Blogs from Montepulciano, Tuscany, Italy, Europe

We made it to Montepulciano just in time for a late lunch today. After our big day in Florence, no-one felt much like revving up early. Don't tell, but as we got up so late and it was SOOO hot, we stopped and had ice-cream for breakfast in Asciano on the way! Montepulciano reminded me a little of San Gimignano, but felt a bit less touristy and was certainly quieter. I felt like we had earned lunch after parking the car and making our way up the steep, winding little streets and stairs to meet Steve and Astrid, who had been exploring for a while by the time we got there and were starving. We hit on yet another good restaurant and enjoyed fantastic pasta with mushroom and truffle ragu while sitting outside under vines and ... read more

We have been driving around in Tuscany, drinking wine, walking all over the hill towns and having a great time. The internet access is not all that great and I have not posted anything for awhile. I can't even do any pictures, which is a real shame. It is so gorgeous, it really would not transpose to photographs all that well, especially with the camera that we have. I will send some photos when we get to a place a little more connected. For now however, we are going only to places that are not in any of my guide books. We seek the true Tuscan experience, no tourists, only Italians living as they have done for centuries. Italian is very close to Spainish, many words are similar. We manage to communicate and make our intentions ... read more

Left Positano today and our driver, Vincenzo was a greate guide. Naples train station is very large, crowded and a bit daunting. Caught train from Naples to Chiusi Chianciano via Rome where we had to change from the fast (300KM per hour!!!!!) train to the regional train (slow at 135KPH!). Uneventful ride, surprsingly warm on arrival in high 20's. Had a beer each while we waited for the guys to arrive which was about an hour later. Villa is large and very old, an original butter factory from the 17th century. Have visited Montepulciano, Assisa, Sienna and now in Sienna as the only place we've managed to find an internet cafe - hence this blog. We are considering leaving the villa a day earlier and heading off to Florence early so that we can squeeze in ... read more

Montepulciano It was a quick train ride to Montepulciano - truth be told the train station was actually in a town called Chiusi, which was about 20kms from Montepulciano. We were actually staying in a little town called Chianciano which was was smack bang in the middle between Chiusi and Montepulciano and we had to take the bus - I'm sure you'll be surprised to know that there were a few dramas getting to our hotel once again, including a little issue in that we thought Chiusi was actually Chianciano, which created a large amount of disorientation, but I wont bore you with those details again... Needless to say a good lesson was finally learnt - not a lot happens on Sundays in regional Italy and public transport is pretty minimal. It was quite overcast when ... read more

Woke up under the Tuscan sun yesterday and today. It's cold and crisp but warms up in the afternoon. We have had our breakfast and enjoying the last hour at the villa before driving onward to Rome. It takes about 3 hours to the airport where we will drop our car off but we may stop one more town - Orvieto. We originally planned to go as far as Volterra yesterday but instead we slowed down the pace and shopped in the 3 closest hilltowns which all had something to offer. Pienza and Montaicino. Lots of cathedrals, shops, and a fortress which we explored. The rolling hills of vineyards and olive groves are beautiful. Warren shopped for a white wine for his cousin from San Gimignano and I bought a small wheel of pecorino and truffles ... read more

Okay, I've died and gone to heaven!!!! forget "Under the Tuscan sun"...the movie that inspired me was "Stealing beauty". And the villa with the pool....I think I found it. This is the place is everything I've imagined. We slept in and stalled this morning in Florence...and spent about a half hour in the parking lot setting up the GPS. Honestly, I wasn't thrilled to drive in another foreign country but I figure if I could drive in Ireland last year on the wrong side of the road....I could drive in Italy. Rick Steves is right though...Italians are aggressive drivers and htey like to ride right on your ass. They come out of nowhere!!!! Luckily Montepulciano was only about an hour away from Florence so we drove straight there, settled in, explored the grounds of the villa, ... read more

Now that we had wheels, and the shops re-opened (Monday), we decided to head into Foiano Della Chiana to buy some supplies for the rest of the week. I am certain that driving on the opposite side of the road to what you are used to is quite stressful but I can almost guarantee that being a passenger in such a situation is even MORE stressful!! I was so tense and tight by the time we got there I resembled something out of a Frankenstein movie!! Suffice it to say, we made it there in one piece. However, (yes, there is always a however!) we had no idea that everything shuts between 12 and 4 (some places 1 - 4.30 p.m.) so we arrived just as the supermarket was closing! The place was literally like a ... read more