After an amazing day adventuring en route to Siena and the truly adventurous Context Tour in the city full of a cast of characters (more on that coming up in a separate post!), we once again left Florence and headed to do more exploring in the rural hills of Tuscany.

We wandered a bit with Mr. Misadventures taking photo after photo of the Tuscan countryside.

Eventually, our stomachs dictated a stop and we stumbled upon San Quirico d'Orcia, a very, very sleepy town, in fact as we drove around it [twice] we weren't even sure it was inhabited!

Thank god, we were starving, and persistent, as we were about to have a meal of a lifetime!

We parked our car in front of some serious signs that made me wonder whether it would be there when we returned (although I wasn't sure who exactly was going to take it away, as we hadn't seen a soul)! We walked down a narrow street in front of a beautiful church and started searching for restaurants.

See…abandoned!

We turned the corner and found La Bottega de Cacio, a very unassuming location that was well-designed and full of light (as someone who likes to take food photos, that is always a huge score in my book!).

We walked in and asked if they were serving lunch and the lady of the house nodded her headed, seated us, and handed us a menu.

And then we saw it.

A truffle menu.

That's right. Three courses of truffle-centered dishes.

Come to mama.

My previous experience with truffles was limited. I’d had a pathetic omelet with truffles in La Drôme, France. And of course, the amazing truffle sandwich I had just experienced a few days earlier at Procacci.

Earlier in the year, I had read Langdon Cook's The Mushroom Hunters and knew Italian truffles were prized as some of the best in the world, particularly the white.

I didn't know what kind of truffles would be served in the truffle menu, but it didn't matter. They could have been purple with pink dots, I was getting that menu.

I didn't even have to ask the hubby, he was all in!

We ordered (deciding to just have 2 out of the 3 items) and selected wine and waited in anticipation.

The first course arrived. Boar carpaccio covered with (white, squee!) truffles. There were truffles for days!

What does truffle taste like? Hmm, hard to describe. Personally, I think of it as if garlic and a very pungent mushroom had sex, the result would be a truffle, but that is just me!

While we were still marveling about the first course, the second arrived. It was a very simple pasta loaded with shaved truffles and black pepper.

At this point, I am just beside myself with happiness, maybe that is an effect of truffles, but I am not sure. There was probably barely perceptible humming going on.

Mr. Misadventures and I barely spoke except to say how amazing it tasted. That and the fact we were glad we had not ordered the third course….steak with truffles on top…we were stuffed and satiated with the two courses and happy, happy clams.

We rolled out of there and back to our (still there) car and continued on our way. The taste of truffle lingers on the tongue and in the mouth for a very long time. For the next 8 hours, I tasted truffle in my mouth, as if there was food in my mouth at that very moment, I have to say it is an odd sensation.

We drove along nearly deserted roads taking in the rolling hills and gorgeous clouds.

The simplest building, farm, house, or plot of land beckoned for us and we imagined what retirement in this place would be like.

Under the Tuscan clouds.

Every photograph of the landscape looks painted by the hands of some higher being, it is remarkably beautiful.

I don't think I can ever get tired of that view, but I won't bore you with any more shots of green, green fields, blue, blue skies, and fluffy clouds! We wandered for hours and eventually started making our way to Montalcino.

Our plan was to explore the fort in the town. And climb up for more incredible views of the countryside and that of the town itself.

After visiting, we walked through the town and as we were doing so it began raining so we ducked into a bar for a Spritz. Even drinking alcohol couldn't kill the taste of the truffle!

The rain disappeared; the sun came back out to brighten the sky and we followed the Tuscan clouds back to Florence.

I promised no more Tuscan under the cloud photos, but how can you resist this?

How about you? Have you visited the Tuscan countryside? Is it on your bucket list?

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Many of the photos were taken by Mr. Misadventures and you can find his full Tuscany portfolio (and many other spots we have traveled to) on his site, Sel & Poivre Photography.

We didn't spend every day in Florence, although I could have done a food tour every day! Instead, we used it as a home base to explore the Tuscan countryside. As usual, Mr. Misadventures had plenty of photo spots scoped out and I just enjoyed the ride. We left Florence one morning to take a very long side trip to Siena.

The trip between Florence and Siena is 90 minutes on the highway. Siena was our ultimate destination for the afternoon, as we were joining a Context Travel tour. We didn’t plan on taking the highway so our trip between the two cities took six hours.

Six hours of views like this:

And this:

And this:

We eventually began winding our way into the hills of the Chianti region where beautiful vineyards lined the slopes.

We arrived in the little [tiny] town of Volpaia and walked around the Castello di Volpaia winery a bit just ogling the grounds!

We stopped into the Bioenoteca Volpaia store and tasted some of their organic wines around lunchtime and then decided to stop at a little cantina next door called Bar Ucci run by Mama Paola.

Paola didn't speak a word of English but there is an international language when it comes to the love of good food!

We sat outside and ordered a Caprese salad which was delicious – to me, that dish is the epitome of simple Tuscan food. Nothing fancy about it, just extremely fresh ingredients, and no sauces to hide behind, the ingredients speak for themselves.

I had lasagna, simply made, and delicious.

I had hesitated between that and boar stew, but as we were eating outside under the sun, I thought it would be too heavy, although lasagna is not exactly light! When I saw a man behind Mr. Misadventures being served stew, I had total food envy and I am [obviously] still thinking about it!

After saying goodbye to Paola, we continued on our way, direction Siena and taking in more of the amazing Tuscany. To say this area is breathtaking is an understatement; everywhere you look is a perfect painting.

It was our first taste of Italy outside a major city, but it will definitely not be our last. We loved the countryside and Tuscany so much we are considering walking part of the 1200-year-old pilgrim path, called Via Francigena Toscana, it is an absolutely remarkable way to see Italy! There is another area of Italy that I am dying to visit and in particular hike through. I have friends that have been hiking in Cinque Terre and they all rave about it! It seems that wherever you travel to in Italy there is plenty to see once you get out of town!

How about you? Have you ever been to the Tuscan countryside? If not, is it on your bucket list?

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Sometime after 2014, they changed their name from Obika to Obica. Luckily if you search for Obika Florence you will end up with the right search results and website for Ociba Florence! I have no idea why they did the change, but if you look closely at the menu in the 5th photo down you will see that it was Obika!

Obica Mozzarella Bar Florence (there are other locations around the world including LA and NYC) is absolutely gorgeous! Part of the restaurant is in an amazing courtyard with a stone floor that was very cool on a hot day. I never went into the main part of the restaurant (since the terrace is in the front) but from what I saw, it is equally beautiful. It is a minimalist design with lots of natural light, glass, iron, and light wood. I guess it is quite similar to how my own house is so I felt at home!

As pleasing to the eye as it was, I could not wait to devour the Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP. This type of mozzarella is a protected regional product from Southern Italy. In the U.S. (at least in the San Francisco Bay Area) we don't get a huge variety when it comes to mozzarella di bufala (or buffalo as we call it), but there are different varietals and at Obika you can try them all. There is the Paestum with a very delicate taste, Volturno with a much stronger taste, Affumicata which is naturally smoked, and what most people see in restaurants here, deliciously creamy Burrata.

Our choice (and it was hard to choose!) was Burrata Pomodorini served with Datterini tomatoes and basil pesto.

If you have never had this cheese, you need to put it on your “things to eat before you die” list. Buffalo milk has higher fat content (about twice the fat of cow milk) which makes it a lot creamier. It is heartier, saltier, and more full-flavored than regular mozzarella cheeses and if you have the opportunity to try some, do it! It is pretty rare stuff in the U.S.

I am not sure if they were catering to foreigners (Adrienne said that the restaurant is extremely popular with the locals, the reason why we went for lunch instead of dinner, as it is notoriously busy and hard to get into at night) but the bread was delicious! As I mentioned in my Florence for Foodies tour post, most bread in Italy is not salted and as I am a bit of a salt fiend, I don't love it. However, with the bread at Obica, I wanted to eat the whole basket!

I definitely would have loved to have tried all four of the mozzarella, but we decided to order other items on the menu as well. Generally speaking, I am not a huge fan of pizza, but the ones I do like are in Italy. I decided that this was going to be my best shot at a really good pizza since the cheese was so amazing so I ordered Prosciutto Bazzone with premium dry-cured ham from Tuscany and Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP. Simple and delicious. The saltiness of the ham with the creaminess of the cheese was a perfect combination.

One of the reasons that I loved this restaurant is that it is a Slow Food partner. That means they have made a commitment to support and protect local foods and the artisans that produce them. Little details like the pizzas being prepared with PETRA flour from Molino Quaglia, stone ground with the local soft wheat. As well as a focus on high quality like the fact that their dough is left to rise slowly for at least 48 hours. All these things produce exceptional cuisine.

Being part of the Slow Food community, Obica also uses seafood that is sustainably fished, so the Scialatielli di Gragnano ‘Pasta Gentile’ with tuna belly filets, tomatoes, capers, pine nuts and rocket that Mr. Misadventures ordered could be eaten with a clear conscious!

The other thing that I found to be fantastico! Amazing! And surprising. At Obika they do not use ANY garlic or onions! I do appreciate these two items, but eaten raw they give me a migraine and sometimes if it is just overused it will make me sick as well, so this was like a risk-free zone, one that I have never seen before!

What a treat and one of the best meals we had on our trip. Incredibly friendly staff, aesthetically pleasing decor, and darn delicious food, when you are on vacation, can you really ask for more?

If you'd like to visit Obika Mozzarella Bar Florence now known as Obica Mozzarella Bar Florence, it is located at Via de' Tornabuoni 16.

How about you? Have you tried buffalo mozzarella? Do you like it? How have you eaten it? Comment and share, I'd love to chat!

Our Florence for Foodies tour also included a stop at the sinful truffle store Procacci. We experience many typical Tuscan dinners while exploring the Tuscan countryside and always saved room for dessert, especially gelato!

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Walking into Procacci you are instantly enveloped in the deep musky smell that screams “truffles!”

And I don't know about you, but my mind goes, “Yes, please!”

During our first visit, we tasted the house specialty, Panini tartufati, a small sandwich with a special truffle cream. The recipe is top secret (they even have a sign that says so!).

I would define Procacci's as a wine bar, one that is loved by tourists and locals alike. In the afternoon it is super crowded with ladies having an afternoon out with their girlfriends, gossiping over a glass of wine or prosecco and little apertivo before heading home.

Procacci's is a Florentine institution run by the Antinori family, a very old wine family in the region. It is located on a very chic street amongst small boutiques and it feels very luxurious to sit inside and people watch.

Despite this feeling of richness and grandeur, there is nothing pretentious about the people that work there, they are friendly and helpful, even when you try to steal their recipes as Mr. Misadventures tried to do (despite the sign…ah the French!). The prices are very, very reasonable as well, which is surprising considering the neighborhood.

A couple of days later we were headed to lunch at Obika Mozzarella Bar (more on that spot soon) but were early, so we stopped in for a pre-lunch sandwich (truffle and salmon) and prosecco…doesn't everyone do that?

A bonus is that you can purchase truffle products to bring home and extend your trip. Anything with truffles is a powerful reminder of Tuscany and Mr. Misadventures and I bought several items to make our memories last longer.

If you'd like to visit Procacci Florence, it is located at Via Tornabuoni, 64/r.

How about you? Have you had truffles? How have you had them or would you like to have them? Do tell!

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That was 100% my fault. So sorry, Florence. I was wrong. Florence IS for foodies!

Like we did in Kyoto, Mr. Misadventures and I requested a custom Context Travel tour, Florence for Foodies. And as usual, the Context Travel team and Adrienne, our guide, delivered an exceptional, food-focused experience.

At the end of our tour, what I came to understand was that the most important aspect of Tuscan food is simplicity. Everything is fresh, no need to label anything organic, all food is organic here! People shop for one day or two and visit small shops focused on a single product or category of products.

We met Adrienne in the Piazza della Repubblica right after we had enjoyed a delicious espresso and I drooled at the sweets display.

We began our food pilgrimage at Procacci, a beautiful truffle shop belonging to the Antinori wine family. We sampled (and then ordered more!) of their house specialty, Panini tartufati, a small sandwich with a special truffle cream. Just inhaling the air in this shop is pure heaven and the locals arrive in the late afternoon for a glass of prosecco and Panini tartufate as an apertivo.

We walked around with Adrienne pointing out a bit of history about some of the buildings (mostly owned by wine families in the area) and little unique elements such as the original “drive-thru” windows. The noblemen would drive up to the window for a glass of wine and then hit the road.

We stopped at a local bakery to sample a few Tuscan specialties, both sweet and savory. Most bread, except some focaccia, doesn’t have salt. The salt comes from the pecorino, prosciutto, and salami and is not needed in the bread.

The reason? Centuries before, the Pope charged a steep tax on salt, so the merchants evoked “Me ne frego” (“I don’t give a damn!”) and they did without. And they still do today.

Snacking on sweets called for a coffee to chase the sugar, we visited Café Giacosa, the café where Negroni cocktails were invented. A few years back the café was purchased by Roberto Cavalli, he tried to rename the café, but the Florentines protested as it had such a history and the name was reverted. We tried a lovely budino made with something like a patisserie cream mixed with rice.

What I loved about this spot (and all the places we went to were full of locals). At Giacosa, there were businessmen standing around eating their bowls of pasta, going back for seconds and quickly drinking down their espressos before heading back to work.

During our five days in Florence, we visited Café Giacosa quite a few times!

Mr. Misadventures and I use/eat a lot of olive oil, so Adrienne took us to the store where she buys hers, La Bottega dell’Olio, or as I like to call it, heaven! Different types of olive oil are used with different dishes, whether it is to dip into, put on top of pasta, or marinade, it is not one size fits all. We tasted several olive oils from regions all over Italy as well as balsamic vinegar, I never wanted to leave.

Last stop was a grocery store. More like the traiteurs I am familiar with in France. But it’s a store you can sit down and eat in as well.

Which we did. Of course, we did!

With pecorino, parmesan, prosciutto and salami toscano. Oh and wine.

The Grana Market is family-run run and the store that Adrienne goes to for its parmesan, after sampling some with balsamic vinegar drizzled on top, I understood why.

Just when I thought I could not eat anymore, we were done.

In reality, we spent three-plus hours on a fantastic food journey through the street of Florence with an exceptional guide, something I have come to expect from Context Travel.

This is not a regular tour, but I recommend that Context consider adding it! It is a great way to meet locals and see how they eat daily, really Florence is a wonderful town for Foodies! If food is not your main focus and you want a history-forward itinerary, look no further than this perfectly put-together 3 days in Florence itinerary that captures all the museum highlights.

How about you? Have you been to Florence? What was your favorite food item? If you haven't, what do you think you would like to try? Comment and share!

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Here are some “leftovers” from Florence that are too pretty to not share! Thanks to Mr. Misadventures who supplied plenty of them, his favorites can be found in the Tuscany portfolio on his site, Sel & Poivre Photography.

Florence is such a walking city and it is so easy to capture everyday life. Like laundry. Whenever I am hang drying clothes in our closet at home, my hubby will say, “what is this, Italy?” It's kind of a French thing, even though you see it all over Marseille as well. Whatever the origin, images like this make it hard to say it is a stereotype! We find it to be whimsical.

Every building has a story, like this old family castle turned into a museum. They kept the rings in which they would tie off the horses.

The shop and their displays are calling out to have their pictures taken. Like this candy display in the window of Caffè Gilli. We had coffee here a few times and I drooled over the sweets.

The store front of La Bottega Dell'Olio, the olive oil and balsamic vinegar store that we spent way too much money in!

We visited multiple places that afforded spectacular views of the city from many different angles. Like this one from the Villa Bardini gardens.

This was from either the Boboli Gardens or the Palazzo Pitti, I can't remember!

And another.

And another.

The Giardino delle Rose just below the Piazzale Michelangelo, both of which offer magnificent views of Florence. My friend Katie of Domestiphobia visited near this spot after an epic Tuscan farm dinner. And despite her food coma, she agreed it is stunning.

Mr. Misadventures has a photographic fascination with statues and he is always trying to capture them at interesting angles, like this lion in the courtyard between the Westin and St. Regis.

Or this lion near the Piazza del Duomo.

Of course, we visited the Duomo as well. We were there first thing when they opened, but it is already too late for good light for photography, but the hubby took an interesting photo nonetheless!

That's it for our trip to Florence. It was our second trip and we look forward to a third in the future. It is such a great home-base for exploring Tuscany and there is lots more to explore!

How about you? Do you have a favorite city you have explored multiple times? What keeps you going back? Have you been to Florence? Do you have spots I should visit?

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And while we didn't have a suite this time, our room, as well as the hotel in general, is in a really great location, the rooms are amazing and the views of the Arno river are gorgeous.

Would you agree?

Since the last time we stayed, they have opened up the rooftop with a bar and restaurant. It is one of the best places to see sunsets in the city and it is a popular location for tourists and locals.

On our first evening after misadventures flying to Italy, we went to the roof to have a glass of champagne to celebrate our arrival. After our journey, we felt we deserved it and it was a great way to kick off our vacation!

Like all apéro in Italy, drinks come with small snacks which are perfect for a pre-dinner snack!

Despite the fact that it was overcast and grey, it was warm enough to enjoy the view and the clouds made it super dramatic!

Over the week we went at various times to capture different sides of the roof in various different light.

We enjoyed an apéro there several evenings and on our last afternoon we took a rest there as well, that is actually the perfect time to go to get photos of the city as there aren't too many people (but do make sure you check out at least one sunset there).

Mr. Misadventures had a ball trying to catch different angles from the buildings in Florence.

While I held down the fort enjoying drinks!

I have said it many, many times. Mr. Misadventures and I are long-time members of Starwood Hotels SPG Program (now Marriott Bonvoy) and have enjoyed nights in amazing hotels all over the world from the far corners of Moorea to Japan, to Italy, and always in Paris.

The Westin Excelsior Florence is located at 3 Piazza Ognissanti. Interestingly enough, the hotel is directly across the courtyard from The St. Regis. Photographer Kirsten Alana of Aviators and a Camera stayed in both properties and you can see more detailed photos of the Westin and the St. Regis in her post about her trip.

Things to do in Florence

• Want an excellent itinerary for 3 days in Florence? Check out my friend Laura of The External Expats post.
• Eat your way through Florence with this Foodie Tour.
• My favorite place for an afternoon snack in Florence, Procacci.
• My favorite restaurant in Florence, Obica Mozzarella.
• While you are staying in Florence, adventure out into the Tuscan countryside and do a 1-day road trip.
• My friend Katie did an amazing farm tour, wining and dining in the Tuscan countryside.
• Florence is SO photogenic, so here are more Florence scenes.
• Here are 9 more of the best rooftop bars in Florence to check out!

How about you? Have you returned to a hotel you really like? Do you have a favorite rooftop terrace?

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