More May 7- Orcia valley and St Antimo Abbey

Photos show another view of the valley and the peaceful St. Antimo Abbey where we listened to five monks sing Gregorian chants in a Romanesque church built in the late 1100's. Best of all, the weather was clear most of the day.

May 7 cont'd, Montalcino

After our visit to the winery, we spent 2-3 hours wandering the picturesque streets of the hilltop town of Montalcino. The town has a complicated history of trying to avoid choosing sides between Siena and Florence - both cities wanted its strategic position as well as its prosperity in the 1200's. Florence finally won out. The town is small and a fortress anchors one
end at the highest point. Steep cobblestone streets and alleys slope down the hill from the fort and give amazing views if the Orcia valley.

Cassata Primadonna Winery, Montalcino May 7

Today we visited a winery owned and operated by women, who until recently have had a very small role in the Italian wine industry. Cassata Primadonna makes the famous Brunello red wine, made from 100% Sangiovese grapes grown in the Orcia valley near Siena. The winery is part of a consortium of 200 or so wineries all producing different Brunello wines.

Here are some photos of our morning there.

May 6, Monteriggioni & Pienza cont'd.

May 6, Pienza

Had an early start today, and stopped first at the tiny hilltop walled village of Monteriggioni for a quick walkabout. The complete wall is still standing, and it took only about 5 minutes to walk from one end to the other. Our next stop was at a Benedictine Abbey where we walked down a steep roadway to get to a cloister decorated with 36 frescoes by Signorelli and another Italian painter whose name I can't recall. We had lunch there as well - homemade ravioli with cheese and spinach filling, a salad, and two slices of old and young local Pecorino cheese.

Our final stop was the charming hilltop town of Pienza, which will be home for the next 2-3 days in a lovely hotel. We wandered around the rather upscale town this afternoon, and enjoyed a wonderful dinner out this evening at a small restaurant. Raining heavily tonight, but maybe it will clear up for tomorrow. Will try to post some other photos in a separate entry.

May 5,Saturday, Florence

Lovely day again, in Florence. We did the Accademia museum and a walking tour of the city in the morning, then the Uffuzi in the afternoon. Great dinner tonight at our hotel in Pistoia. We are a very friendly and compatible group. Some scenes from our day in Florence. Tomorrow on to Pienza.

Lucca today - Friday

We walked and walked and walked today.....15,000 steps by my pedometer! Spent all day in Lucca until late afternoon. A very old, interesting town with a Roman amphitheater that has been converted to living space encircling a beautiful oval piazza. Many nice shops with lots of leather goods.

For dinner we rode up into the mts. North of Pistoia and had a delicious pizza dinner with
Prosecco -a sparkling white wine - and Ribilletto, a peasant soup with beans, bread, and vegetables. Back to the hotel and to bed very soon as we are tired and our wake up call is scheduled for 6:30 am. Florence all day tomorrow! Too tired to post any photos tonight.




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