I found some great plane tickets through Ryanair out of Frankfurt Hahn to Pisa. I knew the weather wasn't going to be the greatest but wanted to explore the coast and spend time in Cinque Terra. We were also interested in spending a couple days in Tuscany and just relax... and I came across an adorable villa on AirBnB that I just had to see!
After arriving in Pisa, we went to go pick up our car rental. I booked through Ryanair (usually I go through our insurance company to get the best deal) and will never do that again. They had all these hidden fees and was just annoyed with the company BUT the car was great and we got a great price on using a car seat for Rand. We put all our luggage in the car but left it in the lot to run over and get a throw pic in front of the leaning tower. We jumped on a bus from the Pisa Aiport to the train station to get on another bus to the "Torre" stop to get our pic. We later figured out we could of just stayed on the original bus ride to get there instead of switching buses at the train station. The Red Line and bus #21 both go to the Pisa Airport, Pisa Train Station and the "Torre" stop to see the leaning tower. Also, remember to validate your bus ticket when getting on the bus.
The first day we headed to Florence by train. We went out of Pontedera and the ride was under an hour. We went to Florence back in 2013 when I was pregnant with Rand. I just had to do a throw-back pic of my baby belly and now with a 2.5 year old.
The next day we headed off to two smaller cities, Volterra and San Gimignano. The drive throughout Tuscany was just stunning. We took our time and made frequent stops to enjoy the views. Also, keep an eye out for small vineyards to buy bottles of wine or olive oil. You can spot many wine tasting spots all over Tuscany.
Volterra is a charming medieval town in central Tuscany, It may sound familiar to some because it was home to the Volturi's in the Twilight series. It was a darling little city surrounded by big stone walls on the top of a hill. Volterra is known for its alabaster and the city has a few good shops filled with some beautiful alabaster artwork.
I can not recommend highly enough Il Pozzo Degli Etruschi Di Caciagli Paolo for a meal. The staff were very welcoming and the food was absolutely delicious. I especially enjoyed the wild boar stewed in chocolate sauce with pine nuts.
Next, we headed 40 minutes northeast to San Gimignano. Known as the "city of beautiful towers", 72 towers once stood looking down over Tuscany's Elsa Valley. Now only 14 towers remain in this medieval city. This is much more of a tourist spot than Volterra with gift shops at every corner.
The San Gimignano Duomo, or Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta, is a gorgeous church where the walls are completely covered with paintings. One wall is dedicated to the Old Testament and the other wall dedicated to the life of Jesus.
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