Montepulciano

Saturday, June 27th
We started the day with another homemade feast and slowly worked our way to the car to climb another hill town. Montepulciano was the choice. Ken and I had never been there before, as it is a steep climb and I have never been sure I “had it in me”. Jen began to sing “Little Drummer Boy” as we started the climb. It must have inspired me, as we really walked up that crazy hill town and tasted wine and .sampled cheese along the way. Every once in awhile we would here thunder and we’d get some rain, but we never got caught in a downpour. The weather has been so strange on this trip ! Ken and I made the mistake of sitting on some steps that we thought were dry. We walked around with wet rears for a bit. We ended our visit to Montepulciano with a wonderful lunch at Il Marzocco. Panzerella salads for Jen and me.
We spent part of the afternoon looking for the Sant Antimo Abbey to heat monks chant. Bella suddenly became a Morabito and couldn’t find her way. We ended up high up on a mountain that was scary, amazing. An old man came up to our window, seeing our faces, to see if he could help. Ken, not feeling the need to hear monks chant, as I was, said “ask him where you want to go!” I obviously did such a good job asking he did the unthinkable…he answered in long, long sentences. I just smiled and nodded and had NO idea what he said. He did seem to know what I wanted but all I could understand was 17 km. Back to Pienza to pick up a few things and stood around and watched a wedding to the piazza. They were throwing fava beans at the bride and groom !
Jen and I are having a little disagreement with the woman who rented us this place. She upped the price and we aren’t happy. It’s a long story and we’re trying to get over it. Any bets if we will?
We finished our evening with wine and crackers and chocolate and anything leftover that we don’t want to pack up for our trip to the Cinque Terre tomorrow.
Another beautiful Tuscan sunset to watch. The area is so beautiful. Sunflowers are out, some poppies and some lavender, but the color of the earth alone is breathtaking. A magical place for sure.