Boars and badgers

We arrived a little late to our next destination which turned out to be about a mile off the main road.

Suddenly the beautiful 700 year old villa appeared out of nowhere.  

Winslow was roaming free and the owner said to be careful because there were boars and badgers and skunks on the property.  We never saw any, but we kept him on a short leash just in case!

The next morning . . .

we got a better view of the surroundings.

The property had a beautiful olive grove in the back.

Nice photo Jim took with the morning sun coming through the trees.

Again, they were loaded with olives.

This is the view from our room.

Changing the subject slightly . . . in every (yes, every) hotel in Italy, there is a bidet.  This bathroom is spacious, but some are very, very tiny, yet there is always (yes, always) a bidet.  It appears to be standard for all of Italy - best I can tell.  As far as I'm concerned, it's just in the way!

The olive-tree lined road to Borgo Gallinao - a wonderful find in the middle of nowhere.

Grapes and olives

Next, we headed to the Chianti area in search of a winery.

From a distance, it's hard to appreciate olive trees.

These things are loaded with olives.

See?!

And the grape vines . . .

hardly seem real, they are so beautiful.

This is a vineyard and winery we visited called Casa Sola.  The woman in the picture is the owner.

I could live here!

It was nearing sunset when we left the vineyards.  This picture simply can't do it justice.

Fattoria (farmhouse) Casa Sola, somewhere in the Tuscan Hills.

Cruisin' the hills

Leaving the coast, heading inland.

These aquaducts are pretty common . . .

and perfect for framing a photo!

This one was on a side road in a little town we drove through.

Bridge to nowhere.

This is a pomegranate tree in someone's backyard!

I guess I should get out more, but I had never seen a pomegranate tree.

Tuscan hills - after driving these hilly, winding roads - looking and snapping photos, I was a bit carsick and had to take a break.

So we stopped on the side of this road for a rest.  Vineyards and olive groves as far as you can see.

Exactly what we set out to see - Tuscany countryside.

It was grape harvest time, but some of the vines were still full with grapes.

I just love this picture with the olive trees and the Tuscan villa painted the typical yellow.

One of many sunflower fields we saw - some already harvested or like this one, ready for harvest.

No plans

We could see this white beach on Google Maps . . .

so we decided to check it out.

It was just as beautiful as we thought it would be.

Further back on the beach, the sand was like this.

Couldn't help noting that even the Italians know a good beer.

Jim said he was going to carve a small David, but then we decided to leave this little rock behind for another future sculptor.

Spiagge Bianche (White Beach) di Rosignano Solvay, Livorno, Italy

Digression

As we drove to no place in particular . . .

olive trees were everywhere.  That whole hillside is full of just olive trees seemingly growing wild like pine trees!

It was nearing sunset and the sun was so nice on these huge olive trees.

This rainbow stayed right in front of us for several miles.

The pine trees in this area are self-pruning . . . 

growing like this naturally to form a little umbrella at the top.

This beautiful setting was an unexpected find along our path.

This is Punta Pacchiano on the west coast in the province of Livorno.

The water was very rough here.

Wind, water or both?

Punta Pacchiano, Livorno, Italy