"Tuscany. Everything you've heard is ..." a Tuscany Travel Page by oja

If you don't know it already, let me say it now: when it comes down to hugely popular, tremendously known, massively visited and loudly praised places, I turn into an old grumpy cynic. "I believe Paris has lost it," I squeeze out of the corner of my mouth. "Well, go and see Venice if you haven't been there before, but..." I sigh and scare the beginner travellers who then wonder what monster expects them there. "Oh, speaking of Salzburg, by the way..."

Umph. Yes, you're allowed to call me snob when I do this. Feel free. Go ahead. Say I'm terrible. That's what I'm like. Sometimes.

However, this orientation may also fail in certain cases. Tuscany was surely one of them. Knowing how visited, popular and praised it is, I was ready to say 'OK, fine, but...' once I get there. But seeing the famous rolling hills, ultra-romantic villages perched on top of them and cities stuffed with art, art and more art, all I could utter was 'wow'. And wowed I did. A lot. Permanently. It was actually my most common word in those all too short five days I spent exploring the region with my friends and my VW Polo. Even places like Florence, Siena and San Gimignano, which was once a well-kept secret and has recently turned into a well invaded tourist destination, rated as simply great at the end of the day. So what can I say? Go there. Something must be in it for you, no matter what you look for. Everything you've heard about it is true. And it's only the beginning.