Closing time in Tuscany

A quick one hour train ride from our little villa and we were in the glorious city of Florence. We called ahead and booked our tickets (very helpful) for the Uffizi where we were able to see works from some of the masters such as Michael Angelo, Raphael and Leonardo Da Vinci. From there we spoke with a street vendor and inquired on the best local spot for lunch. He accommodated us with a referral to a nearby place where we once again dined with the locals. It was a great time! I think sometimes we are as intrigued with the personalities as we are with the food they are offering. After lunch we had a reservation at the Accademia to see Michael Angelo’s ‘David’. I don’t pretend to be a great art connoisseur but I certainly can appreciate something as majestic as ‘David’. This was our second time seeing him and the impact was a strong as the first.

We strolled through some of the streets of Florence including Ponte Vecchio and the River Arno before we grabbed a cab back to the train station and our ride back to Castiglion Fiorentino. I must say having a place of our own to make dinner, if we choose, and relax has been a great experience. Although we have eaten rather sinfully during the day we are able to regulate our dinner with fresh veggies and salads. Did I mention we have no television other than BBC News? So wine and a book always close the day!

We extended our time in Tuscany by one day and today was our last day. We decided to stick to the countryside and took a fairly short road trip to Pienza and Montalicino. Pienza, famous for their Pecorino cheese and Montalcino for their big red Brunellos! It was interesting because we only stopped at Pienza because I had read about it in the Frommer’s guide. Truth be told six months ago I don’t think any of us had heard of Pecorino cheese, but once we acquired a taste for it we thought it would be cool to stop for a taste. It was easy to find this little village perched on one of the famous Tuscan hills. As usual we parked and began the hike ‘up’ to the old town itself. We all chose this spot as a favorite over some of the more highly traveled towns/villages. A beautiful little town with walking lanes filled with plants and lovely apartments up top. Elegant as it appeared there was of course the ever present laundry hanging out the window. No Italian landscape would be natural without it.

We decided to lunch here versus Montalcino and found a great little spot. Ok, here we go with the food again but it can’t be helped. We started with shared antipasti of pear and Pecorino cheese drizzled with local honey. Wow, gotta try this at home! John decided to have Pici (thick spaghetti) because he thought it was likely a regional thing, so I joined him. His sauce was ‘ok’ but mine was one of the best we have ever eaten. A simple tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes and enough garlic to give it a little kick. Judy decided to have lasagna because this was something she had not had since we arrived and we all agreed it was wonderful and better than any recipe we had tasted. As if this were not enough we closed our lunch with Vin Santo (sweet wine) and Biscuits (we call Biscotti) which we shared. Now that we have totally filled up we headed out and on to Montalcino looking forward to what it may offer. The town itself was no where near the charm of Pienza but there was the Brunello! Again we parked and hiked up to the town, and in this case the fortress, where the recommended tasting room was located. We were greated by a Blond woman speaking English! It turned out she is Danish, got tired of her job one day and took a 6 months leave. She came to this area without speaking the language and started working at the winery. After her 6 months she returned to Denmark but only lasted 4 months at which point she quit and moved to Italy. What an adventure, but it got better. She met an American and they married atop this hill in Multiciano two years ago. How cool is that? They live in LA but he is working in Switzerland for a time so she came back to visit old friends and work for awhile. And I thought I was an adventurer!

Much or most of this wine we couldn’t get in the states and because they had a tough winter and did not have many tourists they offered free shipping…..you know the rest of the story!

But besides the food, wine, charming villages and people the natural beauty will be a lasting memory. The rolling hills are so green they look like they have been photo shopped, and then sprinkle in fields of bright yellow mustard and patches of red Poppies and you pretty much have it! Except of course the villages, castles and villas perched atop so many of the hills. We have taken many pictures but acknowledge there is no way we can begin to capture these vistas so we will be content for the most part with our memories.

Sadly, its time for us to close this chapter of our adventure in Tuscany with it's unique beauty, charm, food and wine and it is time for John to turn in the keys for awhile as well! He is becoming a crazy Italian driver! Tomorrow we will be jumping (not literally) a train and moving on to a very different scene in Venice.