Our day today started with a relaxing wakeup and some more breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast we hopped in the van and drove around Tuscany for a little while. We stopped at the top of a ridge that had a pretty slick view and began the adventure part of the day: a hike down to the town of San Sano. It was an adventure because Anita and Cecilia were going to meet us in San Sano and we were given fairly vague “directions” to get down the hill. We walked a little ways down until Adela made a new friend. While I was terrified her new friend was going to bite her, Anita called us and told us we had gone down the wrong way. No biggie! We walked back up a little ways and then took the correct fork in the road. After passing through the rest of the forested hills we came out into some vineyards. Here in Chianti the amount of available land for vineyards is pretty much set and new ones cannot be made. All in all, it is what I would expect from a walk through the vineyards.
Our destination, San Sano, is absolutely adorable. It is built down in a valley, unlike Radda, and has that quintessential small hamlet feel. The entire town cannot be more than one or two city blocks wide, and we walked through all the streets until ending up at a restaurant for lunch. Lunch was (predictably) absolutely delicious, and we only had to review that tiramisu is not an acceptable thing to mix in with your espresso. We got a bottle of wine at the little store attached to the restaurant before heading to my favorite part of the day: Brolio castle.
The castle has been in the Ricasoli family for almost 800 years! According to my fierce internet searching, it’s been destroyed a few times (most recently… 500 years ago) and some of the family still has rooms in the castle. The views from the walls were absolutely magnificent. I can’t imagine what it would be like to wake up and just have that be your house. We didn’t make it to the associated winery, but instead headed back to the hotel for a novel experience: a free afternoon. Adela and I decided the best way to spend it was by getting some aperol spritzes and relaxing by the hotel pool. The pool is right next to the hotel restaurant, so it shares the fantastic view over the valley of vineyards. Tonight was our last dinner with Anita, and it continued the theme of being wonderful and delicious. I almost think I should stop writing that, because every dinner in Italy makes dinner in the United States seem almost bland.
The next morning we had a fairly early wake up so that we could make it down to Rome at a reasonable time. Our first stop along the way was Bagno Vignoni. This is a small town that has been inhabited since the time of the Etruscans (before the Romans!) – and the reason for that is the natural hot springs that flow through the area. We explored a little, read some informational signage, and then stopped for an espresso and bathroom break. I might have to get on the espresso bandwagon because you definitely have to pee less when you drink 1 oz of coffee as opposed to an American number of ounces of coffee. Once back in the van we meandered to our next destination: Pienza. Parking in Pienza was challenging to say the least – Anita thinks its popularity must’ve exploded in recent years. Lucky for us we were able to find a free spot right at the outskirts of the walls. The town is known for its pecorino cheese (which we were unfortunately unable to sample) and for being designed to be a utopia. It might be the pinnacle of dope walled mountain towns, I’ll give it that.
After a delightful walk through Pienza we took our customary seats in the van and made the drive to Montepulciano for lunch. Needless to say… we all very much so enjoyed our lunch. We didn’t get to do any sightseeing in Montepulciano though because we were already running a little late to make it to Rome. We said goodbye to Anita in perhaps the most unexciting of parking lots by the airport, and then began the drive in to the city. Once we made it to the hotel we were greeted by our long-lost friend: Adela’s bag. Our hotel was located essentially right next to the Colosseum, but everyone but me was too tired for any exploration when we got there. I cancelled the dinner reservations I had made, got some gelato and walked around the garden that is built on top of the Domus Aurea. Then I did one of my favorite things: relaxed on our balcony garden and read my book until I was ready for sleep.
