Lonely Planet described it as "soul-aching countryside" and I can't argue with that. I might have a bit to say about this dreary weather but such is the way travelling is and we make the best of what we can. We are currently staying in a little (no actually, large) self-catering farmhouse in Vistarenni closeby to Radda in Chianti, Tuscany's wine country.

While it bucketed down in Florence we picked up some groceries and planned to cook ourselves a nice little dinner on our first night here. We started off with cheese and crackers, some Chianti Classico vino, porcini zuppa for starters...and then accidentally fell asleep as the sky turned a deep blue against the backdrop of MJ on repeat on MTV. This morning we woke lazily to threatening clouds but decided to head out anyway. Joel had actually packed a picnic blanket all the way from Sydney for our dreamy little country-side picnic on the Tuscan hills but sadly it didn't get to come out for the occassion. Instead we drove (on the right wrong-side of the road) and toured around the region and made our way to the little town of Siena and had some awesome spaghetti carbonara, osso bucco, and home-made tiramisu in one of those tucked-away restaurants.