Last weeks article on Banfi was admittedly a bit long...but I hope you enjoyed it.
“Just so you know, the fog did lift and we were able to negotiate the winding Tuscan roads to reach our appointment to tour the Banfi winery”
So this week, primarily a few photos from a dreamy Tuscan morning. It was dreamy because of the layers of fog that blanketed the countryside as we headed toward Montalcino.
Our first hint of the morning atmospherics was at sunrise. We were staying at the beautiful Borgo San Felice (see my past article on staying at Borgo San Felice), and as we strolled the vineyard in the early morning, here is what we experienced.
[please click on an image for a larger view]
San Felice Sunrise
As we began our drive for a day in southern Tuscany, we were treated to villas peeking out through the low lying fog.
Just a hint of a Tuscan villa shrouded in fog
Many of the farms have chapels, like the one set off to the right, below.
A villa with its ubiquitous on-property chapel
Our road seemed to be mostly high-and-dry as we drove along the spine of the hills. So, rather than give us angst as we drove, the atmospherics actually lifted our spirits and made our journey more memorable.
It was the month of October, and the hillsides had been recently harvested.
The hillside farms had recently been shorn
After admiring this gorgeous farm estate, if you look closely at the photo below, you can see a hillside village in the distance, as it catches a few morning rays.
A beautiful farm with chapel
We felt fortunate that the fog was not thicker, as we had an important appointment at Castello Banfi winery, just south of Montalcino. On the other hand, the foggy conditions did cause us to drive just a bit more leisurely than we might have driven, giving us more time to admire the scenery...like the cypress-lined drive leading to this magnificent estate.
Tuscan cypress line the drive to this charming farm compound
Sometimes we had a slight, sunny break in the fog as in the photo above, and then once again, we would travel into the enveloping, blue-cool fog as the sun was blotted out.
Vineyards move down the hillside of this grape producing estate
I feel that this last photo somehow captured magic...one moment we saw just a fog bank above a small valley...the next moment two villa-clad hilltops seemed to float up out of the clouds. Magic...His magic, no doubt.
This photo is titled, 'Islands in the Sky'
I am sure that days like this occur often in Tuscany; however, we felt that it was our special day, and that there never had been, nor ever would be, such a day again.
You can see and purchase most of these foggy-morning photos in the 'Print Store' part of my website by clicking right HERE, or by clicking that link in the menu-bar, below.
Just so you know, the fog did lift and we were able to negotiate the winding Tuscan roads to reach our appointment to tour the Banfi winery.
Ciao for now,
Steve