Day 6: Tasting Tuscany

A jog, or a swim, is an excellent way to start the day before a drive through the Tuscan Hills to Lucca. If you’re wondering if Tuscany is all about the food, a hands-on lesson with experts in the art of making fresh pasta at Fattoria Colle Verde, one of the region’s foremost wineries and olive oil producers, may shed some light. After a little testing and a little cooking, cap your pasta-making debut with a little virgin olive oil tasting… a little Tuscan wine tasting… and more than a little pasta tasting at lunch. You can take a walk through olive groves and across rolling hills for a taste of life in the Royal Villa of Marlia – picture Napoleon’s sister strolling the grounds (she lived here), or artist John Singer Sargent (a frequent guest) painting in the garden... or head straight to the walled city of Lucca, your home for the next two nights.