Today was a relaxing day. After exploring Cortona a little more we decided to venture back to Montepulciano, and then onto to Pienza. This was from a recommendation from Andreas who manages the apartments. Another local from Cortona said the people of Montepulciano were more friendly than those in Pienza. She was right on. Montepulciano is very proud of it's wine heritage. We explored this walled town a little more, as the first time we ventured there it was late and we rushed quite a bit. The weather was very unpredictable today, and a severe storm hit so we rushed into a small cafe for cover. There we had a cappuccino and some baking. In this same cafe was a wine area, where they had 20 different varieties available for sampling. After exploring Montepulciano we drove onto Pienza, no more than 15 minutes away. Another very quaint village with only local road traffic. It was the birthplace of Pope Pius ll, who transformed the town in the 15th century from a simple village to a splendid town. There was also a funeral procession through the town's streets the priest walked ahead of the funeral cars with the congregation following on foot.The priest read from his holy book while walking. One thing we noticed was the absence of black clothing on the worshippers, most were in casual clothing or jeans! The countryside is a storybook, picturesque landscape. It is continous, with no disappointments anywhere. We drove onto 2 other random villages that we picked out on the map. They were Torrita di Siena and Sinalunga. Both of these were void of tourists and very quiet, but also very, very old.
After returning to Cortona we stopped at a wine/bar/deli to replenish our stock of meat,cheese and wine. Vino is a bargain,and Joe is having way too much fun with meats he is not allowed to eat at home. The sausages, the proscuitto, the cheeses...
Back at the apartment we were able to sample the delicacies and vino, as you will see in the photo we will post.
Ciao!
