Arezzo, Cortona, Pienza, Montepulciano: Under the Tuscan Sun

Before I go into the details I want to clarify that this trip took place October 6-7th, so I may leave out a couple of details unintentionally. Also all of these towns we visited were really beautiful and very steep, they were all mountain towns and we usually got dropped off at the bottom and worked our way up, so I may mention the steepness a few times.

First AREZZO:

When we got to Arezzo we stopped at the center piazza for bathrooms and breakfast. Then we were taken on a walking tour where we were shown several different churches and a couple of government buildings that had lots of beautiful art...unfortunately, no pictures could be taken in some of the churches.

After the tour, which I greatly enjoyed, we were given some free time to explore. This was great because there was a huge antique market that weekend so we had plenty to browse. After this we boarded the bus and drove for a little while before arriving in Cortona.

Here are some pictures from Arezzo.

Cortona:

We got to Cortona in the later afternoon/early evening. There was a parking lot at the top of a hill this is where we got dropped off then we had to walk/hike up the steep hill to get to our hotel. It was really steep probably about 45 degrees, maybe more, by the time we got to the hotel we were all pretty exhausted and could feel the steep hike in our leg muscles. We checked in and were given an hour or so to cool off before going to the fortress (at the top of Cortona…the tip of the mountain.

We began our hike, stopping at a place called snoopy gelato before fully tackling the climb. It was some of the best gelato I have had during my stay here and it was included in the cost of the trip so it was almost like it was free. We rested there and ate our gelato then hiked up a little ways to a Franciscan church where we stopped to take pictures and talk about the history of the church.

After this we began the real trek, our guide Luca said that he was going to be walking slowly up the mountain so if we passed him and we weren’t sure where to go he told us to just keep going up, always choose the steepest path until we got to the top. By the time we got half way we were all sweating and could really feel the incline in our legs, we stopped to take some pictures along the way before getting to another church. This church was about halfway to the fortress so it was a good resting place before continuing our journey up. We were all kind of peeved because the church had a huge parking lot that was accessible from a road, there were even a couple of charter busses there so we were wondering why we walked up the whole thing instead of getting dropped off there.

After resting for a little bit we walked up the rest of the way to the fortress. This was a huge building that overlooked the entire valley and it was beautiful. I was glad that I made the hike up there but at the time it felt like I was dying, being from central Illinois, hiking up mountains isn’t my specialty.

After taking some pictures and taking in the scenery, we all walked back down to the town and went back to our hotel rooms to freshen up before dinner. The hotel had free wifi in the lobby so most of is utilized that, talking to our family and friends, checking facebook, etc. Then we all headed to dinner, we had a traditional Italian meal planned and even though we had worked up an appetite walking up the mountain we didn’t expect so much food.

We started with a traditional aperitif/appetizer, fried olives, bruscchetta, and a few other goodies served with a sparkling wine (Riesling). After this we moved inside and were served our first dish, vegetable (artichoke?) custard (it’s the green mountain that looks like flan), and bread…can’t forget bread.

After this came the second dish, vegetable risotto, this was really delicious, I ate every bite with pleasure. After the risotto was cheese ravioli, thankfully they only gave me a couple of pieces because I was already really full and I knew there were a last/main course and a dessert still to come.

Fortunately they waited for about a half an hour before bringing out the main course which was the Florentine steak (huge slabs of meat that are cooked raw) served with a side salad. I didn’t care for the salad to much so I just enjoyed the steak…it was the first stake I have had here in Italy and it makes my mouth water just thinking about it. After this was the dessert…a chocolate lava cake! It was so warm and delicious I basically had to make room for it in my stomach.

After dinner we went back to the hotel, showered and got ready for bed, I got on and used the internet for a little bit then went back up to the room and went to bed. In the morning we went to breakfast before leaving. At first glance it didn’t look like anything special, the typical cold European style breakfast consisting of croissants, rolls, and meats and cheeses. It actually had some warm food as well, bacon (I think) and eggs. It was the first time I have had bacon here also and I wasn’t then only one enjoying it, the wait staff couldn’t keep it stocked as fast as everyone was eating it. After breakfast we met in the lobby and walked back down to the bus heading to Pienza. Over all, I really liked this town, It was really beautiful even though it is a pain to visit (all the steep hills). It is one of my favorite places so far.

Here are some pictures of Cortona.

Pienza

We took about a half an hour bus ride to the small town of Pienza (known for the best pecorino cheese). We started with a quick walking tour and then were given about an hour or so to wonder around on our own. Catherine and I walked around and took some pictures before heading back to meet the rest of the group.

Once we met up with the group, we walked a couple of blocks to meet the bus. We weren’t traveling very far, only about 10 minutes by car but it would have taken to long to walk there. We were headed to a farm to learn how they make pecorino cheese. When we got to the farm our bus was having a little bit of trouble making the turn into the drive. It took us a few tries and a couple of bumps along the way but the bus was finally able to make the narrow drive and pull up to the farm. We all got off the bus to the delightful smell of burning rubber, turns out the bus was having a little more trouble than we thought. No worries, by the time we got back on the bus it was cooled off and rested.

After a tour and the presentation of how they make the cheese we were given a little bit of free time and were able to try some of the food. We were presented a huge spread with, fresh yogurt, pears, cheese, bread, olive oil, and meats. It was one of the best spreads I have seen since I have been here and it was gone before you blinked. It was all really delicious even the yogurt though it was plain and not flavored. After we ate, we wondered around the main area of the farm and had some down time before we got back on the bus and headed on our way to Montepulciano. The farm was really nice; it was quiet, quaint, and a relaxing change from the bustling city center of Florence.

Here are some pictures of Pienza.

Montepulciano

We arrived in Montepulciano around 3pm and were taken on a short tour before heading up the hill/mountain towards the main piazza. Montepulciano was a fortress town so it is built on top of a mountain and was surrounded by large stonewalls. The walk up to the main piazza was not quite as steep as the trek up to the fortress in Cortona, but it was spread out over a longer distance. Needless to say, we were all out of breath and sweaty when we arrived to the top. We were given a brief explanation about the history of the church and the other buildings in the piazza then given some free time.

Fun fact about Montepulciano, it was the town where they filmed some of the scenes for Twilight: New Moon. For example, in some of my pictures you will see a big clock tower, this is one of the main features in the movie. (it has been a while since I have seen the movie but now when I watch it I can say “I’ve been there”).

Given this fun fact, I took lots of pictures of this area so that I could prove that I have been there and so that I can compare next time I watch the movie. I even took a picture of the bar nearby, I went in to use the restroom and there were pictures of the cast and a little bit about the movie listed in there.

After a little bit of free time, we headed down a little ways and went to Palazzo Ricci, the courtyard of a really famous winery. We took some pictures of the view from the courtyard before starting our tour of the Ricci wine cellar.

The wine cellar was really interesting, it was by far the biggest one I have been to and it was cool because it is a really famous, old, and expensive vender of wine. We took these long steep stairs down into a cave like cellar where the wine is stored. Fun Fact about the steps (you will see them in some of my pictures) these stairs were made very wide and shallow so that the carts could be pulled up and down from the cellar by the horses.

This winery is also where some of the scenes from the film were shot, though I couldn’t really see it at the time. When we got to the cellar we were given a brief explanation of the process of making wine. Then we were taken on a tour of the rest of the cellar, at one point there was even a little cave that we could walk through. Most people had to duck but Catherine and I only needed to slouch a little. I took some pictures of this cave and the cellar.

After our tour we went to a reserved room with a bar in it where we participated in a wine tasting. We were given breads, meats and cheeses to pair with the two wines we sampled. Both of them were pretty good but what everyone really wanted was the food. Thinking back on it now, buying a bottle of that highly rated wine would have been a nice treat to bring home but at the time I wasn’t really interested in buying any. I probably would not have been able to bring it home anyways.

After this we were given about an hour of free time to roam around the rest of the town. Catherine and I took some pictures before walking back down to the main entrance of the town to meet everyone there. We waited outside of the main town for everyone before walking a couple of blocks to the bus. From there we headed back to Florence arriving around 9 or 10p.m.

Here are pictures from Montepulciano: