pleased :)

After some research, I found this great farmhouse just 20 minutes from Florence. The idea was to drive down to Florence from the South of France so we needed a place that had safe parking for our car. Parking is both a nightmare and in short supply inside Florence. When I saw the farmhouse, I knew it was perfect! When we arrived it was exactly what I had imagined it would be. There were a few things I wish were different about our stay but overall, it was great! I just wrote a review for the farmhouse today and I think I would go back if we were to return to Florence again.

The farm and the surrounding area was what I had always pictured Tuscany to be. Rolling hills of Chianti vineyards, olive groves, green grass, fruit trees, and just a peaceful countryside setting. We had donkeys nearby the shared swimming pool area and chickens and roosters in another farm nearby. I heard the roosters as early as 5AM. Of course with farm life also comes bugs, lizards, and mosquitoes. The first two nights I couldn't sleep because mosquitoes were buzzing in my ear all night. I slept under the covers but it was hard to breathe and it was hot! During the week we were in Tuscany, the temperature was 25-29C during the day. It didn't rain at all until after we left.

 

Each day we took road trips to nearby cities to visit other parts of Tuscany and we spent two days inside Florence. Our farm was in a great location to do all of this. For Florence, we would drive 2 minutes to Sieci, park our car all day there and take the train into the city. It was only 2 Euros and the train only took 20 minutes. We were told that parking was difficult and you could easily pay 40 Euros a day for parking. Parking at the train station in Sieci was free. It was somewhat of a relief to return back to the quiet farmhouse after a full day in a hustling downtown Florence.

Most evenings we would make it back to the farmhouse and have a light dinner outside in our own private patio. It was warm and we had a beautiful view of the Tuscan hills. It was June and the sun didn't set until late. When the meal was done and we cleared the table, Tristan would run around and play near the farmhouse with Jean-Louis. Then the moon would rise and we would take pictures of it. Why not, hey? :)

I was so excited about our trip when I first rented the farmhouse. Now that we have stayed there, I have to say it really was the best decision. Our experience of Florence and Tuscany would have been very different had we stayed at a hotel in the city center of Florence. It really was countryside bliss :)