Val d'Orcia continued.
02 May 2008
Since we covered so much ground in one day, it seems fitting that it would have to go into 2 blog postings. Here is what happened for the remainder of the day.
Destination #4: Montalcino. I don't really know much info about the town itself. We stopped here for lunch because we were running a bit behind schedule and couldn't make it to Pienza in time. Most of us ended up eating lunch in the same restaurant, under a brick vaulted ceiling. For what I think was the first time, we actually had to wait what seemed like forever for our food. We were starving though, so that may have had something to do with it. We thought that the prices were ok, until we saw the small portions of food on our plates. Oh well... live and learn right?
Montalcino photo album.
Destination #5: Bagno Vignoni. This little villages is quite pretty. It is a place that the Medici used to come to use the thermal baths/showers and benefit from the wonderful properties of thermal water that smells like old eggs.... It has healing powers though, so I shouldn't judge. The thermal pool is no longer used but still exists in the middle of the small village. Then a short walk away the water is led through stone passages (open to the air) and head downhill where they are taken to thermal showers, and after that drop off a cliff to the valley below. Here we had the delight to find some lilac trees in full bloom, which was a very pleasant surprise. The girls practically had to tear my nose away because they smelled so heavenly.
Bagno Vignoni photo album.
Destination #6: The historic town of Pienza. It is a rare example of Renaissance town building, and has been said to be the "ideal city" in regards to the best planned Renaissance town. Today it is part of a territorial system called "Parco artistico, naturale e culturale della Val d'Orcia" which aims at preservation of the extraordinary artistic heritage. We were told, since we were there for such a short amount of time, that Pienza is the place to get Pecorino cheese. Pecorino comes from sheep, "pecoro", and naturally, yes, we bought some. It was mostly fun to look at all the different types of pecorino cheese and see how different they looked and were displayed. We tasted a few different kinds at one shop, where we did end up buying a quarter of a small wheel.
Pienza photo album.
Destination #7: Montepulciano. For those of you who have seen the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun", you will know this town. Or actually, you might recognize the main church, which is very picturesque, sitting on the hillside below the town. Montepulciano is built along a narrow limestone ridge and is surrounded by walls and fortifications (for Cosimo 1). This place is known for it's good local wines, Vino Nobile. Through the center of the town is a long (LONG) winding street called the Corso that climbs up to the main square, which is at the top of the hill. We were short on time, so Samuele was walking very fast and I had a hard time keeping up, while taking pictures. So there were a few times when I got far behind and decided to run uphill for a bit instead, which was actually quite funny at the time. When we finally got to the top, our legs were almost dead. It was a little strange that at the top of this city, which everyone practically has to hike to, there is this flat piazza that looks like it could be anywhere. Thankfully there are amazing views from the top, which we had about 5 minutes to stop and take pictures before we had to run down to the bus.
Montepulciano photo album.
As much as I hate to take pictures from buses, this time I really couldn't help it. There is no other time that I would be able to photograph some of these beautiful rolling Tuscan hills and see the long drives lined with tall narrow cypress trees. So here is a small album of countryside views.... from the bus.
Tuscan countryside views photo album.
Destination #4: Montalcino. I don't really know much info about the town itself. We stopped here for lunch because we were running a bit behind schedule and couldn't make it to Pienza in time. Most of us ended up eating lunch in the same restaurant, under a brick vaulted ceiling. For what I think was the first time, we actually had to wait what seemed like forever for our food. We were starving though, so that may have had something to do with it. We thought that the prices were ok, until we saw the small portions of food on our plates. Oh well... live and learn right?Montalcino photo album.
Destination #5: Bagno Vignoni. This little villages is quite pretty. It is a place that the Medici used to come to use the thermal baths/showers and benefit from the wonderful properties of thermal water that smells like old eggs.... It has healing powers though, so I shouldn't judge. The thermal pool is no longer used but still exists in the middle of the small village. Then a short walk away the water is led through stone passages (open to the air) and head downhill where they are taken to thermal showers, and after that drop off a cliff to the valley below. Here we had the delight to find some lilac trees in full bloom, which was a very pleasant surprise. The girls practically had to tear my nose away because they smelled so heavenly.Bagno Vignoni photo album.
Destination #6: The historic town of Pienza. It is a rare example of Renaissance town building, and has been said to be the "ideal city" in regards to the best planned Renaissance town. Today it is part of a territorial system called "Parco artistico, naturale e culturale della Val d'Orcia" which aims at preservation of the extraordinary artistic heritage. We were told, since we were there for such a short amount of time, that Pienza is the place to get Pecorino cheese. Pecorino comes from sheep, "pecoro", and naturally, yes, we bought some. It was mostly fun to look at all the different types of pecorino cheese and see how different they looked and were displayed. We tasted a few different kinds at one shop, where we did end up buying a quarter of a small wheel.Pienza photo album.
Destination #7: Montepulciano. For those of you who have seen the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun", you will know this town. Or actually, you might recognize the main church, which is very picturesque, sitting on the hillside below the town. Montepulciano is built along a narrow limestone ridge and is surrounded by walls and fortifications (for Cosimo 1). This place is known for it's good local wines, Vino Nobile. Through the center of the town is a long (LONG) winding street called the Corso that climbs up to the main square, which is at the top of the hill. We were short on time, so Samuele was walking very fast and I had a hard time keeping up, while taking pictures. So there were a few times when I got far behind and decided to run uphill for a bit instead, which was actually quite funny at the time. When we finally got to the top, our legs were almost dead. It was a little strange that at the top of this city, which everyone practically has to hike to, there is this flat piazza that looks like it could be anywhere. Thankfully there are amazing views from the top, which we had about 5 minutes to stop and take pictures before we had to run down to the bus.Montepulciano photo album.
As much as I hate to take pictures from buses, this time I really couldn't help it. There is no other time that I would be able to photograph some of these beautiful rolling Tuscan hills and see the long drives lined with tall narrow cypress trees. So here is a small album of countryside views.... from the bus.
Tuscan countryside views photo album.
Labels: Bagno Vignoni, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Pienza
