After a yummy Italian dinner and a good night's rest, we headed north from the Rome airport in our rented Alfa Romeo Giulietta.
Our route hugged the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea (west coast of Italy) for an hour or so until we turned east toward the heart of Tuscany. We chose less trafficked routes so we could enjoy the scenery. We stopped in a little town for a coffee and some beautiful Italian pastries, then continued along the side roads making our way north toward Montepulciano, our first destination. The further we went the more beautiful the scenery became. Hills were higher. Vistas were broader. Vineyards appeared. The ubiquitous Tuscan Cypress trees dotted the entrance drives of the larger villas. The town of Montepulciano was visible from a great distance as it sits on one of the highest hills around, similar to the bastides we experienced in France last year. Thank goodness for GPS!
The beautiful town of Montepulciano is a warren of stone, brick and iron. It is picturesque, sturdy and ancient. It's filled with wonderful trattorias, osterias, pizzerias, wine shops, leather shops and delightful people. It was a drippy day and we had to get to our inn before nightfall, so after a yummy lunch and a bit of a walk-around, we continued North. A half hour later near the town of Torrita di Siena we made our way down a winding dirt road to the
Relais and Chateaux,
Villa San Sanino. Absolutely beautiful and home for three days!
This very special inn has only four rooms, excellent food, beautiful surroundings and is owned and run by a family of four. Mom, Laura, is the cook (while also teaching school during the day); son, Giacomo, is the bookkeeper, marketer and general manager (while going to school to be a psychologist); daughter, Bianca, the concierge, host, server (while also going to school and studying for her medical school admittance tests); and Dad, Ubaldo, is the architectural genius behind the design and renovation of this wonderful Tuscan inn. All were extremely welcoming, spoke moderately good English, and did their best to make our stay five star! They certainly succeeded!
Click any photo to enlarge
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| Our Suite |
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| Back of the main house |
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| Side of the main house |
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| Outside the suites |
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| Looking down the path leading to our suite |
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| An artsy shot! Those cypress! |
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| The pool, which we unfortunately didn't get to use |
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| Overflowing Rosemary growing on the wall and in pots just outside our room |
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| The view out our front door |
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| A sample of those beautiful Tuscan Cypress trees |
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| One of the suites with the doors closed |
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| Our front door |
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| The main house, taken from a path up the hill |
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| The path from the parking area lined with rosemary |
Greg had made arrangements to have dinner at the inn on our first night. We were the only ones there and had a romantic, private meal - just us and the staff. Dinner was a Tuscan Panzanella salad with vegetables from the owner's garden, Homemade Pici (hand-rolled pasta like fat spaghetti, originating in the Tuscan region) with beef Tuscan ragu, Sliced Chianina Beef (an Italian breed of cattle) with Rosemary-Zucchini Flan from the garden with pecorino fondue and Homemade Panna Cotta (Sharon's favorite of Italian desserts), this one came with strawberry coulis. We paired it with Vino Rosso Avignonesi Desiderio. The portion sizes were perfect, the wine was good, and the ambiance exceptional!
After enjoying a wonderful sleep we headed to breakfast at 8am - late for us, but hey, vacation! Breakfast each day offered fresh fruit, yogurt, eggs of your choice, several options of pastries or breakfast breads, coffee and juice. We had to be careful not to overdo.
Heading out by car, we set the GPS for Montepulciano again....we didn't get enough yesterday! Our first stop was a wine university (now that is a college we can get behind!) where one could pay for tastings of a variety of local wines. It also featured art from a local artisan and we loved the medium so much we purchased a piece to bring home.
Continuing to wander around the town we took tons of photos, stopped into several shops, and sampled wine tasting rooms. Lunch today was on the open-air patio of
Caffe' Poliziano above the rolling Tuscan hills. There was wine - of course! - a cheese platter and a bowl of vegetable soup for Sharon and a pasta dish for Greg. As we ordered, the skies opened up, so the staff simply pressed a button and plastic walls slid down from the canvas ceiling allowing everyone to stay at their table and enjoy their lunch. So cool! We also happened to sit next to a group who were on a
Backroads bicycle trip! More
reminiscences of France - so fun!
After lunch we roamed the village for awhile and finally stopped at a wonderful deli to gather meats, cheeses, olives and artichokes to assemble our own charcuterie for dinner. Salumi and hams were hanging from the ceiling. Many cheeses were in cooled cases. The olives and artichokes were in beautiful bowls and bottles. Crackers and crostini were also available. Of course, we also found excellent wine! Dinner was a lovely picnic in our room to the sound of the cool Bang and Olufsen stereo.
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| Scenes in Montepulciano |
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| Such happy and welcoming lions! |
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| Very steep roadways throughout town |
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| The leather bags!! |
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| The deli where we found dinner! |
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| Our picnic! |
After breakfast the following day we headed off to Montalcino, the heart of the the region where Brunello is produced. Most wines are a blend of several grape species, but Brunello is not. By law, it is made with 100% Sangiovese grapes within the strict borders of the Brunello area.
Traveling in another country makes things that would normally be easy - well, not so. Montalcino is another town on the top of a very high hill. If negotiating the narrow, cobbled streets isn't interesting enough, try parking! We found a tiny parking spot near the top of the hill, but the only way to pay for parking was at a kiosk that took cash or required an app on your phone. We use Park Mobile here in the States. But it was a different app in Italy. We took the chance, downloaded the app onto Greg's phone and paid up. Interesting.
Our walk around Montalcino felt very similar to Montepulciano, except the town is smaller and less busy with patrons. It is however, just as pretty, just as steep and just as unique. We enjoyed the shops, the pizzerias, the sights - but the highlight was visiting a wonderful little wine shop, tasting the Rosso and Brunello, and assembling a case of their best to ship back home. Such a treat! We will be enjoying Brunello for quite some time!
The drive to and from both towns was so beautiful - acres of olive groves, acres of vineyards, rolling hills, tall Tuscan Cypress trees, beautiful villas.
Click photos to make larger
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The wider gray-green rows are olive trees,
the narrower dark green rows are vines |
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| Olive Trees |
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| Vines |
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| Traveling cyclists |
We planned our last dinner in Tuscany at
Guastini Piccolo Trattoria, suggested by our innkeepers. Again, wonderful italian cooking and great wine.
As we sat down we overheard two other couples at the next table with definite Boston accents. Turns out they were from Billerica and Salem Massachusetts. What the heck! Can't get away!
Dinner was so good! And so inexpensive! Food and wine in Italy are such a treat and so affordable.
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| Sharon's Tortelli filled with a very light cheese mixture |
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| Greg's eggplant parmesan |
The next morning, after another delightful breakfast, we packed up and headed south toward Rome. We wound our way down several back roads, then finally picked up the A12 south. Our rental car, the sweet little Alfa Romeo Giulietta, enabled us to have fun driving. But about 20 minutes north of the airport a warning light indicated low tire inflation. We figured we could make it back, but about 10 minutes later we heard a violent blowout while driving 65 mph. Greg pulled over quickly and when we got out we saw that the right front tire was absolutely shredded. The car was sitting on the wheel with pieces of rubber laying beside it. Yikes!
Fortunately, there was a spare in the trunk and we got to work. Greg timed himself on the change and completed it in under 10 minutes! You go guy! We pulled back onto the highway (leaving a pile of black tire powder behind) and made it back to the Avis site in time to meet our ride back into the sophisticated civilization of Rome. Whew!
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| The Alfa Romeo Giulietta |
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| The destroyed tire |
Our last night in Italy, we stayed at
Albergo del Senato hotel, right next to the Pantheon. We arrived mid-afternoon and were able to wander through the Pantheon and around the neighborhood before dinner.
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| The Pantheon taken from our little balcony, six stories up |
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| Piazza della Rotunda |
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| Inside the Pantheon |
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| The oculus open to the sky |
We found a lovely Italian restaurant for dinner,
Casa Coppelle. It was Italian, of course, but with a French influence. We enjoyed a very good meal. The highlight was the onion soup topped with phyllo, and Sharon's pasta - Faggotini (little triangles) filled with leek cream and white asparagus. Yum!
Afterwards, we passed up the dessert menu, and headed to the server-recommended "Gelateria" for sweet treats. The Gelato line was endless, but Sharon was more excited by the selection of Italian butter cookies.
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| The onion soup! |
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| Inside Casa Coppelle |
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| The Gelateria and bakery down the street |
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| Love the uniforms on the gelato dippers! |
On our last morning in Italy we had a little time to wander the streets in the vicinity of the hotel one more time. Then, we headed to the airport in a fancy, black Mercedes (where do the hotels get these?). We checked in and picked up a few small items at the duty-free store before our flight back to the US.
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| School children being brought to school by parents |
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| Piazza della Rotunda |
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| Scenes on the street |
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| Potable water to fill your bottle |
It was a really amazing three weeks - Rome, Sailing in Croatia, Tuscany. Just wonderful!
Thanks for traveling along. 'Til next time -
