What a great day we had on Tuesday as we traveled by private mini-bus and driver to the Chianti countryside just outside Florence. Our first stop was at the beautiful American WWII cemetery where over 4,000 soldiers are buried. Angelo gave us a truly inspirational talk about the cemetery and the war which brought tears to our eyes. Italy has given this parcel of land to America in appreciation for the liberation from Nazi occupation in 1945. Then we drove just a little further to the lovely Castello Verrazzano Winery for a terrific tour and lunch. "Gino the friend of Vino" was our guide and he certainly makes an impression with his heartfelt love of wine production and Chianti. Giovanni Verrazzano was an explorer to the "new world" in the 1520's and in addition to finding the Hudson Bay in New York he also sailed into the Cape Fear River right at what is now Southport so we love the connection! Lunch and winetasting was outstanding! You'll see from the photos how much we enjoyed that! Afterwards we made a short stop in the capital of the Chianti territory, the small town of Greve, for some strolling and a little shopping. Even though it started with a little rain, our day in Chianti was delightful - just another reason to visit Tuscany!
Lots of photos for today's adventure can be seen here: https://plus.google.com/photos/106242844572593515289/albums/6205450525849937425/6205450570286817458?pid=6205450570286817458&oid=106242844572593515289
Lots of photos for today's adventure can be seen here: https://plus.google.com/photos/106242844572593515289/albums/6205450525849937425/6205450570286817458?pid=6205450570286817458&oid=106242844572593515289
