Week 1 - Cetona and the Surrounds Then on to Florence
Day 1
Arrival in Rome. We rented our Fiat Punto from Hertz through Gulfstream Travel, which is associated with Tuscan House. Pick up went fine, after I figured out how to get the damned thing in reverse. I almost had Rob convinced that we could get through Italy without needing to back up, but he made me swallow my pride and ask the Hertz guy where reverse was. Upon leaving the airport, we drove into an intense thunderstorm which didn’t make negotiating the streets of Rome very easy. The downpour lasted for about 20 minutes, but as we headed out of the city (listening to "Lady Marmalade"), the rain gave way to a beautiful rainbow which we took as a sign of great things to come.
We arrived in Cetona, our home base for the next five days, around 8:30 pm, dropped our luggage off at our place and had our first Italian dinner at Ristorante Osteria Vecchia, Via Cherbini, 11. This was a cozy little place tucked away in a small alley way. The food and the wine were very good. Just what we needed before we collapsed from the long flight from San Francisco and the 2.5 hour drive.
Day 2
We woke up very late this morning and were thrilled when we looked out the windows and saw the incredible views of the countryside! We had originally booked a tower in Monticchiello from Zak at TuscanHouse. We later found out that the owner had accidentally double booked so he arranged for us to stay in his sister’s tower in Cetona (I guess everybody has a tower in Italy) which was a beautiful 4 level place with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, great views on each level and a terrace. I don’t know if they plan to rent this place out on a regular basis, but if so, we highly recommend it. The owner, Sasha, had just completed restorations and had done a beautiful job - nice kitchen, comfortable furniture, antiques, washing machine. The tower was situated on a quiet street near the middle of the small town.
After checking out our place in the daylight, I made my way to the town square and tried my hand at Italian by buying some food for breakfast. Our first breakfast consisted of wonderful proscuitto, parmigiano and foccacia. Actually this was our menu for almost every breakfast the trip. It was a warm sunny morning so we ate out on the terrace and planned our day. After a very slow start we hit the road for Montepulicano and explored the streets, shops and churches of this beautiful town. We had lunch at a place called Ristorante Cittino, Vicolo Vie Nuova, 2. Not much to look at from the street, but there were several locals inside so we took a chance. The food was excellent.
After lunch we were approached by two Americans who told us to be careful as they had just heard that there were terrorist attacks in the States. They didn’t have many details so we didn’t realize how serious things were.
After walking around some more and seeing the sights, we drove to a winery called Poliziano in Montepulciano Stazione to do some wine tasting. We loved how laid back the experience was – a table, some wine glasses, a few bottles of wine and we were the only ones there. We bought three bottles of wine from them and then made our way to Pienza. We could tell on the Italian radio that something serious had happened in New York, but we couldn’t understand what it was so when we got to Pienza we decided to call home. Americans were lined up at the phone booths in the park and the woman who just got off the phone told us the full story of the attacks, which of course left us in shock. After several failed attempts, we called home to check in with everyone and then went to dinner at Ristorante del Falco, Piazza Matteotti 7, across the street from the park. We sat next to an American couple from New York and talked for 3 hours trying to get our heads around what had happened. We got back to Cetona around 11:30 that night and stayed up until 2:00 watching the Italian news.
By the way, we loved Pienza and Ristorante del Falco and recommend them both.
Day 3
We slept in late again and after breakfast drove to Chiusi, explored a bit and then had lunch at Ristorante Pizzeria Il Duomo, Via Porsenna 70. Perhaps it was our mood at the time, but we didn’t enjoy the town or the lunch very much so we left soon after and headed toward La Ghiandaia a villa just outside of Sarteano for a 2:00 cooking class. Zak at TuscanHouse was kind enough to hook us up with Cristina the owner. In addition to renting out rooms, she also teaches cooking classes in her large country kitchen. We didn’t see any of the rooms so I don’t feel comfortable recommending it as a place to stay, although the kitchen and dining room were very nice. Cristina is a lovely woman who speaks English and we had a wonderful time cooking with her and her two assistants. It was a private class so Rob and I were the only students. You can choose what you want to cook and if you are not sure she will come up with a menu for you. We made Bruschetta, Crostini (with chicken liver), Tuscan Pork and Lemon-Ricotta Cake.
After preparing the meal, she informed us that we had just cooked dinner for ourselves and her villa guests and we were instructed to come back at 8:00 pm for dinner.
In between our class and dinner, we took a beautiful drive to Radicofani. We drove and then walked up to the fort on top of the hill and climbed the stairs of the tower to what must be one of the most spectacular views of Tuscany around. You could see for miles in every direction. We arrived at the fort at 6:00 pm and we had the place to ourselves, which was nice. After enjoying the view from atop the fort, we drove down to the town of Radicofani, walked around the quiet, serene streets and enjoyed the sun setting over Tuscany. We then went to a small, local bar/enotecca and had a great glass of ’95 Brunello. I read my wine book and Rob wrote in his journal and we just hung out for a few hours. This ended up being one of our favorite towns because it was just so quiet and laid back with no other tourists (at least not while we were there).
Just before 8:00, we returned to Cristina’s for dinner. The table was set for 6 and was beautiful, wine, candles, the works. There were 4 other guest from Holland who joined us. Dinner lasted for over 3 hours. The food, wine and conversation made for a very unique and memorable evening.
FYI – the cost of the private cooking class for two and the dinner later that night was approx. $90.00 for both of us. We thought it was well worth it, particularly compared to the other cooking class we took in Florence which is described later in this report.
Day 4
Another breakfast on the terrace and then we headed for St. Antimo to hear the monks chant. The drive up to Montalcino via the back roads was absolutely beautiful. Before going to the monastery, we stopped at a winery call La Crociona to taste some wine. We ended up not buying any wine and got back on the road to St. Antimo and arrived 15 minutes before the chanting began. This was just enough time to get back in the car and drive back to La Crociona to see if my passport, all my money, credit cards and ATM card were still there where I left them. Luckily everything was still there and it was nice to have Rob around to remind me how careless I was for the next five days. This came to an abrupt end when he walked off and left his camera in a restaurant.
We got back to St. Antimo, just in time to hear the chanting and then drove up to Castelnuovo dell’Abate and had lunch at Antica Osteria del Bassomondo. This place is just where you turn to go to the monastery. I had some great Ravioli there.
We had a 2:00 appointment at Ciacci Piccolmini D’Aragona for a winery tour/tasting. This is a beautiful castle at the end of the main road of Castelnuovo dell’Abate. Our tour guide, the owner’s fiancee, was an American from NY. She took us on a very interesting and informative tour and then we tasted several of their wines. We were there for over 2 hours and ended up buying 3 bottles of wine from her. Call ahead or email Ciacci Piccolomini for an appointment.
The timing of the 12:00 chanting at St. Antimo, lunch in Castelnuovo dell’Abate, and the afternoon visit to Ciacco worked out great.
Later that day, we returned to Montalcino, walked around and saw the sights. Nice town, but a bit crowded for us. To kill some time, before dinner we drove over to Murlo, a beautiful, tiny little hill town and watched the sunset (thanks for the tip Steve F). It was also a gorgeous drive.
Dinner was at Da Mario, Via Soccini 60, in Buonconvento. Can’t say much for the town, Buonconvento, but the food was pretty good at Da Mario. There was no menu and our waiter was a bit "soup nazi-ish" so we basically ordered blindly and hoped for the best. It all worked out. I didn’t get the name, but there is a cute little restaurant just a few doors down that might be worth a try.
On the way home we stopped in Chianciano Terme for gelato. This is a happening town at 10:00 pm. Everyone was out getting gelato, window shopping, etc.
Day 5
This morning we decided to check out San Casciano dei Bagni, which was a beautiful little town. Most things were closed by the time we got there so we strolled around, saw what we could see and then I called to make an appointment at a winery just outside of Montalcino called Siro Pacenti (clearly wine was on the agenda in Tuscany). I had read about the winery in my Gambero Rosso book and it was also in Carla’s book so I really wanted to check it out. I also wanted to try and buy their ’95 Brunello which had been awarded 3 glasses. The owner wasn’t there at the time so the woman who answered gave me his cell phone number. I still can’t get over how laid back the wineries are in Italy. I can’t imagine someone giving me the owner’s cell phone number in Napa. At any rate, I called him and set up an appointment for 3:30 pm.
Since we were heading back towards Montalcino, I wanted to see if we could get over to Boccon di Vino (which I read so much about), in time for lunch so I drove in a way that would make any Italian proud and we made it there by 2:00. Once seated, we ordered a bottle of wine and the tasting menu and admired the incredible view of Tuscany. The first course came and was delicious. After a wait, the second course came which was also delicious. Given how good the food was and the number of courses coming, it was clear that this was not a meal to be rushed. I asked the owner if I could use the phone and called to delay our winery appointment by half an hour. The meal just kept getting better (and also longer) and I was soon back on the phone begging for another 30 minute delay. He told me he would have to leave soon and didn’t know how much longer he could wait. I was totally stressed and kicking myself for not allowing the proper amount of time for this meal. I hated to do it, but I walked up to the owner, Mario, apologized and asked him if there was anyway that they could rush our next courses because we had a winery appointment that we were late for. He asked me which winery and when I told him Siro Pacenti, he laughed, and told me to go back to my table and he would take care of things. After a few minutes, he came to our table, told us in broken English, that he had called Mr. Pacenti, a good friend of his, and that we did not have to worry about rushing our meal, he would be waiting for us.
As the meal continued, Mario took the time to sit down at our table and go through his entire wine menu (a great book with page after page of wine labels), talking to us about his favorite wines, why he liked them and the best vintages. Obviously a man who loves what he does. He was such a gracious host and we had a great time talking with him. I have to agree with David on this one. This was probably our favorite restaurant/meal of the entire trip. And the dessert was absolutely amazing.
When we got to Siro Pacenti, we found that Mario had indeed made the call and the owner was waiting for us. Another gracious host, he escorted us to his wine cellars, talked about his wines and poured us a few healthy glasses of wine straight from the barrels. He had sold out of his ’95 Brunello months earlier and said even he couldn’t find it for sell anywhere. On our way back we stopped in Montalcino just to see if we could find it anywhere and we finally found one place that had a few bottles left and bought 2 to take back to the States. FYI – the ’97 we previewed from the barrel was excellent.
Just a general note about Italian wine, I had hopes that we would come to Italy and find the 3 Glass wines (as rated in Gambero Rossi) for a fraction of the cost one would pay in the States. We found the opposite to be true at least for the wines I was looking for. Because awareness and demand is so much higher in Italy, we found that the more popular, higher rated wines were difficult to find and if we did come across them, the prices where high due to the low inventory situation. We also found that the prices could vary greatly from town to town or even enotecca to enotecca. The good news is that there are many, many inexpensive wines at enotecca’s as well as the house wines in restaurants that are great. We opted for these wines most of the time and pursued the harder to find Tre Bicchieri’s to bring back to the States.
After buying our wine, we drove over to Monticchiello which we fell in love with. We only had an hour or so to visit and we wished we could have stayed longer. The TuscanHouse tower is located in this town. We will definitely come back here on our next trip and will definitely eat at Osteria La Porta located just at the entrance. The terrace and the views from this restaurant are amazing.
We left Monticchiello and returned to Pienza which is very close by. After finishing our lunch at Boccon di Vino we couldn’t imagine ever wanting to eat again, but by the time 8:00 pm rolled around we were practically running to Latte di Luna, Via S. Carlo, 2/4, in Pienza for another full-on Italian meal. This restaurant had received great reviews from several Slow Travelers and we did not leave disappointed. I would definitely make reservations. We made them the day of.
We stopped again in Chianciano Terme for gelato and again the sidewalks were bustling at 10:30 pm with people out and about.
One more note on Montalcino: we never ate here because of timing, but every time we walked by Osteria di Porta Al Cassero, #32 Via Ricasoli, near the fort, the smells coming from the kitchen stopped us in our tracks.
Day 6
After breakfast we took a goodbye walk through Cetona and came across a very nice little Cantina called Cantina La Frasca, Via Roma 13, just behind the police station if I remember correctly. A very charming woman selling her family’s wine and olive oil in addition to pecorino, proscuitto and other products. There were tables set up in the cantina and she encouraged us to have a seat and taste EVERYTHING. We ended up buying a few bottles of wine and some cheese from her. Great little place.
Cetona was a great town for a home base. Beautiful, quiet a few good restaurants, food shops and a bank. I think we only saw 6 other tourists the entire time we were there. Although we chose not to eat there, there is a restaurant that everyone talked about just outside of Cetona called Mondo X, Ristorante La Frateria. It is supposed to be excellent and perfect for a romantic dinner. We drove by it many times and it looked beautiful. It is expensive however.
Paolo, the owner of the Monticchiello tower (and brother of the Cetona tower owner) and his girlfriend met us later that morning to pick up the keys and to take us to lunch. We went to a little hole in the wall in Sarteano called Trattoria Tripolitania, Corso G. Garibaldi, 27. This was another one of our favorite restaurants of the trip. It is a Mom and Pop place with a drab interior, but wonderful food. Paolo was great and we have plans to stay at his place next trip.
Sarteano was also a nice town. There were quite a few churches with interesting artwork. The town itself is not shiny and squeaky clean, but we kind of liked that. After walking around Sarteano we hit the autostrada and made our way to Florence.
We were thrilled when we got to our Florence apartment rented through Tuscan House, which was between Piazzale Michelangelo and Boboli Gardens. This was our home base for the next 7 days. The view was more spectacular than the photos on internet indicate. It had a large terrace, a nice kitchen, washing machine, comfortable furniture/bed and was very roomy for 2 people. It also had parking and with an electric security gate at the entrance of the driveway. It is a five minute walk from Piazzale Michelangelo and a 15 to 20 minute walk to Ponte Vecchio. It was a bit of a splurge, but I highly recommend it. I have to say that Zak did a wonderful job helping us find places and providing us with information for our trip especially since I started planning in July for a September trip.
After getting settled in, we walked around the city for several hours and had pizza at Ristorante Pizzeria la Bussola, Via Porta Rossa 58/r, which was very good.
Day 7
We got up early for our day trip to Siena. I won’t go into much detail, other than to say we walked around for hours and saw the typical sites. We had a wonderful lunch at Osteria Lella & Dado Nonna Gina, Pian dei Mantellini, 2. We were lucky to get the last table available for lunch so I would recommend a reservation. Very interesting gnocchi. The people next to us got this and even though I already had my pasta, I asked the owner into bringing me a sampler of the gnocchi with my secondo - the best rabbit I had in Italy (apologies to the vegetarians). The gnocchi was great, but rich so I’d recommend getting a plate for the table to share.
On the way back to Florence we made a last minute decision to stop in Colle di Val D’Elsa. We were so glad we did. This turned out to be one of our favorite towns in Tuscany and we found a wonderful little restaurant there. We arrived at sunset and the town was very lively on a Sunday night. Just at the entrance, there were some men giving demonstrations on how to make animal figures out of crystal which was very interesting. As we walked through the town we saw that all the crystal show rooms were open and some were serving drinks and appetizers. There was a band set up in the town square and vendors set up selling food. We went to a restaurant called Cantina Della Fortuna, Via D. Fontanelle N.4. Great food and very nice owner. The place is small so I’d recommend reservations. We lucked out and got the last table that night.