Tuscan Hot Air Balloon Ride

For any of you who follow me on Instagram or Twitter you might have seen I recently tied the knot with my lovely man! We had the most amazing week in Provence making our commitment official with our best friends and family around us, it was perfect. After all of the festivities, we had decided to drive down to Italy for a little minimoon to de-stress and relax. My wedding present to my husband (still weird saying that!) was a Hot Air Balloon ride over the Siena region of Tuscany, as he’s always up for a little adventure!

I wanted to share some pictures below and to recommend the incredible local company who I booked the experience through – Tuscany Ballooning – if you’ve ever wanted to take a flight yourself. I chose an early morning sunrise ride and despite the eye-wateringly early start, it really was the most memorable, breathtaking experience watching the sun rise from thousands of feet above, misty fog on the hills below…

Once the pilot had found the correct wind for a landing spot after the 50 minute flight (in our case a little field, still so early the grass was glistening with dew and we had to wear plastic bags over our shoes), everyone hopped out of the balloon ‘cages’ and the Tuscany Ballooning team set up a delicious champagne breakfast. Anna, the lovely and bubbly on-the-ground coordinator, told us how all of the food was local to her family’s farm – the gloriously stinky Italian cheeses, fresh meats and olive oil – all served with homemade sea-salted focaccia from her mother’s oven and top-ups of champagne in plastic flutes. What more could you ask for?!

Stuffed to the brim and a little bit tipsy, the ballooning team then piled us all into the Landrovers and drove us back to the meeting point to pick up the car. We were back at our hotel before 10am, the whole day ahead of us after the most magical of morning wake-ups. I couldn’t recommend this enough – if you’re next in Tuscany, promise me you’ll give this a whirl.

You can find all information on Tuscany Ballooning here.

More Italian adventure posts coming up this week too so stay tuned!

LMNH x