Hotel Maremma Grosseto

Last night we had just made a new itinerary to include a visit to a National Park on the coast, but that was all thrown out the window as we received a text message from Kim's mum saying she wanted to come and join us. Kim was ecstatic!!! Another replan session as we did our much overdue laundry in Grosetto and our trip of Italy was to come to an end sooner that we thought as we had to get to Barcelona in 1 week. It worked out better this way as Kim's mum flies home on the 15th Dec ...

All vitamin D'ed up we arrived at our destination for the evening - Bagni di Petriolo - hot springs. Soon we were lounging in the hot sulphur pools watching the sun set. A fresh water stream ran alongside the springs and a dip in the water was very refreshing, although a little breathtaking at the same time! The pools were popular with the locals young and old as well as travellers as there were about a dozen campers parked nearby. As lovely as ...

Down the road from Montalcino we popped into St Antimo Abbey where the local monks say their (7!!) daily prayers in Georgian chants. We caught part of the 12.45pm prayers and enjoyed some down time while listening the chanting. The afternoon was glorious and once again we were in tshirts, so we made the most of it and had a picnic in the sun beside the Abbey.

... just! We found a cute little coffee shop that had the best views over the valley from the toilet of all places!!! Oh yeah and the coffee was good too! Stocked up on some well needed groceries as Scooby's cupboards were bare, then it was time to sample the local Brunello di Montalcino. Brunello must stay in the barrel for 5 years ...

Dominic Lawson finds an ideal hideaway from which to explore a remote part of Tuscany

Published: 12:01AM BST 01 Jun 2004 - Telegraph




I have never entirely understood the English love affair with Tuscany. To
be buried among a breezeless series of parched hills and valleys at
temperatures that render infants either ...

Located near Porto Ercole on the south-west coast of the romantic Tuscan peninsula of Monte Argentario, this peaceful, secluded seven-bedroom property has breathtaking, panoramic views of the Mediterranean and islands Giglio, Giannutri, Monte Cristo and Elba - even Corsica can be ...

... architecture that was later modified and restored.

After absorbing all this culture a trip to the hot springs at Saturnia is the perfect tonic. The therapeutic qualities of its steaming springs have been appreciated since Roman times. There is a large public bathing area just outside the town on the road to Montemerano or you can visit the Hotel Terme di Saturnia, an exclusive spa resort which has pools and facilities for day visitors.

Alternatively a ...

I was so excited about going to Montalcino. Had read a book about it years ago and always dreamt of going there. It was so gorgeous too. See high up on a hillside, just like the rest and a population of only 5000. So pretty and I could have stayed for hours. There is a famous wine called Brunello which is from this area so 98% of the shops were wine shops! It was another of those ...

... manages to find our hotel by stopping in the middle of the street hopping out of the car and asking a local. Depositing us in what seems to be a back alley we find Hotel Sole on Via Columbo. As it turns out it is a regular street and they all look like this and you can't drive down them. The streets are made for foot traffic or perhaps a horse and cart.

Hotel Sole is a beach town B & B. The elevator is the size of a double ...

... see some cool Tuscan landscapes (even if it wasn't sunny). Tuscany Thus far the Italians haven't made too great an impression on me (those in the service industry anyway). They seem to react as if you are inconveniencing them...another thought was that they react as if they're really hungover, they know it's their job to help you but don't really want to be bothered - "you want a room.?." blah, blah, blah in Italian. pulls out some papers ...