On Day 5, we packed up and headed to Florence to pick up our car and then drive to the villa in Rufina. It was about a 2 hour train ride which was a new experience for us with all of our luggage.

We were all impressed with Florence, even though we were there for less than an hour and wanted to come back. Once we acquired the car, we headed out of town, but stopped at a small ristorante in the suburbs for a tremendous lunch. We didn’t speak any Italian, they didn’t speak any English, but the food was delicious.

The road trip to the villa was interesting. The drive to Rufina from Florence was beautiful – a twisty two lane road that constitutes a highway in Italy – but once we got to Rufina, we had some issues. We missed a turn and went about 3 miles down a ONE way windy road that put us way out in the middle of no where. On the way back up the road, Lindsay got out and was sick – poor kid. We found the right road and went uphill about 3 miles on another twisty, turny road.

The first impression of the Castle D’ Acona (The villa) was worth it. Soanha (our chef for the week) was there to great us and show us around. We fell in love with both Soanha and the Villa immediately and spend the rest of the afternoon at the pool. A fun week was waiting for us. Pictures below.