Welcome to our Tuscany Blog. Or to put it another way… ‘Things to do & see in Tuscany’. Have a good read as there’s loads of useful info and let us know if there’s anything else you want to hear about.
Holiday Cottage in Tuscany update April 2023
For years I dreamt of owning a little Holiday Cottage in Tuscany and in 2019 that finally came true. And then along came a global pandemic. Three long years after I was there in February 2020, I finally got to go back. And wow, it is still as incredible as I remember it! So I’m going to attempt to share it with you how it’s taking shape… Yes, just one pandemic later and I finally got over to see Woodfarm Tuscany after all this time. The idea was that I finally jump on a plane, and head over to check…
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Woodfarm Holiday Cottage in Tuscany: update Oct 2022
Holiday Cottage in Tuscany? Oh yeah! I’d almost forgotten! Crikey, where to begin really? I get asked so often “What’s happening with Tuscany?” The honest answer is that I have just been too busy to actually get it sorted! I’ll put the last photos I have on here so you can get a feel for it, but you’ll also have to add a huge dollop of imagination. I have to as well, ‘cos I didn’t take these! The back of our Holiday Cottage in Tuscany, with copper guttering and downpipes Heading into 2020 it was all on track for opening that…
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Tuscany update May 2022
Starting to think about Woodfarm Tuscany again. It’s been a strange two years. Not sure if it has for you, but I really think this whole pandemic thing has altered our lives a little. Anyhoo, a few years ago I finally realised my dream of buying a home in Tuscany. I’m kinda fortunate that a) I could afford to, but I’ve worked for it so I don’t feel bad, and b) That I had a business with which to use as a vehicle to do it, and help pay for it. It’s actually over three years since I announced it…
Holiday Cottage in Tuscany update Feb 2022
Starting to think about our Holiday Cottage in Tuscany again… As I type this in February 2022, it’s been a strange two years for me. Not sure if it has for you, but I really think this whole pandemic thing has altered our lives a little. Even for those who swear that it’s all made up, as they had something new to deny. I wish I could have swapped my experience of having COVID 18 months ago with each of them, but that’d be tricky. Maybe I just made that up to help the mainstream media mess with their heads.…
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Our Holiday Cottage in Tuscany vs. COVID
A few years ago I had a dream. A dream of a beautiful little hilltop Holiday Cottage in Tuscany. One with the most breathtaking views from a gorgeous terrace, glass in hand, listening to the cicadas as the sun goes down. This was all due to start a year or so ago, and I was going to share it with you. Lots of you got very excited about it. So did I. Then along came a thing called COVID, and changed the course of many things for many people. Not only did it close my business in the UK for 227…
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Our Tuscan Holiday Cottage is coming together
I wrote on here just a few weeks ago with some progress, and to talk about the strange situation we find ourselves in, with that there pesky pandemic, but I just wanted to share some more photos now that things are taking shape. I am just waiting on news now about when the railing will be finished and fitted to the Terrace, but I wanted to show you photos now that the exterior of the house has been finished. The whole place has been rendered with a thermal plaster and is now starting to look something like I’d envisaged when…
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Holiday Cottage in Tuscany update
Okay, let’s talk about Italy. Prior to a pesky global pandemic, our Holiday Cottage in Tuscany, aka Woodfarm Tuscany was due to be finished and ready for you to go and stay at the end of May 2020. However, as we all know the brakes went on for a few months. It is all very much moving towards completion again so I thought I would bring you up to speed. Before I go any further I will explain why I have been quiet on the subject until now. The thing is, nobody is going to want to go there just…
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Extraordinary Holiday Cottages in Suffolk (and Tuscany!)
Extraordinary Holiday Cottages. According to the old advert, The Halifax gave us extra. And that’s what we have always aimed for at Woodfarm. I do a lot of thinking whilst running this little business of mine. One of the things that I think about is why, over the decade since I started Woodfarm, it has exceeded all of my expectations. I think it’s all about providing extraordinary holiday cottages, as opposed to ordinary. This little paperweight on my desk was a present a number of years ago and it’s a constant reminder to me of how we go about doing…
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Tuscan Holiday Cottage update – Nov 19
Our Tuscan Holiday Cottage is under way. It looks like a building site but then again, it is! Just thought I’d put an update together as I’m over for meetings and checking on progress. With a little bit of luck our Tuscan Holiday Cottage will be ready to open it’s doors to guests around Easter 2020. So far the builders have taken up crumbly concrete floors and re-laid nice and level, put all the ducting in for the electrician, plastered the kitchen and bathroom, and put RSJ’s in the cellars to hold the ceilings up, thus ensuring the whole lot…
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Tuscan Holiday Cottage update!
Our Tuscan Holiday Cottage renovation is now properly underway, and should be ready for you to stay in Spring 2020! Owning a Tuscan Holiday Cottage has been a dream of mine for many years, and finally I can see it happening! As you may know from our previous posts, we have a Tuscan Holiday Cottage that you will be able to enjoy from 2020. You can read all about it in my launch Blog Post. ‘Trebbio’ will sleep 2-4 and has breathtaking views across the Garfagnana, which is the upper valley of the river Serchio, just 20 minutes North-West of…
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Dog-Friendly Holiday Cottage in Tuscany
Our Holiday Cottage in Tuscany is Dog-Friendly too! We are delighted to have been awarded the Pets Welcome accreditation by the VisitEngland governing body ‘Quality in Tourism’ which backs up our approach to pet-friendly holidays in Suffolk. We just carry this ethos and approach over to Tuscany, giving you peace of mind. Just like our Barges & Barns in Suffolk, our Holiday Cottage in Tuscany is also Dog-Friendly. We welcome up to three dogs. It’s unlikely for UK guests to be taking their dogs unless you’re driving and making it a longer trip. We’ve made sure that option is there…
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Florence
Florence is a magical city and within easy reach of our holiday cottage in Tuscany. Only an hour and a half from our holiday cottage in Tuscany and surely on your bucket list? Steeped in history and an absolute Mecca for tourists, it really is a must if you have a midweek or week-long break with us. I only say that as it’s a 3 hour round trip, but it still makes Florence very doable. I first went there about 20 years and again with my daughter 15 years ago. Having been back again recently, it’s still as exciting. Stunning…
Montecatini Alto and the Funiculare
Sat above Montecatini is Montecatini Alto, which can be reached by car but it’s probably more fun to take the ‘Funiculare railway’. It’s well over a hundred years old but is still fully functional. If any of you have been to Capri, there’s one there. Actually it’s there whether you’ve been or not! It’s a medieval village built in the Romanesque style of the 12th century. There’s a picturesque Church there, with a white marble baptismal font, and a series of important and famous frescoes. In addition to the churches there it’s worth visiting the ruins of the ancient walls…
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Montecatini Terme
Medieval thermal baths just 3/4 of an hour from our house. It is considered as one of the biggest spa towns in Italy and to be honest, a bit like Pisa with its tower, this is what it’s known for. That said, there’s plenty more to see here too Click here to find out more about Montecatini Thermal waters and spas Not only can you have everything from saunas and beauty treatments, to massages and mud baths, you can actually drink the waters of the Terme di Montecatini! You have nine thermal centres to choose from and…
The Garfagnana Valley
Our cottage sits overlooking the Southern end of the Garfagnana Valley and there is some truly breath-taking scenery all along it. This is just a tiny snippet of info as we will add lots more in due course. I’ve visited a number of places in the Garfagnana and there’s a real rustic charm to the whole area. Castelnuovo, the captivating Devil’s Bridge in Borgo a Mozzano, Barga and the Grotta del Vento to name but a few. Find out more about The Garfagnana on Discover Tuscany for now. I took this pic in Borgo a Mozzano.
The Tuscan coast at Montereggiano & Forte Di Marmi
Montereggiano & Forte Di Marmi – Two seaside resorts next to each other, less than an hour from the house. Click here to find out more about Montereggiano & Forte Di Marmi.
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Historic Livorno
The historic port City of Livorno is only an hour from our house but as it’s just 20 minutes South of Pisa, you may wish to visit on your first or last day. Alternatively, you could combine it with your visit to Pisa but I think that’d be cramming a bit too much in. It’s well worth visiting though, if only to stroll along the Terrazza Mascagni, which is an amazing checker-board paved promenade along the beach. There are some great shops and restaurants here too.
Pistoia
Pretty Pistoia sits snugly at the foot of the Apennines. An easy day trip from Pisa, Lucca or Florence, it thoroughly deserved its 2017 status as European City of Culture. A town that has grown well beyond its medieval ramparts, its centro storico is well preserved and stands guardian to striking contemporary art. On Wednesdays and Saturdays a morning market transforms Pistoia’s main square, Piazza del Duomo, as well as its surrounding streets, into a lively sea of blue awnings and jostling shoppers. Otherwise, on Monday to Saturday peruse open-air stalls heaped with seasonal fruit and vegetables on tiny Piazza della…
Lovely Lucca
Lucca – The historic centre and cobblestoned streets of this stunning Medieval City are an absolute must and I won’t forgive you if you don’t include it during your stay! Lucca is a real gem, and we are so lucky that it is just 20 minutes from our house. It has such a relaxed feel about it. Actually that’s a Tuscan thing! The well-preserved Renaissance walls of Lucca have broad, tree-lined pathways along the tops of these massive 16th- and 17th-century ramparts. They make for a lovey walk or bike ride. You can hire bikes easily just inside the city…
Discover Pisa
Pisa. Basically famous for a piece of architecture that went horribly wrong! But it really is well worth a visit. Less than an hour from the house but as you will fly in, then you may decide to capture this iconic city on your first or last day. The Leaning Tower and its neighbour, the Duomo, are an absolute must when you stay with us in Tuscany. No visit to Pisa would be complete without getting your photo taken pretending to prop the leaning tower up. It’s cheesy but it has to be done at least once in your life!…
