San Casciano Val Di Pesa epitomizes all that there is to love and savor about Italian life. Each morning my four year old would dramatically throw open our wooden shutters, shouting out Bon Journo to the cockerel, hens and cuckoo birds that inhabited our stunning gardens. Our 280 degree view was framed by the Florentine mountains in the back ground to the rolling valley of vineyards and olive groves in the foreground. As we cooked, chatted and played with our children in the kitchen, this view peered in at us, catching our breath each time.

The villa is sensitively and immaculately preserved, the pictures show the interior as it is. The photos of the gardens however do not indicate how vast that space is. It is beautifully planted, with real privacy offered from each veranda. You also are free to wander throughout the proprietor's estate. Walks through the vineyards and forests provided my four year old with a great adventures. I also went for my morning run around the estate - a 4 km circuit, providing stunning views of the area and much safer than running on the local, narrow roads.

Maurizio and Antonio, were very gracious hosts. Always courteous and readily available to resolve any queries we had. We were also treated to a tour of their cellar and a bottle of their exquisite Chianti wine.

San Casciano, only 8 km away, (Mercatale - 4 km away, fine for grocery shopping and had a charming playground) was a real find. We went there nearly every evening, and we felt like we were the only tourists there. It's an affluent, effortlessly elegant town, with a sufficient array of restaurants, cafes and shops to create an ambient atmosphere. They playground had the most incredible view of a river valley, in the cool of the evening all the locals loved to amble along its edge; a perfect spot for people watching.

My only reservation was the road leading up to the villa, it was eroded quite severely in parts, making driving a hired car quite a precarious experience.

Lastly San Casciano, is the perfect spot for exploring Chianti. We were 30 mins from Florence, 40 from Sienna. Two other towns I must recommend are San Gimignano, home to the worlds first skyscraper and apparently the best icecream too. I loved it for its piazza that contained the best set of steps, far superior to the Steps of Rome, much more atmospheric. The other town is Panzano, a hill top town with a famously cultured butcher. Incredible views while there and enroute.