Bolgheri Wine Region - Day 4

We were up and showered as we prepare for more adventures in Italy today and Yes!!! We did make breakfast as Elena was here early to prepare it.  No alarm necessary! We would be shamed if we missed it again!

Breakfast was hotcakes & eggs along with the usual croissants, jams, jelly's etc all very tasty.

After some discussion we decided to head to wine country and visit the Bolgheri wine center.  It’s a 1-1/2 hour drive out to the coast then down, south of Pisa, past Livorno and then into the Bolgheri region. 

Weather was mixed with some clouds and temps in the 17-18c range. 

We followed the gps routing and as we entered the autostrada, we had a directional error ((this is code for “turn right here versus go straight). No big deal as we just added only 10 minutes to our original route.  We just needed to take a right turn to get on the westbound autostrada and back on track.    Sadly we missed the turnoff and headed eastbound. We exited the highway and after reassessing the situation at the toll booth, we were able to "rejoin" the westbound autostrada towards Livorno.  Bryan and Linda were following us and I am certain they were rethinking that decision. :-) 

We arrived just before 13:00 and found parking in the back forty.  A short walk to the various stores and wine tasting shops… Both Hugh, Bryan & Linda tried several reds while Kelly and I tried several whites (knowing the whites are really not regional). They sampled three unique bottles and after much discussion, settled on the two best ones for purchase.

Prickly Pear Cactus

Glass works.

View from the wall.

Wine tasting. 

Lunch was nice and quick at the Osteria Enoceta La Bolgherese and then we took Bryan and Linda on a quick Geocaching hunt to find a cache. Luckily there was one close by! We explained the idea of the game and quickly had the cache in hand. 

 

Our drive home was a bit quicker as we took a different route home (fastest) and arrived back at the Villa just after 5 pm.   Cocktail hour started and we enjoyed the Villa’s outside views.

We also raised a glass to our friend Ron Auzins who was having a celebration of life back in Canada today. We have been reliving a few stories of Ron's adventures camping.

Dinner was served and we all pushed away from the table stuffed! It was delicious. We finished off our crib game from the day before and I came out on top this time with Hugh getting the stinky spot.  We then played some addition games with a guys vs gals theme. So far the guys have had the edge in all the games. 

Off to the rack.... another trip into Lucca tomorrow as we revisit some of the shoppes that Kelly was unable get into last trip.