Carol's Travels

The day began its adventures with this sunrise from my window.  Today we were free to do what we wished until 2:00 P.M.

Linda and I ate breakfast, then we went shopping.  We each bought some beautiful handmade items in the boutique shops in Pienza.  Then at 2:00 we rode the bus to Montepulciano.  We stopped on the way to Montepulciano to see the architecture of a church.  I even sang in the center, and my voice sounded very full because of the way the church was designed.  When we arrived in the town, we had the option of doing several things.  Linda and I felt like shopping.

Leonardo da Vinci designed and made plans for this horse statue.  Later, sculptors recreated the design, and this horse was the result.

We were given a complete tour of the Villa S Anna Winery which is managed completely by women.  The same family has operated it for six generations.  They have a limited production, so the wine can only be purchased at the winery and online.  After the tour, we sat inside the tasting room at tables.  We were served pecorino cheese and sun dried tomato appetizers, tomato soup, salami, cheeses, and dessert, each with a different variety of wine.  We tasted four red varieties. They got better and better as the price of the bottles increased, the reserve being the best.  The food paired with the wine enhanced the flavor.

This morning we left the hotel and rode on the bus for about an hour to meet our local guide.  We hiked on a trail and up and down steps to learn about the tombs.  The first people that discovered them stole anything of value in them, but luckily, they didn’t find all of the tombs.  Some of the items are on display in a couple of the larger museums in Italy.

We next went to the town of Pitigliano where lots of Jewish people lived.  Now there are only three Jewish people living there.  During World War II many residents in the town hid the Jewish people from the Nazi’s, so that no Jew was captured.  A famous cyclist used his status to get papers for many of them.  Because of his bravery, they recently started the Giro D’italia bike race in Israel.

Restaurant where we sat on the patio left of the umbrellas to eat our delicious lunch of salad, lasagna with zucchini and a white (béchamel?) sauce, wine, and dessert of ricotta with caramel sauce

We checked out of our hotel this morning, then our bus took us to Siena.  We toured through the small city.  There are 17 sections of the city, each of which has a small church.   For centuries there has been a horse race  every year in July.  They wear costumes and have parades.  Below are some costumes for this col that we toured.

These cookies are a specialty.  We got to taste them, thanks to our guide

We were lucky to see a short parade today.  Residents of each section of the city dress up and has parades.  The event happens next week.

View of the area as we got closer to Siena.  We got out of the bus to get a better view.  I slipped on the sand and gravel, fell, and got road rash below my knee.  When we got to the hotel a short time later, I washed the leg and gave myself first-aid.  Later, we went out to dinner.