OCD Planner's Mah-valous Mediterranean Adventure on Serenade of the Seas

[ace1zoe2]

Next we walked around back of the Villa... OMG! the view was to die for:

 

 

There was a terrace overlooking the landscape below which was made up of vineyards, olive groves, old farm houses, mountains... just gorgeous!

 

 

Who wouldn't want to have breakfast outside, right here, every morning for the rest of your life? My hand is definitely in the air!

 

 

Then there was the more "formal" garden with a covered arch trellis that lead to the "woods" where the family hunted each season. I know that my face had to be covered with the biggest smile throughout our entire tour. This is where I was supposed to have be born! I would have never left. It was heaven, plain and simple.

 

 

And another terrace area leading to the house. I loved the green doors!

 

[ace1zoe2]

This is a business and they take advantage of everything that they can. They not only have the vineyards & the olive groves but they keep bees and produce local honey:

 

 

 

The grape vines had already been harvested for the season and the colors where already changing. I can just imagine in my mind's eye how beautiful it has to be here in the spring.

 

 

Another thing that this family does is make Terra-Cotta. This pot was big enough I could have gotten inside of it, almost. If you've noticed in any of the pictures I've posted everything is terra-cotta. The outdoor table tops, the tile floors, the ceiling tiles, the flower pots and you'll see more later on.

 

 

An old farmhouse visible from the terrace:

 

 

Next up we are headed inside the cellars! Hope you are enjoying a sense of what we saw. I am smiling all over again just thinking about what a perfect day this was.

[ace1zoe2]

Oh, my goodness, I am so enjoying your review!!! My dream trip on my favorite ship :)

 

 

Thank you! It was definitely a dream trip. This was our first time on Serenade but we have sailed other Radiance class ships including Radiance & Brilliance. Next your we will complete the class when we sail Jewel on the Pacific Coastal cruise. Love the openness & all the glass to see outside everywhere you look.

 

 

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[Thetrail]

Up close details of the Siena Cathedral:

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for taking the time! A couple of years away for me but makes me really look forward to this itinerary....K.O.:)

[iancal]

We did this cruise. Great weather. Good service. Our first RCI cruise in years. In the past two years we have been on several other lines.

 

Everything was fine but we found the food in the MDR to be mediocre at best. Very clear to see that the food budgets are not what they used to be. Same for the Windjammer. Some days the food was good, others it was poor-in terms or food quality and preparation. One food item that did surprise us was the cheese. Very good cheese/quality in the Windjammer. Not enough fresh fruit though.

 

Would we do another RCI cruise. Yes....because the MDR food on most of the mass market cruise lines is very much hit and miss. They are all cutting corners.

[MomtoCCC]

I've been dreaming of going to Italy for several years now. I keep going back and forth between doing a Med cruise or just a land vacation. I'm really enjoying your DIY trip before boarding the ship. Which do you prefer and why? Can't wait to read more :)

[ace1zoe2]

I've been dreaming of going to Italy for several years now. I keep going back and forth between doing a Med cruise or just a land vacation. I'm really enjoying your DIY trip before boarding the ship. Which do you prefer and why? Can't wait to read more :)

 

 

I have to say that I prefer the cruise as opposed to a land vacation. I just think of the ship as my floating hotel with me waking up in a new port, country or on a different island each day.

 

The worst part of a land vacation for myself is living out of a suitcase. I like to get in my cabin, unpack & live like I'm at home.

 

I could never do an All Inclusive Resort. I can't sit on the beach or lay around. I'd be renting s car & driving all over the island which would defeat the idea of an AI.

 

Now if money were no object I would love to spend a couple of months in Italy staying a few days in each area & using the hotel as a base to go to different towns within driving distance.

 

Cruising allows us to (normally) fly in a few days before to enjoy the embarkation port & areas nearby. We tend to pick cruises that start & end in different ports so we can do the same on the back end of the cruise.

 

Also if we are paying to fly we try to make it a two week trip to justify the cost of the flights.

 

Hope this helps when you are contemplating your decision. What works for me might be the exact opposite of what works for others.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ace1zoe2]

Just found your review and loving it :)

My daughter is also Tarryn (with double R) and I took her for hs graduation on her first Europe trip so brings back lots of memories.

Great pictures ;)

 

Julia,

 

I just noticed your "Born to Travel, Forced to Work" in your signature and had to laugh. I have that as my motto on Facebook!

 

Cindy

[ace1zoe2]

We did this cruise. Great weather. Good service. Our first RCI cruise in years. In the past two years we have been on several other lines.

 

Everything was fine but we found the food in the MDR to be mediocre at best. Very clear to see that the food budgets are not what they used to be. Same for the Windjammer. Some days the food was good, others it was poor-in terms or food quality and preparation. One food item that did surprise us was the cheese. Very good cheese/quality in the Windjammer. Not enough fresh fruit though.

 

Would we do another RCI cruise. Yes....because the MDR food on most of the mass market cruise lines is very much hit and miss. They are all cutting corners.

 

Agreed about the food in the main dining room. It's not what it used to be but as long as I'm not the one having to shop, cook, serve & clean it works for me. Nothing I had was un-edible, it was just sometimes bland.

 

It definitely won't keep me from cruising in the future!

[Raxter54]

Just wondering if anyone is out there following along? I see there are several recent Med reviews and maybe that is the difference this time. In past reviews there have been lots of questions, responses, etc. but I sort of feel like I'm talking to myself this time :)

 

At any rate, I will continue on and hopefully pick up some followers along the way. I'm currently on day two and we will board the ship on day 5 so if that is what you're waiting for it's coming up soon!

 

You would prefer more pictures, less pictures, more narration, less? Hopefully, someone will see some information that will help them with future cruise plans at least.

 

Cindy

 

Following along. I think the amount of pictures and narration is fine. I find the amount of detail in some of those buildings exteriors to be amazing...

[iancal]

We also thought that the entertainment was sub par and the movies, well we get better movies at home on our local TV channel. Fortunately we do not cruise for the entertainment or the movies.

 

We did not take any excursions in Livorno since we have vacationed in the area several times. But we did sit with some folks who did take the ships excursion and we very disappointed in the tour and the quality. They were frequent RCI cruisers who often do RCI excursions. They planned to make a complaint. It think the issue for them is that while the cruise lines may advertise Florence, it is actually a long way off and a very large amount of time is spent getting to and from.

[ace1zoe2]

After touring the outside of the estate we headed underground to the Cellars. First up was the Marchessi Torregiani Cellar which is located under the main Villa and cut into the rock. It houses original chestnut barrels that were built in place as they were to large to fit through the entrance.

 

 

It's hard to judge the size of the barrel from the pictures, so to put it more in perspective here are the same barrels with our hostess and Debbie - the barrels are huge.

 

 

La Taverna was the next area we viewed. In days past they used this area for tasting the new wines. Today it houses many wine-making implements used throughout history to prepare, bottle and store wine.

 

 

 

This door leads to the Museum:

 

[ace1zoe2]

The Musuem contains a bottle(s) of every single wine produced by the winery since the 1960's. There were hundreds of bottles stored here showing the history of Frattoria Montecchio Wines.

 

 

The next place we visited was the La Comola which is also located under the kitchens of the main villa. Here wine is stored in oak barrels which hold 25 hectoliters of Chianti Classico, Riserva and some Barriques.

 

 

Following the barrel room we visited the New Winery which was built in the 80's and more resembles what I have seen in the US Wineries we have visited. All modern stainless steel vats with controlled temperatures.

 

 

And something new the family is trying: aging wine in the Terra-Cotta pitchers that they produce. Our guide said that they have bottled several wines and have had great success and will continue to age some of the wines this way in the future.

 

 

Then it was up this charming flight of stairs to the next room.

 

[crvng4mr]

Just wondering if anyone is out there following along? I see there are several recent Med reviews and maybe that is the difference this time. In past reviews there have been lots of questions, responses, etc. but I sort of feel like I'm talking to myself this time :)

 

At any rate, I will continue on and hopefully pick up some followers along the way. I'm currently on day two and we will board the ship on day 5 so if that is what you're waiting for it's coming up soon!

 

You would prefer more pictures, less pictures, more narration, less? Hopefully, someone will see some information that will help them with future cruise plans at least.

 

Cindy

I am following and your review is wonderful! Florence was one of my favorite cities on our med. cruise and I intend to go back and stay for a holiday spell.

[Dreamer115]

I too am following along. I have read all your other reviews and love your style. Unless we win a lottery we will not get to Europe so I am pretending to be there in your beautiful pictures.

 

Connie

[ace1zoe2]

I am following and your review is wonderful! Florence was one of my favorite cities on our med. cruise and I intend to go back and stay for a holiday spell.

 

I enjoyed Florence during the short time we were there. My dream would be to go back and spend a few weeks discovering the rest of Tuscany. It was absolutely beautiful.

 

I too am following along. I have read all your other reviews and love your style. Unless we win a lottery we will not get to Europe so I am pretending to be there in your beautiful pictures.

 

Connie

 

Connie, I hope that you will some day make it to Europe. I never thought we'd go either. The only way I can afford any vacation is to book it waaaay out (like 1 1/2 years) and make payments on it until it is paid in full. Then I research how we can do most port days DIY style to see the most while paying the least. We usually do meals on the ship or breakfast bars/cheese crackers in the car and then have one nice meal for lunch or dinner in port to try the local food. It doesn't have to be 4 star... we try to eat where the locals eat and really get a sense of every day life. Keep on Dreaming!

[ace1zoe2]

At the top of the stairs we entered La Barracaia where some of the best wines are kept. At the back of the brick-ceilinged cellar there is a fresco painting of a country scene by Marco Perini who is a contemporary painter.

 

 

Up next was the filling, corking & labeling machine. All the wines they produce are DOCG certified and cannot be bottle or sold until tasted and approved by DOCG. Each bottle has a unique numbered label wrapped around the neck of the bottle so that you can find out exactly the vat/barrel that it come from and get the review notes on it.

 

 

This is a storage room of already bottled products that are waiting to ship.

 

 

And now that the tour was complete it was time for our Tuscan lunch! We were served four different red wines, each with a different course of the meal.

 

 

First course was fresh tomato bruschetta made with their own produced olive oil (cold, marinated in olive oil) with the Chianti Classico (90% Sangiovese/10% Merlot aged 6-8 years). That course was followed by dressed Cannellini Beans (cold, marinated in olive oil) served with the the Chianti Classico Reserva (90% Sangiovese/10% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 10-12 years).

 

Following that we tried semi-aged and aged Pecorino cheese served with their estate-produced honey served with paired with Pietracupa wine (40% Sangiovese and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 12-14 years). I had never had cheese with honey and was skeptical... I tried it and I loved it! I'm not one for sweets and don't like honey or syrup but the juxtaposition of flavors was wonderful.

 

[ace1zoe2]

Next up was dried meats including salami, ham & finocchiona (a meat made with fennel) and it was served with La Papessa (Merlot aged 12-14 years). Everything they brought us, they brought two plates of. There was SO much food!

 

 

For our finishing course (dessert) we were served Cantucci which is an Italian almond-flavored biscotti... two baskets full paired with the Grappa de Venacce del Chianti Classico which is a brandy made from grapes. It was served in a shot-sized glass and you dip the cantucci in the liquid and then eat it as a dessert. It was strong but tasted wonderful with the biscotti. I tried a sip by itself and felt like I was drinking pure alcohol.

 

 

Our initial plans for the day were to make a brief hour and a half stop for a tour and lunch and then to buzz off to San Gimignano afterwards for a photo tour. We were having such a great time here relaxing, feasting and enjoying one anther's company that we decided to blow off San Gimi for what Debbie had now pronounced (at noon on our 2nd day of vacation) hashtag #BESTDAY EVER!

 

This picture is of the terra-cotta portion of the business and there is also and oil mill on the property where they produce olive oils as well. One last portion of their business is that they also offer agritourismo (B&B rentals) as well.

 

 

This is a short clip of our host explaining something in the barrel room. I just love listening to her talk.

 

 

http://s1338.photobucket.com/user/Ace1Zoe/media/2014%20Mediterranean%20Cruise%20-Rome%20to%20Barcelona/Day%2003%20-%20Pisa%20-%20San%20Donato%20Italy%20Wine%20Tours/Montecchio%20Winery%20San%20Donato%20in%20Poggio%20Tuscany/MVI_2617_zpsl9xhjp3c.mp4.html

 

Needless to say after all the food and drinks we were stuffed! We purchased a (few- wink,wink) bottles of wine to enjoy over the next couple of weeks of our trip and headed back to our Villa for a 4pm appointment for a tour. Luckily for the rest of us, since Charlie doesn't drink wine, we had a built in designated driver!

 

Ok - that gets us past noon on the second day... see I told you that I tend to ramble. We loved this tour! I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting the Chianti region. It is easy to do on your own with a rental car. You can visit the website to make reservations. Tour/Lunch/Wine was 20euro per person and tour with lunch and no wine was 15euro.

 

http://www.fattoriamontecchio.com/en/tour-tasting-3/tastings-italian-wine/

 

fattoriamontecchio dot com slash en slash tour-tasting-3 slash tastings-italian-wine slash

Edited November 15, 2014 by ace1zoe2

[MAJPLO]

Wow. This sounds like an amazing trip. I love all the pictures.

[Dreamer115]

Please don't stop rambling. Write as much as you like and lots and lots of pics is great. Loving it. :)

Connie

[ace1zoe2]

Wow. This sounds like an amazing trip. I love all the pictures.

 

It truly was an amazing trip. Thanks for following along.

 

Please don't stop rambling. Write as much as you like and lots and lots of pics is great. Loving it. :)

Connie

 

Thanks, Connie! Your wish is my command ;) I have a ton of pictures to post and lots of wonderful memories to convey to all who want to travel along virtually with me.

[adirondak camper]

I'm living my dream vacation through you.........perhaps next time

[xrayvin]

On all of our previous cruises I have carried "THE BINDER", you know the one... the one that has ALL the information for everything we will see and do. The daily itinerary, pre-purchased tickets, maps, directions, email correspondence, set sail pass and on and on.

 

This trip I finally decided to go high-tech and put EVERYTHING on my iPhone/iPad using the app Trip It, which I then shared with Debbie so that she could have all of the plans. I could add pictures of tickets, etc. to each activity as well as directions and more. It worked out great and I think the binder will be a thing of the past.

 

It really was much easier not hauling the book around, flipping thru pages, etc. Everything was at our fingertips instead.

 

Did you use the free version or did you upgrade to the Pro? I have been playing with it and am trying to figure out all the ins and outs. So far it has been pretty cool. I am trying to figure out how to get maps on it. One more thing, did you have to have WIFI in order to use it when you where in Europe? Any hints you have for me would be appreciated.

 

I am enjoying your review, I just wish we had more of the same ports. I have learned so much in the few ports we share.

[ace1zoe2]

Did you use the free version or did you upgrade to the Pro? I have been playing with it and am trying to figure out all the ins and outs. So far it has been pretty cool. I am trying to figure out how to get maps on it. One more thing, did you have to have WIFI in order to use it when you where in Europe? Any hints you have for me would be appreciated.

 

I am enjoying your review, I just wish we had more of the same ports. I have learned so much in the few ports we share.

 

I originally had the free version. However, I opened a Barclays Arrival Travel Card which is a chip & pin card with no international fees and an added bonus of that card was free Trip It Pro for as long as we have the card. The card came with 40k points if you spend $3k in the first 3 months and you can redeem the points for any kind of travel - cruises, airfare, car rentals, hotels, etc. I previously only used the RCI card but only got 1 point per dollar other than RCI purchases. This card gives 2 points per $1 spent and the points are cashed in as statement credit against travel purchases.

 

For maps, just click + then "other" then pick directions and enter your information. It will create a map with directions which you can then open in maps using gps only (without data or wifi).

 

I also took pictures of all my maps, emails, tickets, confirmations, etc. and attached each to notes section of each individual activity so that I would have all the information available in one place.

 

Hope that this helps you out.

[ace1zoe2]

I'm living my dream vacation through you.........perhaps next time

 

Thanks Linda. Keep on dreaming' cause dreams do come true!