When most people were out dancing the night away in a colorful costume, I spent my Halloween weekend in Tuscany! It was positively beautiful....
As many of you know, my mother, sister, and I had visited, and fallen in love with, Tuscany a few years back. So you can imagine my excitement to be returning to one of my favorite places on Earth! Our bus left Milan by 8:00am Saturday morning, we drove for about 6 hours, stopping once for lunch at a roadside gas station/restaurant. We made it to our first destination, Sienna! We had a guided tour around Sienna which included the campo where the yearly Palio horse races are held, a very big event!
Siena's campo, where the yearly horse races are held!
Our tour was led by a very quick walking, quick talking woman who has been living in Siena and giving tours for over a decade! She told us some of the city's history; it used to be one of the major cities on the road to Rome, so many, many travelers went through there for trade or on pilgrimage to Rome. The city was predominantly owned by banks, which helped the city to flourish. Siena was home to several famous art schools and you can see some of the early work of Duccio di Buoninsegna! During the black plague, Siena was ravaged and part of the duomo was never finished. That side now houses a museum. We were able to go out on the wall and see all of Siena! The winding staircase was terrifying, but the stunning views were worth it! Since then it has made a comeback and it's university is still considered a prime school. Inside of the duomo you can see some sublime artwork, sheet music, and sculptures. I would definitely recommend this city if you're going through Italy!
Theresa and I outside of the Siena duomo.
The beautiful duomo of Siena. The frescoes at the top were stunning!
Inside the duomo. I love the white and green striped marble!
Madonna and Child by Michelangelo
Some cool street performers we saw on our tour of Siena.
Inside the library. Because of the natural lighting, candles were hardly ever used in this room, so all of the paint is original! It's never been restored.
Here is an example of the Gregorian music that is stored in the library of the Siena duomo. So beautiful!
On top of the duomo museum with some fellow IESers!
The view of Siena! Such a pretty city!
Madonna and Child by Duccio di Buoninsegna. (A very sneaky photo...we weren't supposed to, but I had to get one!)
A quick shot of the olive tree orchards.
The world-famous vineyards of Tuscany.
Sunday morning we made our way to one of my favorite stops, a little Medival castle town named Montalcino! We happened to be there during a local festival celebrating the opening of hunting season for a certain bird. It was great! There were food vendors, traditional costumes, and happy Italians everywhere! It was spectacular! Montalcino is home to a very special wine called Brunello di Montalcino. We got to sample some in the wine shop that is located in the castle itself! Everyone was buying bottles for their parents, I know my Dad is getting some for Christmas! For lunch my friend Nicole and I hit the food vendors. We had the most scrumptious chicken I have ever eaten, and gnocchi in a boar meat sauce. It was spectacular! We had to pre-order our little chicken and then wait 30 minutes for it to finish roasting over the fire. Oooooh was it good. We sipped some Brunello di Montalcino and soaked up the bright sunshine, the cold fog of Milano far behind us. We chatted with a few locals who were sharing our table and enjoyed ourselves! When we had finished our lunch, we spent the rest of our time in Montalcino wandering around and browsing the local shops. It was so very Tuscan!
Sitting on the castle wall of Montalcino.
The excellent wine shop in the castle.
Choosing our wines....
The castle tower. We got to climb up and see the views!
THE BEST CHICKEN EVER!
Chickens roasting on an open fire, locals soaking up the sun....
Our next stop was the Sant' Antimo monastery. Why did we go to a monastery? Because the monks sing Gregorian chants, that's why. It was incredible to listen to this ancient music being sung by modern day monks. So cool! And the surrounding area was beyond spectacular. Definitely some of the best views of Tuscany we came across!
The positively outstanding Tuscan countryside behind the Sant' Antimo monastery.
Peeping through the olive branches!
The classic Tuscan tree growing next to the Sant' Antimo monastery.
The Sant' Antimo monastery.
Another view of Sant' Antimo.
After joining the monks for their afternoon prayers, we piled back on the bus and headed for Pienza. Now I didn't know this when I first got to Pienza, but Marley, Mom, and I had been there before! This dawned on my as I entered a cheese shop full of cheeses curing in different wrappings, everything from straw to ash! It was so cool, but the smell was a bit overpowering.... Anyhoo, Nicole and I then went next door to a toy shop that was dominated by Pinocchio, which also seemed very familiar! At this point I was starting to mutter, "I think I've been here before..." and started to run around like a crazy person looking for something more familiar! And lo, there was the coffeeshop where Mar, Mom, and I had had cappuccinos with Fred! It was so exciting. So there's my little flashback story!
This is the bar where we got the tastiest cappuccinos!
CHEEEEEEESE!!!
Loved the street names...
A little extra luck never hurts!
The view from the wall surrounding Pienza.
After another busy day we made our way back to our snazzy hotel in Siena and enjoyed yet another fabulous 4 course meal accompanied by Tuscan wine. I have to tell you, they know how to do food here in Italy... We started our last day in Tuscany by heading to the town of Arezzo. This was the home of the famous actor and director, Begnini! One of his most famous, and most moving films, is "La vita 'e bella" ("Life is beautiful") which was filmed in Arezzo. There were signs all over town indicating which scene had been shot where. It was great! We did some wandering around (the best way to see any city), and ran across this ancient Roman auditorium! All that is left were some of the archway entrances and a faint line in the grass where the other side of the wall used to be. I love that Europe has such history, and that it is still a giant part of normal, day-to-day life.
The gate leading to the auditorium, it's a park now!
The archway ruins.
Playing around :).
The home of the guy who invented solfeggi (do-re-mi...), which is used by musicians all over the world!
Then we got to see the Piero della Francesca frescoes. The church was so old, and yet these gorgeous paintings were still there for our hungry eyes to feast upon. One of our IES leaders, Walter, told us the bible stories each part was portraying. When I told my Mom we were going there, she practically jumped through my Skype screen to try and come see them too. Let's just say that we were feeling pretty special being so close to such important artwork....!
San Francesca church.
Another sneaky photo...this time of the Piero della Francesca frescoes.
Monday was Halloween day, and also my friend Nicole's birthday! So we went out to find a great place for lunch to celebrate! We ended up at this amazing little hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Il Saraceno. OH. MY. GOODNESS! It was fantastic!! We ate like queens and they had the best service (in Italy you come to appreciate friendly waitstaff). We started with a Tuscan salami platter, and then had mouthwatering mushroom ravioli....yum!!!
The appetizers!
My ottimo ravioli!
Oh Tuscany, you have my heart. I promise I'll live there one day! Well there you have it! That was our marvelous trip to Siena, Montalcino, Pienza, and Arezzo. I can't wait to go back!
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