Early on the mist filled morning that we departed our villa in Southern Tuscany to make our way to Antico Borgo di Sugame in Greve, where we were to stay for the remainder of our vacation, we stopped in the tiny Hamlet of Murlo to visit their supurb collection of Etruscan artifacts.  After viewing their amazing collection of 5000 year old pots and statues we stopped to talk to the young woman at the front desk as we were leaving.  We learned that she was an American antropologist who now lived in town with her small family. Always ready for recommendations from the locals, we asked her advice on places to visit while making our way north into the hills of Chianti.  She told us about one of her favorite diversions, Castello Di Brolio...

Bistecca ala Fiorentina is a true Tuscan treat.  My first taste was at theamazing Antica Osteria da Divo in Siena.  Beautiful, rare steak with a rich herb crust that melts in your mouth.  Pricey (but worth it!) in a restaurant, it is not much cheaper to make at home due to the quality and cut of meat.  This is one of those dishes where it's all about the ingredient.  There is no hiding or obfuscation of the star of the dish; a huge, juicy porterhouse steak, grilled to perfection with a bit of oil, rosemary and salt.

Wandering in we were prepared to be disappointed again, and I was...  The church interior, as opposed to the exterior, was just a modern looking church with 20th century paintings and a rather bland air about it.

     Elke, however, started to get excited, the name of the church had rung a bell for her, and she began to wander down the aisles, poking her head into every doorway. I followed, hissing at her that this was another dead end.  Boy was I wrong!!!

Let me give you a little history on my dear husband, your potential host, Russ.

He loves great food but was not a cook by any stretch of the imagination. Frankly, if left to his own devices in the kitchen, he was able to burn water, and once, he turned a simple cauliflower rue into wallpaper paste.

Wow!  What a week!  We launched our new website, opened our new Twitter account and signed up our first customers for the Bella Toscana Tour in May of 2013!