This post is so overdue it’s not even funny. Work has been super busy lately and I’ve also been away for a while. Well, I guess sometimes life just gets the best of you.
Dinner with all our guests
Wednesday saw the arrival of our last two guests. We had two airport arrivals roughly 90 minutes apart. However, due to delays, we spent a couple of hours just waiting for the second flight. The rest of the gang spent the day exploring the nearby village Borgo San Lorenzo. They also booked a table for 12 people at a restaurant in town. So once we got back from the airport and got our last guests settled, we headed to Dinner. The restaurant was called Borgo! and it was a great find. We kicked off dinner with drinks and some starters (cheese, meats and deep-fried filled pasta). Then we shared two massive plates of pasta, one with meat ragu and one with tomatoes, eggplant and ricotta. The food was delicious and the staff was friendly. My friends also surprised me with some bubbly and a piece of cake after dinner.
Thursday was the big day
On Thursday it was time to party and I was under strict instructions to do nothing. So while part of the gang headed out for shopping I relaxed at the villa with the rest of the crew. Once the shopping posse returned our head chef and his “minions” started cooking. I had permission to make Aperol Spritz and later Limoncello Spritz. The celebration kicked off with antipasti and “a speech” by yours truly. Then our head chef slaved away at the outdoor kitchen and produced dish after dish. We spent hours eating and socializing. All the food was spot on and I’m grateful for having a friend that loves cooking. The rest of the night we just hung out. This was the perfect way to celebrate my Birthday with a bunch of friends that are so near to my heart.
Time to say goodbye
We had planned for a slow relaxing Friday for recovery after the party. Our friends who arrived from Germany by car left on Friday but everybody else was leaving on Saturday. So Friday we took it easy and polished off most of the leftover food. I had managed to contact a local taxi driver and arranged for two airport transports for Saturday morning. The first group left before dawn and the second group also left early in the morning. We waited for the owner to arrive and check the place out, get our deposit back and hand over the keys. Then we packed up the car and two friends that were taking the train from the village and headed to breakfast. After breakfast, we dropped off the friends at the train station.
Detour before heading to Tuscany
As we had time to kill, we drove to Vicchio and walked around the village. After that, we drove to an upscale mall called The Mall Firenze to kill some more time. We also had lunch at the mall but didn’t end up buying anything. From the mall, we drove to our hotel in Florence. I had booked a room for one night at Nilhotel. I was looking for a hotel close to the airport with free parking and this turned out to be a good option. For dinner, we walked to a nearby pizzeria. After a nice night’s sleep and breakfast at the hotel, we headed to the airport and back home.
All in all, we had a wonderful week in Tuscany. I am super happy my birthday plans came to fruition. I can honestly say this was the best birthday I ever had. I am lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful friends and family. I also know that my guests enjoyed themselves and had fun so what more could I ask for.
Some of the pictures in this post are courtesy of my friends.
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