Tuscany in the rain
 

We're headed to Tuscany for a week and the forecast is for cool and rainy weather for most of the trip. We'll be based near San Gimignano and Certaldo and the plan was to day trip to Florence, Pisa, and maybe somewhere on the coast and spend the rest of the time driving around and checking out the countryside and hill towns. Now we're trying to figure out what to do on those nasty days. We'll have a two-year-old with us so that rules out going to a lot of shops and eating long meals in restaurants. Any suggestions?

Forecasts are often pessimistic in Tuscany and turn out better. I hope that is your case. Do not try the hill towns in the rain, but you can train to Florence or drive to Siena during the bad days and stay inside much of the time.

You can safely ignore the weather forecasts. I went to Tuscany for some sunshine, and got snow!

Seriously, I live in Italy. The OVERNIGHT prediction was for rain today. You cannot believe how beautifully sunny it is.

If you have a car, the rain is going to bother you less than if you are traveling by train, believe me. Stick to your plan of visiting hilltowns.

But should you find yourself with a lot of rain in that area, you might think about the hot springs at Montecatini. Many of the interiors in Siena merit lingering (although if you are pushing a stroller, be warned the town is very steep.) I would think a two-year-old would love an olive oil mill, and many of the agriturismos give tours. I've heard Pietrasantra is an interesting town, and this might appeal to you:

http://www.pietrasantawinery.com/Estate/

By the way, there is a zoo in Pistoia. And there is a place called "Cashmere in Chianti" that I've never been to but have always wanted to visit, and I think a young child would love it.

Have a great trip!

Assuming you are in a villa, sounds like you will want to check out market day in San G and stock up on provisions and do some cooking like the locals. You may find that a local source will offer in-home cooking lessons.

I went with a group of 14 women in March to a big villa near Certaldo and we had a car that was a life-saver, as it rained 50% of the time. We also went into Florence by train four times in two weeks. Gave us a chance to really get to see the museums.

I can't imagine you will have a week of straight rain-it comes and goes in that area.

Have a great time!

http://www.chianticashmere.com/

http://www.zoodipistoia.it/

(pistoia itself is not an uninteresting town if you find yourself near there. A nice restaurant on the via Abbondanza and some historic cafes:

http://www.50connect.co.uk/travel/re...d_its_province

I have heard that market day in San Gimignano is a parking nightmare.

It rained off and on during the week we were in Tuscany last year. Except for about one hour of one afternoon, it didn't stop us from doing anything. We wore waterproof shoes/boots and our coats were all-weather with hoods - no messing around with umbrellas. The hill towns are fantastic - rain or shine. Florence will be wonderful - rain or shine. Nothing shuts down because of rainy weather. I suggest you do whatever you have planned (unless it's a picnic!)

Oh - that one hour mentioned above - there was an awesome thunderstorm! Really intense rain, lightning, thunder. We just stayed in our apartment until it let up. Kind of fun for us since we get very few thunderstorms where we live.

Thanks for the suggestions. Really crossing my fingers that the forecast is wrong.

I have the same problem, and we are going with a 4 year old, I am going next week and wondered how you got on