Back To Wine Country--Orvieto and Piensa

A Brief Stop in Orvieto and A Cute Agriturismo Farmhouse

Orvieto Duomo

We visited Orvieto three years ago with Sean, and we just can’t pass it up on the autostrada.  It has its own exit, so it is easy to drive to.  As we are driving up the hill, we notice a new parking structure that has enclosed escalators within the cliffs —a nice touch and so much easier.  This town is very quaint and picturesque.  We find the wall that surrounds the town and then ask each other—which way now.  If Sean was here, he would know!  We eventually find the Duomo which is worth the visit in itself.  The façade is like no other.  Steve makes friends with a german shepherd while I shop for Orvieto Classico wine.  I hesitate not staying here; however, there are new adventures awaiting us.  Off to the autostrada.



Farmhouse at Agri. Torrenieri



Farmhouse Terrrace

We exit the autostrada and head towards the hilltown of Montelpulciano.  There are a lot of hotels at the exit (just for future info), however, we’re in search of an agriturismo in the hill country.  As we pass Montepulciano, I notice that it's very touristy, unlike Orvieto.  We decide not to stop and walk through this hilltown.  We continue towards Piensa and just past this town, known for its Pecorino cheese, we venture off onto a white road with several agriturismo signs.  We stop at one, at the same time as other American adventurers, but the owners are not present.  At our next stop, Agriturismo Torrenieri, we find Michella and her sister.  We decide to stay in the small, three room farmhouse that’s adjacent to the main house.  Michella rents out both properties, and lives in Piensa.  This seems to be the norm at some agri’s.  This small house has a large bedroom with a high, wood-beamed ceiling, a cute kitchen with a fireplace and a large bathroom (70 euros).   Michella gives us a basket with fresh eggs (from her chickens), breakfast pastries, and coffee for the espresso machine.  The espresso coffee maker really becomes an important feature. 

Our Kitchen w/Espresso Machine

 
Once settled into our “playhouse”, we get brushetta, pizza and pasta at a Pizzeria in Piensa.  The pizza is so thin that Steve literally cuts it with the scissors that the waiter gave him to use.  Back at our house, we sleep really well—no noise (unlike a hotel) and pitch black.  Just have to watch out for the Bugs!

Tour of Pompeii Scavi--Once We Get There

Fresco in Pompeii

Pompeii

This is the only morning we don’t get a breakfast included with the hotel.  After a very meager dinner, we grab a cup of coffee, check out, and head out back onto the streets in search of Pompeii Scavi.  Good luck!  An hour or so later, we finally find it—and that is not an easy feat.  We park the car in a campground and I attempt to use their restrooms.  The hole in the ground convinced me to "hold" it and search for a toilet!  We then realize we need more cash and proceed to walk around and around searching for an ATM.  Wow, what a day so far.  With granola bars and water in hand, we get into the Scavi and try to find our bearings and relax.  It’s about 28 degrees—not too bad heat wise.  The ruins are fascinating.  Most of the artifacts are in museums—not here.  However, we still had fun walking around for the next three hours. 

Afterwards, we stock up at the market with salami, cheese, bread and more dog biscuits and start driving the crazy narrow streets following autobahn signs. Please, let us find it--and soon!  Finally, we’re on the autostrada--a road that doesn’t stop and where we just have to worry about cars passing us.  We drive for a few hours and find a hotel off the autostrada just east of Rome.  Not much searching tonight, thank goodness.  They even have a restaurant.  Steve has a margherita pizza and I have fettuccine with mushrooms.  Since our rooms are just upstairs, we are able to enjoy wine and beer.  Tomorrow we’ll head back into wine country.

South to Pompeii





Hotel Olimpo
Outside of Pompeii

We have breakfast with John & Joan, pack up and start driving south towards Pompeii.  I’m not sure if I want another adventure along the coastal towns, but Steve insists.  We didn’t see Pompeii on our last trip.  Driving the autostrada was a piece of cake; however, once we got onto the city streets, Steve is dodging trucks, 18 wheelers, mopeds, CRAZY Italians and discussing with me my lack of knowledge of our two GPS’s.  The first hotel I see, I say "stop!" and decide to call it a day.  Turns out to be a family-owned estate on 2 hectres in the middle of a city.  We didn’t get dinner because we didn’t want to drive again and we didn’t want to walk on the narrow street, without sidewalks, and crazy Italian drivers.  So, we ate what we had left in our picnic bag.  



We walked around the estate and the owner took me for a tour of his gardens.   So sweet and very proud of his estate of olive, walnut & apricot trees.  Lots of kiwi plants and beautiful palm trees that he said had been attacked by an African bug.  Steve takes to their dog, Neve.  She’s just a white mut, but very cute and shy.  They had fun chasing each other.  Back in our room, we try to sleep but are awaken several times by fireworks—and lots of them.  Some, off in the distance, others right in front of us.  Big cakes and booms!  I put on the A/C and closed the shutters.  Hopefully, the fireworks will stop soon.  (The next day I find out it was a celebration of Saint Francis, or something like that.)

Beautiful Siena

Piazza & Tower in Siena



Siena Duomo

After our breakfast buffet, with the biggest chocolate croissant I’ve ever seen, we drove about 10km to Siena.  We searched out the soccer stadium parking lot, recommended by Rick Steves’, and made our way to the piazza.  It’s very large and has a lot of history.  The 330 ft. tower dominates the piazza.  Lots of tours are in the area and Steve finds plenty of Brits to yak with.  On our way to the Duomo, we pass many shops on the pedestrian-only streets.  



We purchase our tickets for the Cathedral and then it starts pouring rain.  It’s good we’ll be inside for a while.  The church has a lot of art to view including 4 statues sculpted by Michaelangelo surrounding a side altar.  There is also a library off to the side that has a frescoed ceiling that has never been re-touched and is as vibrant now as the day it was painted.  Unfortunately, the Bernini area was closed for renovation. 

Sunset Over Tuscany

We exited the Duomo and walked down a different street.  This area had more hole-in-the-wall wine shops and I was in search of 100% Sangiovese wine. It turns out that this grape dominates the red wines in Tuscany—Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, etc.  After purchasing several bottles, and a taste here and there (only me), we make our way back to our car.  Oh, and I had to retrack my steps because I left my Rick Steves’ book in one of those wine shops!

We arrive back to the B&B to view another sunset.  This is when we meet John & Joan from Upland.  He’s a crazy guy driving through Tuscany in a Mercedes rental car.  He wants to start his own vineyard on his three acres and is in search of ideas for decorating his winery and growing grapes.  He’s also retired.   We decide to drive down the street to a family restaurant.  We have a nice meal and return to our comfortable room.   




Further South into Tuscany to Castelnuovo Berardenga

Northern Tuscany

Breakfast at Hotel Le Volpaie

We once again enjoyed our buffet breakfast along with the views of the northern Tuscan hills.  We hesitated to leave Volpaie, however, we want to visit Siena on this trip.   There are lots of vineyards and rolling hills as we drive on the E78, the road between Siena and Arezzo.  After checking out a working farm and B&B at Il Molinello, which was full, we come upon a perfect B&B, Borgo Casato, in Castelnuovo Berardenga. 

Tuscan Hills as Viewed  from B&B

B&B Borgo Casato

It’s set on top of a hill overlooking Tuscany.  Our room has a high, wood-beamed ceiling.  It is large and comfortable. The property consists of a building for the B&B, a separate building with apartments and a restaurant.  The buildings are finished with the typical light brown brick stone front and cobblestone on the ground within the buildings.  There’s also a large swimming pool with a terrace.  The property is set back from the road on several acres—very quiet and peaceful.   We had a picnic dinner with wine and beer as we took in the view of the hills at sunset.  We left the window in our room open all night allowing the cool breeze to come in and the thunder and lightning storm to wake us up.  The storm didn’t last long.  We both mentioned how Sean would have enjoyed the “show”.  



Relaxing Day in Volterra

Volterra Piazza

We had the best ever breakfast buffet this morning.  Hotel Le Volpaie leaves nothing out.  There was many types of cheese, breads, meats, salmon, breakfast pastries, on and on.  

Since we missed Volterra on our last trip, because of an all-night party, we decided to visit the town today.  With Rick Steves' book in hand, we walked to all of the sites--the Roman theater, the fortress, the piazza and the Duomo.  This town is definitely worth a visit.  Lots of interesting and unique sites.  The streets were quaint and typical of a hilltown.  On our drive back, we stopped for pictures of  the Tuscany hillside and met an Army CPT and his family.  Returning to the hotel, we sat on our balcony drinking beer and wine.  We drove only 36km today.



Enjoying First Italian Beer



The Hills of Tuscany



Let's Get Out of Genoa and Return to the Tuscan Countryside

An Avoidable Splurge

After a quick breakfast at the Novotel, we hightailed out of the area towards Florence.  Once arriving in Florence, we gassed up, bought food, and sat in the parking lot calling hotels.  It's the dreaded Saturday night search for an available room.  After several unsuccessful calls, we were able to reserve a room south of San Gimignano at Hotel Le Volpaie.  We stayed there three years ago.  We then had a relaxing dinner at Il Terzo Cerchio, a trattoria by the Hilton Metropole on the outskirts of Florence.  Such a great place with good, inexpensive food and a quite handsome waiter.  I had ravioli, Steve had a calzone.  We topped it off with a chocolate crepe.  We then set the GPS for the hotel and was there within an hour. Our room is on the main floor of the hotel.  It's a big room with a small balcony.  It's a bit noisy because of the tiled hallway, however, the room is very comfortable.