We were more than a little surprised at the pleasure that awaited us when we arrived at Casa Claudia. The pleasantly decorated, clean and comfortable villa lends itself perfectly to a relaxing holiday. Only a few minutes drive from the medieval town of San Gimignano which has local shops, supermarket, bars and restaurants as well as being steeped in history. The view from the terrace can only be described as magnificent and we spent several evenings sat there with local red wine watching the fire flies light up the olive grove beneath.
We didn't realise until we arrived what great countryside there was to explore and our flip flops were not suitable - however we have already booked for 2009 and will be taking sturdy footwear to investigate further. It is a lovely hours drive to the beach at Cecina which is lined with jasmin trees, and not too far from Sienna although Florence would be a struggle to do justice in a day trip.
It's a perfect base for exploring Tuscany and would highly recommend it. We were the sole users of the pool and spent some fun time rescuing the kamikazi baby lizards that kept flinging themselves into the pool to cool down.
We have never booked the same place twice, ever, yet we were compelled to return here.