Dreaming of a Tuscan Vacay? This is Your Spot
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Courtesy of Borgo San Pietro
When my husband and I first met, we made a bucket record of spots we needed to go collectively, and Tuscany was excessive up on the high, naturally. We’re usually fairly chill, down-for-whatever vacationers, however we would all the time had ~grand visions~ of a Tuscan retreat, and we needed to get ours proper. This was not the time to ebook a random Airbnb that “seems to be cute” and hope for the very best…we needed to make certain we have been placing ourselves within the absolute *good* spot to soak up the entire wine, rolling hills, cypress timber, olive groves, pasta, and Negroni-infused epicness Tuscany has to supply.
That is why, once I received invited to remain at Borgo Santo Pietro, a Thirteenth-century luxurious villa set on 300 acres of working farmland within the coronary heart of Tuscany, I jumped on the alternative. And also you guys, it was precisely what we needed. I can one hundred pc affirm that Borgo Santo Pietro is the quintessential homebase for your entire Tuscan vacay goals. This is how one can profit from your time there if you wish to get in on the magic…
Keep
- Borgo Santo Pietro really has every thing you would presumably need in a luxe Italian countryside retreat…after which some. Run by a Danish couple who fell in love with the Tuscan way of life again within the early 2000s, the boutique lodge and property has 22 rustic-chic rooms and suites (full with personal swimming pools, classic chandeliers, and clawfoot bathtubs), a number of farm-to-table eating places, vineyards, an infinity pool, Vespas available to cruise across the hillside, 13 acres of gardens, a fermentation lab, a dairy farm, an herb home, a holistic spa with its personal made-in-house skincare line, and, maybe most significantly, sufficient open skies to dream and soak all of it in. The most effective time to go is in the summertime or early fall (they’re open from Might 15 to the tip of October, which is prime), so you need to begin fascinated with reserving it for subsequent 12 months—it fills up quick!
Play
- Take a tour of the farm: Borgo Santo Pietro is targeted on sustainability in a giant means, doing every thing from using members of the local people to rising and preserving their very own meals to sourcing the wool for his or her blankets from their very personal alpacas. And on any of their various farm tours, you’ll get to see all of that BTS sustainability magic up shut. I used to be notably impressed with their vegetable and herb gardens (they develop 200 completely different sorts of veggies and 50 sorts of herbs!) and their on-site fermentation lab, to not point out their enormous crop of cute—and v helpful—cattle. Apart from the aforementioned alpacas, they’ve received a number of sheep (a flock of 300, to be actual), pigs, free-range chickens, hens, roosters, turkeys, and even peacocks. The employees additionally places on each day sheep-milking, cheese-making, and beekeeping demos so you possibly can see how they make their dairy and honey, and you’ll even signal as much as assist hand accumulate contemporary eggs every morning.
- Go to the Seed to Pores and skin lab: Yep, that’s proper—BSP has their very own pure skincare line made in home. Launched in 2018 by Borgo’s proprietor Jeanette Thottrup (who can be a naturalist), and Dr. Anna Buonocore, a neighborhood pharmacist and cosmetologist, the pure Seed to Skin line—which incorporates every thing from face masks to serums to cleansers to eye lotions—incorporates most of the native herbs and uncooked honey and sheep’s milk which might be grown and produced on the farm. If you go to the lab, you possibly can watch all of it being made…after which go use it your self. The property places home made Seed to Pores and skin shampoo and conditioner in every of the visitor rooms, and so they use their very own merchandise of their spa therapies as effectively, aka it’s one hundred pc a farm-to-face state of affairs. All of them scent superb, too (assume rosemary, lavender, jasmine, rose, neroli, and so on.). Extremely rec bringing a haul of merchandise residence…my husband and I nonetheless have Borgo spa nights in our house at any time when we wish to be transported again to Tuscany!
- Go for a motorcycle experience to the native swimming gap: Contemplating that Tuscany is understood for its contemporary, pure spring water (I’m legit obsessive about Acqua Panna, the very best bottled water there), you MUST take a refreshing dip whilst you’re there. Borgo’s received you coated—you possibly can both take one of their bikes out or walk to the local River Merse, the place there’s an ideal swimming gap spot with crystal-clear water and lovely greenery throughout. The lodge will even arrange a personal picnic for you if you would like! (And talking of bikes, you can even take one of many lodge’s basic purple Vespas out for a spin on your true Italian countryside second.)
- Wander by means of the entire stress-free gardens: If there’s one factor I dream about probably the most once I assume again to my time at Borgo, it’s the landscaped gardens. They’re *heavenly*, and there are tons of them round each nook, from the flowery manicured sort with trickling water fountains and statues to the zen spa sort overflowing with contemporary lavender and rosemary and water lilies. There’s even a lemon-tree backyard for all you citrus lovers on the market (hello, me).
- Take a cooking class or workshop: When in Tuscany, proper? Borgo Santo Pietro presents all kinds of Italian cooking classes at their Borgo Cooking School, from pizza-making lessons to pasta-making lessons to dessert and chocolate-making lessons. They also have a fermentation lab course, the place you possibly can learn to ferment and protect your individual meals (#sustainability!), and aromatherapy and natural remedy workshops as effectively. Full disclosure: My husband and I didn’t get round to taking considered one of these lessons, however we remorse not making that occur, so I’m placing it on the market to be sure you don’t make the identical mistake we did!
Eat
- Trattoria sull’Albero: That is the informal and insanely scrumptious trattoria you got here for. Set in a country, treehouse-inspired area (i.e. the ground is constructed round an enormous oak tree in the course of the restaurant), Trattoria sull’Albero delivers on each the meals and the attractive views of the sprawling winery beneath. And because of the open kitchen, you possibly can watch the trattoria’s resident pizzaiolo twirl the pizzas like a real professional earlier than sliding them into the wood-fired oven. Each dish is unbelievable right here, however my favorites have been the cappelletti di ricotta e spinaci fatti in casa con burro e salvia (aka ricotta and spinach-stuffed home made pasta with butter and sage), the pecorina di Borgo pizza (with Borgo’s home made pecorino cheese), and the Tuscan-style home made soups—all made with contemporary veggies from the backyard.
- Sull’Albero Bar: Did you even go to Italy when you didn’t ~aperitivo~ on daily basis? Sull’Albero is *the* spot to carry your entire Italian wine and cocktail visions to life. You possibly can sit outdoors within the cute little backyard space (full with a trickling waterfall, naturally), or inside on the cozy chairs close to the fireside, which is tremendous cozy at night time below the glowing chandelier. Get a negroni—they do them soooo effectively—or any of their native wines. And bonus: Like all Italian cocktails, these include free snacks (potato chips, olives, and so on.) in case you were not already satisfied.
- Saporium: Be certain to decorate up whenever you go right here, as a result of that is the fanciest restaurant at BSP. Count on a five-star state of affairs with Tuscan fine-dining dishes that look and style like artwork. You get to decide on between an eight or 9 course pre-fixe meat, fish, or vegetarian menu (we went for the eight-course meat choice, and we have been stuffed), or à la carte. Like the entire meals at BSP, every thing is scrumptious, however my fave dish was the hare ravioli with pomegranate and wild herbs salad. That meal (together with the complete Tuscany journey, if we’re being sincere) lives completely rent-free in my thoughts.
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