Following a beautiful Easter break in Italy, I wanted to write everything about the road trip I had from Milan to Rome stopping at Piadena, Mantua, Florence, Toscana (around Siena and St Gimigliano), but I was afflicted with a post-holiday syndrome of being very very lazy… (also busy with work but that’s no excuse!)

I want to keep it short with only emphasizing the highlights but to start things off, many thanks to Elif Bayoglu who arranged the trip, without her we would be stuck in our cubicles working during Easter.

My highlights from the trip:

Sightseeing: Siena. The duomo and the city was amazing. Can not believe they actually have a horse race at the city center. The restaurant we went to was Osteria Le Logge and was great food (we saw pics of George Clooney so it looks like a celeb-fav in the town).

Hotel: Relais la Suvera. Great hotel in Tuscany with good restaurant and beautiful gardens providing the tranquility I needed.

Cheese: Ahmet and Elif ate, unfortunately I ordered dessert… They had all the good cheese. Great restaurant on the way to Mantua at Piadena.

Art: Galleria degli Uffizi. Botticelli’s Birth of Venus was the best thing ever happened to me since Mona Lisa at the Louvre.

Overall trip: As with everything else, what matters is who you go with and I had the great luck of spending time with my love Eko and best-buddies Elif and Ahmet and overall it was one of the best short road trips I have ever had.

Tips: Rent a car to go around in Toscana. Definitely use the GPS device unless you know your way around. Try avoiding Easter as it is very crowded. Get online reservation for Uffizi Gallery to avoid queues. Enjoy!