P is for pizza, and pasta, and parmesan, but it’s also for the lovely little villages of Pienza, Pistoia, and Petronagno.
Oh pshaw... please...
By now I was getting pretty zippy in our not-so-zippy FiatPandaExpress
and taking the highways, and now smaller roads, like a boss.
Running little ol' ladies off the road left and right.
And find a bathroom to use. It’d been a long time since we used the hot springs.
Just kidding, just kidding.
Maybe.
I was becoming totally convinced that the all the hype about the Tuscan charm was indeed true.
I love that. Maybe some day I'll see it for myself.
no graffiti (thank you, Naples, you gave us more than our fill of that)
In fact, there were hardly even any tourists either which made for some exquisite photo opps.
Even better!
and most places are still open. “Most” is a very important qualifier….
Hmmm... I sense foreshadowing here...
My photos show no evidence of any lunch, so we must have passed it up
Better than bringing it up.
really like these.
(This screams Via Napoli at EPCOT, no?)
Nope. At least not for me. Then again, it's been a while, so...
Next, we drove a very short ways to Montepulciano, home of the world-famous Nobile wine. This is ground zero, Friends, for those amazing Tuscan wines. Did I try any in Montepulciano? No
Wax poetic about it and then... "Nah, I'm good."
The Montepulciano is a variety of GRAPE, and wine from this grape is grown all over the place, from Texas to Australia to, of course, Italy.
Huh. I've never heard of it. Then again, I don't drink much wine, anyway.
But the “Vino Nobile di Montepulciano” is altogether different and made from mostly Sangiovese grapes and ONLY made in or around Montepulciano
Oh! So like if it isn't from Champagne, it's just sparkling wine.
<steps off very low wine soapbox>
So, what DID we do in Montepulciano? We visited a church (shocking, I know) and did a bunch more walking around. LOL!
When in Montepulciano...
I LOVED this invitation to be respectful inside the church. It was a good reminder to turn off the phones so others could worship should they be there to do so.
I'm not seeing a phone comment there? Or are you reading between the lines?
!!
I have NO idea what this might have said, or what language it even is, but I sure thought it and the stone were incredibly cool!
It's in old Latin. Says "All welcome, even centaurs. Try the soup."
You're welcome.
It was here that we also found a whimsical piece of art of Pulcinella.
I like that.
Pulling into town, we spent some stressful and somewhat grouchy and tense moments trying to find parking.
Uh, oh....
"Moooommmmm! Where is it????"
"I don't know! Stop asking me!!"
"Moooooommmmmm!!!!"
The roar of our bags clacking on the stone streets alerted the entire 3 adjacent districts of our arrival.
Oh, yes. Familiar with that. Roller suitcases are
not designed for old cobblestones.
The only way we found it was our hostess yelling across town…. IT’S OVER HERE….!!!!!!!
Okay, it wasn’t quite that bad but what should have taken us 4 minutes from the car, took us 30. Because it was dark. And it was all uphill. And there are 4,402,023 little turns and winding alleys there. And it was dark.
From your description, surprised you found it at all!
Finally, we were safely in our cozy little room inside a much bigger apartment which had a common area, open kitchen, and small balcony. Zero of which we used.
(It was all cutely decorated for Halloween. YAY!!)
Luckily, there are also 4,402,023 cafes and restaurants to choose from
Sure. One for each alley. Makes sense.
It was certainly busy enough and it had fresh pasta hanging at the entrance, so it had to be right?
That should be a good sign. And... sounds like the food was good (if a bit on the gamey side for you.)
Because we were starved, we naturally over-ordered. Which is fine, we enjoyed our leftover cheeses over the next days.
That board looks really good.
No, I didn’t go on a wild boar hunt. (Wouldn't THAT make quite a trip report!!)
Yes!!!
I’m an “adventurous eater” and thought I'd really enjoy this.
I did not.
Oh dear.
Anara, on the other hand, loved her Bolognese and ate very bite.
Both
look good. I've never had a problem with game meats... I wonder if my reaction would've been different.