Tuscany Italy

“One of the most iconic places in Tuscany is the Vitaleta Chapel, perched atop the rolling hills of the region. I had seen it on postcards, in paintings, and in photographs, but experiencing it in person felt like stepping into another world. [...] Looking around, we found ourselves surrounded by golden rolling wheat fields swaying gently in the breeze. It felt like a sacred moment, a beauty so overwhelming that we dared not disturb it with words. "This is so beautiful it's almost ridiculous," I finally said, breaking the silence. "It's like we've stepped into another universe," my partner added.”

“A couple of days later when I arrived in Tuscany, the place of my dreams, after having been romanticising and fantasising about the place both intentionally and subconsciously ever since watching Under the Tuscan Sun by Diane Lane a decade ago, all I felt was… weak. The place was just as magical as I had envisioned it. Tuscan hills, cypress trees, sunshine, rain, and a smudged rainbow painted the sky when I arrived. I knew it was beautiful, I could see it! But somehow, I couldn’t feel it. I couldn’t take it all in with how drowsy and weak I was feeling, slowly recovering but not yet back to my normal self.”

“Although I have traveled to Tuscany many times over the years, this was my first true “country experience.” Most of my trips through the region were on the way somewhere – usually to one of its many great cities like Florence or Siena or Lucca – or to one of the many other noted villages in Tuscany’s incredible wine country. But here I was fully immersed in what it meant to live in Tuscany, even if just temporarily. To be a part of all that masterfully arranged scenery, to walk amongst the rows of regal cypress trees and to be able to actually touch the clusters of olive trees fluttering their silvery green leaves, was to truly experience this region like a local.”