Day Two
6am
I sleep like a baby – something about the faint chuntering of the train as it continues to roll through the night and the crisp mountain air in my room from the open window. At 6am, I’m awoken – not by any sudden movements or sounds, but by my mum, who has been awake for an hour and is desperate for me not to miss the views. I’m sleepy, but it’s justified – overnight we’ve rolled into Switzerland, and as the sky turns pink and then blue, the mountainscapes of the Swiss Alps roll silently past our window. It’s an awe-inspiring way to wake up, and we sit for hours staring longingly at the views.
8.30am
After vacating our cabin to allow George to flip our cabins from bedrooms to sitting rooms once again, we order breakfast. He brings a tray of French pastries, fruit, bread and butter, pouring steaming hot coffee and tea and we eat as the train snakes past Swiss lakes.
12.30pm
Today, we’re dining at L’Oriental – being able to eat in different restaurants while onboard means there’s always something new to experience, and it stops us from ever getting cabin fever. L’Oriental is my favourite of the three dining cars – the amber yellows seem to glow in the midday sunshine.
3pm
After some downtime, and with our suitcases packed and handed off to George, we soak up the final few moments in our cabin. Before we know it, the train is pulling into Florence, and we’re disembarking – the ground still seeming to rock beneath our feet.
A note: at this point of the journey, guests are whisked into Siena, about an hour’s drive from Florence, for a private tour of the historic city and cocktail hour in a historic palazzo. We skipped this due to a badly-timed illness, but heard nothing but positive things from fellow guests who did get to experience it.
5.30pm
Graciously swept into a car to deposit us at Castello di Casole ahead of schedule, we wind through the Tuscan countryside, climbing into the hills until we reach the hotel. The tree-lined driveway has us peering eagerly out of our windows to see more. Casole is one of the most storied properties in Italy. The castle was built in the 10th century, with rooms tucked into its towers overlooking a showstopping courtyard. From every angle, we ooh and aah at the widescreen views of the landscape.
Day Three
6am
Another day, another 6am wake-up call from my mother, who has spotted another view that simply can’t be missed. From our top-floor room – a sweeping space with stone walls and historical features – we can peep over the estate and across the surrounding countryside, where mist rolls off the hills as the sun rises.
8.30am
Breakfast in one of the hotel’s two restaurants, Tosca – meat and cheeses, cold-pressed juices, home-baked focaccia, Italian pastries, tea served in an enormous, branded teapot we want to sneak into our suitcases – is followed by a snoop around the grounds. We spy the rose-adorned terrace, the jaw-dropping infinity pool which seems to roll straight into the hills, the ancient amphitheatre and the bar. Making a mental note to return to each of these later, we grab a map of the estate from the concierge and set about exploring a little further afield.
10.30am
In hindsight, setting off on a 5km, very hilly walk through the estate was potentially a bold move, considering a storm had made the track muddy. Still, we set off armed with directions, our cameras and our raincoats The beautiful estate is made up of olive groves, vineyards, wild woodland, vegetable gardens and more, and we stomp up and down gravel paths. You can also explore by electric bike, if that’s more your speed – or spend days doing yoga classes, cooking demonstrations or guided tours of the estate.
12.30pm
Never far from our next meal on this trip, lunch at Casole is a ‘sagra’ style affair – mini festivals which celebrate regional dishes. We fill plates with barbecued meat (the smell of the coals has been tempting us for hours), fried pizzettes and salad, and settle into a long, lazy lunch as a live band plays.
2.30pm
Casole is a remote resort – that’s part of its beauty, sequestered up on the hills, secluded in its own misty privacy. We spend the afternoon swimming in the heated pool, which gazes out across the hills. The landscape is smudgy and hazy, seeming to me to have been crafted from oil paints.
5pm
I don’t think I’ve indulged enough, so I slip to the Essere spa. It’s a cossetting, spiritual space set in the castle’s old wine cellars. Not for the first time since we arrived, I’m struck by the history of the estate – the grounds here have been farmed since the Bronze Age.
