Pienza

Florence

It was back to Florence today... it felt like going home. It's wonderful to go to a foreign city and know your way around, which shops to visit, where to eat, and short cuts. I decided to go to the Uffizi museum and enjoy the sculptures and paintings.

I needed... needed?...a leather jacket... couldn't decide on a short one or a 3/4....finally decided on the short one... besides, I'll be back in a couple of weeks so I can always get the other one.

On the way back we stopped at Piazza Michelangelo to enjoy the wonderful view of Florence.

Radicofano

We had a speaker this morning who spoke about the Medici family who ruled the Tuscany region for years. Owning so much land, they became wealthy merchants, trading on leather, farming, and loans, with interest rates at 200%. Eventually they made themselves "royals" even though there was no royal blood in the family. They eventually died out, the last male heir being gay.

We traveled about an hour out from our hotel to Radicofano, a village located on a ridge overlooking the valley that was built in the 1100s-1200s. Driving up out of the valley you approach a magnificent walled city that would never have to worry about attack as their location had a perfect view of the valley.

Our first stop was San Pietro Church built on the 1200s. Nothing special on the outside, just brick, like the rest of the town. Walk inside and, even though it's small, you marvel at the fact that they could build something like this in medieval times.

We continued walking through the village, with a population of about 800, narrow lanes weaving their way around the village.

We stopped at a small bakery and sampled pizza.... delicious and yet all it had on it was tomato and basil. At the next square a local greeted us with samples of olive oil soaked bread and truffle salsa..... UNBELIEVABLE!!!




After leaving  the village we stopped at a local cheese manufacturer. Giuseppe was wonderful and showed us how they made cheese..... pecorino... out of 100 kilos of sheep milk they get 20 kilos of cheese. They then reprocess the milk and would you believe... that's how they get ricotta... about 10 kilos. The rest goes back to the sheep for food.

We then went into a room for cheese tasting. We had 8 different cheeses, from a few weeks old to the more mature cheeses. From a mild cheese to aged ricotta with peppercorns, pecorino with chile peppers, and some that were layered with: hay, walnut leaves, and one with grapes. The flavors were unbelievable ..one being  better than the next. We also had wonderful bread, wine, and the best salami and prosciutto I've ever tasted.

I really could have stayed there for a week but I knew we were heading to Florence tomorrow so it was "Ciao Giuseppe" and on to another adventure.

Chianciano

A short ride from Roma and we arrive in Chianciano. A beautiful area of Tuscany, in a valley and known for its mineral springs, we'll be here for 7 days before heading south to Sorrento.

Day 1 - Roma

After an uneventful flight over, arrived in Rome around 8am. Passport Control was another story. Two flights arriving at the same time brings together 400+ anxious, over tired travelers trying to get through to FOUR agents….. What a mess and, of course, you always get the one traveler, I  won't mention that she's a woman, pushing her bag in front of her to get ahead. After an hour, finally got up to the most adorable looking man who stamped my passport….. WELCOME TO ROMA.

Traffic was typical… scooters dashing between lanes, stop and go, unnecessary traffic lights…. But finally got to the hotel. As usual Grand Circle does a great job, the only problem was that all the sites are on the other side of the city.

After meeting Sergio, our tour director, we went on a little excursion of the area, where Sergio pointed out a couple of places to eat. We headed over to a daily market with fresh fruits and vegetables that would make any farmer jealous. We finally settled on a place to eat….Pasquarelli's on Via Po, where I had a salami panini.

 

Headed back to the room and crashed for 3 hours.

Dinner was at Hysteria Po where I had a delicious pasta dish with pistachio pesto, prawns, and tomatoes along with a half bottle of wine o shared with Cindy.

 Got back to the hotel and needed something sweet, so I went across the street to a small restaurant, no English spoken here, and had tea and cheesecake.

 Crashed about 10:30, sweet dreams dancing in my head of wonderful food, new friends, great sights, and handsome Italian men. Ah, Italy……