Why did it take me this long to finally travel to Tuscany and become a crazed red wine lover and seasoned Italian foodie? Too many fabulous stories to share so I'll give highlights of the food fun in point form:

1. Traveled to Tuscany, Amsterdam, Paris and Bruge - 3 weeks - my 33 year old daughter, Toni - LOVE that girl so much my heart swells (last time I spent three weeks in a row enjoying quality time was when she was a teenager!) I had to fight off the Italian men who are known for adoring beautiful women!

2. KLM Vancouver flight was easy and even ultra swanky when we upgraded for the trip home which continued the food intake on board

3. In Tuscany, we stayed in a small village, Colle Val d'Elsa, with my friends Susan & Patrick. Patrick lives there p/t selling for a luxury Tuscan Timbers property "Castello di Casole." More fun too ... as we met up with more friends, Julie and Hopper from Cabo San Lucas.

4. A short 40 minutes drive from Florence, Colle Val D'Elsa is the perfect little town with a center square that dates back to the 10th Century!! Charming and old and historic ... and so lovely, lined with small cafes and bars filled with locals eating, drinking, visiting and smoking all hours of the day. Narrow cobblestone streets and bustling with life!

5. Truffle season was happening so the sweet and muddy smells wafting through the ancient walled Castle village of Monteriggioni. Hey ... only 800 years old and still perfect! Oh... sunny lovely days allowed us to enjoy the blue sky backdrop for perfect pictures.

6. Enjoyed drinks, the newly invented 'San Patricio' (Gintini & Lime & Rosemary which grows abundantly everywhere) at Castello di Casole - a TOP resort pick in all of Europe - and only 4200 acres in size! Rolling hills and small restored farm houses (5000 sq.ft.) with stone pizza ovens, private pools, white frette linens and every detail to pleasure your every need!

7. Foodie alert: Osteria di Varno, a vineyard and winery and B&B in the heart of Tuscany with the owner, Varno, hosting the evening with his stories of family and farming and the wine he creates from the earth up. Local Prosciutto & salami with a creamy sheep's Ricotta (his neighbors farm creation) and 2 rustic breads with fresh Tomato sauce and a homemade noodle. Salad was a basket of vine ripe tomato's and a side bowl a greens and Home pressed olive oil (forgot to mention Olive trees are everywhere) and Balsamic. There's MORE: Thin sliced rare beef with bottles and bottles of Risala red wine. Don't forget dessert ... Biscotti and chocolate with a sweet berry liqueur and grappa. A wonderful 4 hour crazed foodie experience.

8. Gimignano is a Walled 14 tower castle like village where we spent hours shopping and buying local leather purses and colorful scarves. Lunch was pizza & gorgonzola ravioli with a ripe tomato salad. Toni visited the torture museum and was unable to share what she saw as being too graphic!

9. Leaning tower of Pisa - was smaller then I thought

10. Cinque Terre - WOW x 1000. Love Love Love these 5 little cliffside and oceanside villages that are connected by ferry and train and onerous curvy cliffy roads. (yes, a car just went off the cliff and being recovered and the person or person could not have survived it) Train schedules were a bit slow allowing us to drink red wine out of plastic cups passing the time away. Next time - We will do the famous hike between the 5 towns

11. Tenuta Casanova - Just when you think you can not drink or eat another thing ... along comes Silvano and his wife Rita. The wine 'Easy to Fall in Love" is the best red wine you will ever ever have! Home pressed, award winning, olive oil and 30 year old Balsamic!!! ($30/1.3oz) Silvano nurtures and cares for every single step in brewing Balsamic for 30 years, his wines and his cooking school and herbs gardens, and turkeys and vineyards that only one other friend has growing in all of Tuscany! Bruschetta w/tomato and Bruschetta w/mayo and chives; Prosciutto & Salami; 'Casa Nova" red wine (lots of it:) and Chickpea & Tomato Salad (GOD Inspired) and grilled peppers w/virgin olive oil (home pressed) and his local honey and cheeses to cleanse the palate. (who needs sorbet)

12. Tenuta Casanova Continued ... Yes, there is much more food still coming! Lasagna (famously made by his wife Rita with the home grown tomatoes and herbs) Scrambled eggs with TRUFFLE oil!! Sweet garlic pieces which is home grown and picked and pickled. DESSERT: Vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of his 30 year old balsamic!! Oh, and bruschetta with grapes freshly picked and home made creamy tiramisu! Did I say food coma yet? And this too was a 4 hour foodie dream.

13. Il Profeta, a lovely, little, tiny, narrow and small restaurant in Florence. OMG you would think we could no longer fit our clothes or even walk by now considering the amount of wine and food we have now devoured. Red wine and more red

This put us over the edge: Claudio, the owner who entertained and treated us all to another 4 hour foodie event. He insisted we have the 'John Travolta Pasta, lick your plate, red cream sauce pasta.' YUM! A homemade traditional bolognese spaghetti! Caprese w/antipasta and another award winning olive oil. Truffle cheese pasta inside a parmesan crust bowl. Hopper had the 2" thick steak the size of a 12" plate! (yes, he ate the whole thing) We were so full of red wine and his amazing food and said no to dessert. He was not hearing us and insisted we have his home made Tiramisu!

THE BEST creamiest yummiest dessert ever!

Italy Rocks With Foodie Fun