Two Treasures of Tuscany

To start the day a few photos from our room. Our apartment is two stories and very comfortable. This is from the upstairs living room

                                          Another view with the morning mist on the hills

We drove to two Tuscan hilltop towns that are only 13 Km apart.
The first was Pienza considered the classic Tuscan Renaissance town with its outstanding planning. It was called the " Utopian city" The entire old town is an UNESCO world heritage site as is the entire valley, Val d'Orcia. Overall a stunning location.
The area is also the centre of Pecorino  cheese making to lots to do, see and eat.

We parked  outside the town centre and it was a beautiful stroll up to the piazza.

Before we did any sightseeing we had morning drinks. Coffee for the driver and Aperol spritz for the navigator

                                                                 A very cheesy place

We visited the Palazzo Piccolomini . The family provided two Popes and the first built up the complex of buildings over just three years, We visited each, the Duomo , the Town Hall and the Bishops Palace. The family was in residence until 1968. A stunning old town centre.

The gardens.

We drove on and in no time we caught sight of our second town. Montepulciano was on another hilltop. We parked the car and walked the 1.5 Km up to the old town centre.

It was an interesting walk up as there were shops, wine tasting rooms and lots of restaurants. We were looking for a special restaurant and by then we were ready to try the local special dished and wines.

We shared two starters one with a coarse pate and the other with local ham and cheese. Mains were veal and pork and we shared a lemon semifreddo. Not much for dinner tonight!

In the old town centre we looked at each of the major buildings including the Duomo and the Palazzo Taringi, but we especially enjoyed the views from the top of the tower. You may not believe this but we went up the tight narrow steps..with our heavy lunch on board and not the lift. The views were great and you could see out over the valley as well as down into the town.

View out over the valley.

More rooftops

The Duomo and town centre.

We had time to walk out to the Fortress that is currently housing an exhibition of modern art.

The Fortress.

We  had a final stop at the supermarket on the way "home" Yes cheese, bread,  tomatoes wine and a few other things. We have enough to put on a party if anyone drops in for a visit