Does anyone EVER go on a trip where they don’t have at least a FEW bumps along the way??? I seriously doubt it! I know that was FOR SURE the case with us when we visited Tuscany for three days on our France and Italy vacation earlier this summer. To be perfectly honest, I was sooo looking forward to this part of our trip and really thought it would be my favorite! Sadly, I really feel like we missed out on a lot in this area due to sickness and some miscommunications on hotel and transportation. But even with all that, I am still SOOO thankful for THIS ONE experience that was a highlight of the entire trip: our Chianti cooking class!!

If you haven’t seen the other parts of our trip, be sure you check out FRANCE, LOIRE VALLEY, and VENICE/MURANO/BURANO!!

Blaize and I took a 45-minute car ride (with some of the most beautiful scenery you can imagine!) to a house right smack in the middle of the Tuscan countryside while Brandon stayed at the hotel with Eden, who was sick. Although we absolutely missed them, Blaize and I had THE BEST TIME together learning how to cook an authentic Tuscan meal!Don’t

When we arrived at our destination, we were immediately BLOWN AWAY by the adorable farmhouse in the Tuscan countryside. It was seriously like being on the set of a movie!!! AMAZING!!!!

We found out that this home was built in the 1200’s and much of it was still the original design!

This was the view from the house. I don’t know about you, but I could 10000% get used to a view like this!!! The Tuscan countryside was simply GORGEOUS.

Our hostess for the day was Franca, and let me tell you, she was the SWEETEST little Italian lady. We just fell in love with her right off the bat! She was precious and her home was so warm and welcoming! I felt like I had walked back in time, where life was just slower and sweeter. It was just what I needed…

Now y’all know how much Blaize LOVES to cook, so he and Franca hit it off immediately! Is he not the CUTEST little chef you’ve ever seen?!?!?!

Franca was SUCH a good teacher!! She was sooo patient and kind with us. It is very obvious that she LOVES being in her kitchen, preparing meals, and sharing that love with others!!!

Getting that dough ready for our homemade pasta!

Franca grows her own herbs for cooking, so we went and picked some rosemary to use for our meal! It was funny, because she said “go grab the rosemary” and there were tons of bushes and neither one of us knew which one was the rosemary LOL

Whew! It’s a lot of work to make your own pasta, but how cool is that to see it all together and finished? If you follow me on Instagram, you got to see lots of behind the scenes videos from this day! It was SUPER fun and rewarding!! (Just not sure if I will do that much work again! I may just stick to the ole boxed pasta!!)

I loved this shot of her kitchen. Isn’t it just beautiful and so full of old Tuscan charm? It just speaks to such a simpler time and place, and everytime I look at this picture, it takes me right back…

After we’d prepared all of that deliciousness, OF COURSE we had to EAT!! It was a perfect meal outside with the absolute BEST view of the Tuscan countryside!!! I am not sure it could have been any better. We ate with Franca and her son and a worker on her farm. The English of the 2 guys weren’t great, and add in my country accent…it was quite funny but truly an amazing experience.

Blaize was SO PROUD of what he’d created, and boy was it AMAZING!!! I read a quote once that said “the day I know I have arrived is the day I eat pasta in Italy”…and well, we have ARRIVED!

I have to tell you the truth here…this dessert looked amazing, but…well, me and Blaize weren’t fans! That lemoncello was just a little too much for us LOL

The words I would use to describe this day are PURE JOY. Blaize and I had such a good time cooking together! We definitely plan to make time for it more often!!

Our day spent with Franca was SO MUCH MORE than just learning how to prepare a meal. It was really like we stepped back into time, into a much simpler way of life. It truly made me want to change things in my own life to slow down a little and really enjoy the everyday things more.

Franca asked me if we cook much at home. I told her that we love to, but we just stay so busy that we don’t really have time. Her words spoke so much truth to me, “You have to change the things you need to change to make that happen and slow down.” Franca may not ever realize that she taught us A LOT more that day than just how to make homemade pasta. Even today, I hold onto those words and keep them close to me…
This was definitely an experience I will NEVER forget!!!