Having been curtailed in our travels by not being able to get a rental car, we decided to do a tour of the Tuscany region as part of a small group.

In the end, it was a much better idea as we could enjoy the wines (and let me tell you, they serve big tastings).

We visited two wineries and trying the famous Brunello wines, before checking out Monteriggioni, surrounded by 12th century walls.

Then it was on to Val d’Orcia, which is a world heritage listed area of farming country which looks much the same as it did centuries ago.

The final stop of the day was Montalcino, where we climbed the historic turret of the fort.