I'm a terrible cook and enrolled in a cooking course in Tuscany much to my husband's delight and I can honestly say I can now cook 'Italian' to a passable standard. I jumped on a mini bus in the centre of Florence at 9.30am and was driven just outside of the city centre into the beautiful green hills of Tuscany. We pulled up at a pretty Tuscan villa where we were introduced to our Italian chef. We got our aprons on and went outside to pick fresh herbs and veg from the gardens, the smells were amazing and the chef made me really think about the importance of using fresh produce for your cooking.

I learned to cook so many dishes and sauces, this course takes you well beyond the spaghetti bolognese. I can now cook a full three-course meal and many other side dishes to a passable quality. The wine flowed and the fact that it was produced from the vineyards in the grounds made it all taste so much better. I had a brilliant time and highly recommend it (so can my husband!). It's a brilliant add-on to a trip to Florence and I'll definitely go back for more lessons later in the year.

www.golearnto.com/course/overview/1020/First+Taste+of+Tuscany+Cooking+Holiday

Pick up from Florence city centre at 9.30am, just 10 euros return which is well worth the money. Book it online, it's easy - everything works out brilliantly and you only have to pay a deposit.

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Definitely find the cafe at the Uffizi - lovely rooftop views and not too expensive. Sit outside and escape the hoardes of art viewers for a few minutes.

Top floor, Uffizi

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Ciao Bambino is an online guide to family-friendly vacation properties with many accommodations in Italy. I used them to research a family reunion trip for 17 people. It's easy to use and has age appropriate ratings - this is great if you have toddlers/small children and need things like highchairs, cribs, etc. Many of their properties are apartments with hotel amenities which is a great combo.

www.ciaobambino.com

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Most of the pottery known as Tuscan pottery or Florentine pottery is actually made in Montelupo Fiorentino, one of the most important ceramic centres in Italy during the Renaissance and immediately after.

Considered for a very long time a minor pottery production centre, the role played by Montelupo pottery in the history of Italian ceramics was re-defined only a few years ago, thanks to the unexpected discovery of an old well full of kiln shards.

Hundreds of ceramic pieces from the Renaissance were found in the excavations thanks to the hard work of an association of volunteers. Now they are the core of the Tuscan pottery collection housed in a newly renovated Museum of Ceramics.

What makes the Museum so definitely worth a visit is the uniqueness of its large collection of ceramic works. Most of the 5,500 pieces belonging to the collection come from the excavations made in the area of Montelupo in the last 33 years. They provide an extraordinary opportunity to travel back in time through five centuries in the history of one of the most important ceramic centres in Europe.

More about Tuscan pottery Museum at www.thatsarte.com/blog/highlights/tuscan-pottery-museum-montelupo-ceramics/

Montelupo Museum of Ceramics
Tue/Sun: 10.00/18.00
Tel. 0039 0571 51352
info@museomontelupo.it

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