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BEN CARSON<br />
Love from Tuscany<br />
Q&A<br />
Tell us a little about Love from Tuscany<br />
Love from Tuscany is an online travel guide<br />
to one of Italy’s most enchanting regions.<br />
We offer our readers a mix of practical advice<br />
and immersive stories that help them plan<br />
their trips. And we give them the knowledge<br />
they need to choose the destinations and<br />
experiences that match their interests.<br />
Behind the scenes you’ll find us. Sabrina,<br />
Florentine by birth, and Ben from Eng-land.<br />
We met in Florence, got married and moved<br />
around a bit, and today we divide our time<br />
between England and our house in the<br />
Chianti.<br />
Sharing our love for Tuscany has given us the<br />
chance to explore this incredible region in<br />
depth; we’re always on the lookout for the<br />
most charming destina-tions, hidden corners<br />
and ancient tradi-tions that live on in the<br />
towns and coun-tryside. We believe a travel<br />
guide should capture the authenticity and soul<br />
of a place, and that’s just what we are trying to<br />
do with every post!<br />
Why do you think Tuscany continues to be<br />
such a popular tourist destination?<br />
Tuscany is known for many things. Its<br />
countryside is one of the most beautiful in<br />
all of Italy, full of rolling hills, verdant valleys<br />
and tightly knit vineyards. People <strong>com</strong>e in<br />
search of picturesque hilltop towns like San<br />
Gimignano and Volterra, the impressive<br />
Medieval architecture of Siena and Pisa.<br />
And of course the Renaissance jewel that is<br />
Florence, the biggest city in the region and<br />
still its main drawcard. There’s a lot of wine<br />
tourism here too as the Chianti area, amongst<br />
others, produces some of Italy’s best loved<br />
wines. Importantly Tuscany has both mountain<br />
areas and a varied coastline, so there’s<br />
something for every taste. Speaking of that,<br />
the food in Tuscany is amazing, and reason<br />
enough for a visit!<br />
Tuscany is often romanticized in<br />
popular culture. What are some of the<br />
misconception’s tourists have of Tuscany?<br />
The popular and clichéd image of Tuscany is of<br />
sun-drenched vineyards, and warm evenings<br />
spent on a terrace with a glass of wine in your<br />
hand. This is true for summer, but of course<br />
Tuscany gets cold in the winter (you can ski<br />
in the mountains here) and its landscapes are<br />
more varied than people might imagine. It’s<br />
not all about vineyards. There are the marble<br />
rich Apuan Alps which are great for hiking, the<br />
beaches and lagoons of the Maremma, and<br />
the ancient forests of Casentino which make a<br />
great Autumn destination.<br />
Tuscany is home to many artistic cities,<br />
which would you say is your personal<br />
favourite and why?<br />
Florence really can’t be beaten as an art<br />
mecca. Aside from the world renowned Uffizi<br />
gallery filled with Renaissance masterpieces,<br />
walking around in the city is a bit like being<br />
inside an open air art museum, with ancient<br />
statues round every corner. But our personal<br />
favourites are Siena and Lucca. For us,<br />
the Piazza del Campo in Siena is the most<br />
impressive square in the whole of Tuscany<br />
and the cathedral is jaw-dropingly beautiful.<br />
We love Lucca for its friendly atmosphere and<br />
delightful Medieval churches, not to mention<br />
its massive tree-lined walls that you can walk<br />
on top of.<br />
Tuscan food has an excellent global<br />
reputation, what dish would you<br />
re<strong>com</strong>mend to travelers? Could you give<br />
us a restaurant re<strong>com</strong>mendation?<br />
Sabrina: I’m from Florence, and absolutely<br />
adore a good Panino con Lampredotto, an<br />
ultra-Florentine dish which is basically cow’s<br />
stomach boiled in broth and served up in a<br />
roll with salsa verde. Not for the feint hearted!<br />
Ben: I love Ribollita. This is a hearty soup<br />
made with black kale, Tuscan bread and<br />
cannellini beans. It’s a winter dish, but it’s so<br />
good I insisted on having it at our wedding in<br />
the middle of summer!<br />
website: lovefromtuscany.<strong>com</strong><br />
email: info@lovefromtuscany.<strong>com</strong><br />
What is the best off the beaten path<br />
attraction?<br />
Anywhere in Southern Tuscany! The area<br />
known as the Maremma is still relatively<br />
untouched by mass tourism. It has otherworldly<br />
hilltop towns like Pitigliano and Sorano, long<br />
wild beaches and sunsets that melt the heart.<br />
(We go here every year in late spring, before<br />
all the Italian holiday makers arrive.)<br />
Tuscany is a fairly large region, what would<br />
you say is the best way to get around?<br />
That’s easy. A car. If you really want to<br />
experience the varied landscapes and be able<br />
to stop at that small hamlet that you spy on<br />
top of a hill, there’s no other way to travel. You<br />
can get around with public transport, but miss<br />
a lot of what makes Tuscany really magical.<br />
What does the future hold for Love from<br />
Tuscany?<br />
We’ve been doing this for two years now, and<br />
we feel like we haven’t even scratched the<br />
surface of everything Tuscany offers. So we’re<br />
going to keep exploring and trying to find<br />
more of these special places, experiences and<br />
stories to share with our readers. We’re also<br />
starting work on a book about Tuscany that’s<br />
tailor-made for visitors to the region.<br />
Facebook: https://<strong>www</strong>.facebook.<strong>com</strong>/lovefromtuscany/<br />
Instagram: https://<strong>www</strong>.instagram.<strong>com</strong>/lovefromtuscany/<br />
Twitter: https://twitter.<strong>com</strong>/lovefromtuscany/<br />
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