Under the Tuscan Sun

That's me outside of Pienza, a cute little town I visited today on my Tuscany tour.

We got up at six AM, because we had to be at Piazza Trilussa at 7:30. Long walk, followed by sitting around the incredibly dirty Piazza (it's hangout for the locals at night). Got on a bus, then went 3 hours to Pienza. We got a tour of the city, which was lovely, but we had to be on the bus again in less than 90 minutes to go to Moltepulciano, another cute town. We didn't even get that much time to look around the city, because we went on a really, really cool tour of this underground wine cellar. The barrels of wine in this family vineyard were unreal, and it was in these old Etruscan caves that kept stretching on and on. We then (eventually, after staring at barrel after barrel filled with the vino) came up, and we had an extensive wine tasting. The famous wine from Moltepulciano is vino nobile, and it was very good. Generally, me no likey wine, but this stuff was quality. The whole wine tasting thing was a great scam, too, because it seemed everyone (about 50 kids) except me bought 75 euros worth of wine. I bought a nice little dessert treat that I will save until my parents come. Maybe.

We then went to a restaurant on the side of a hill overlooking the rolling hills of Tuscany. We then proceeded to have the best meal I've had since I got here. 4 courses. Cooked by this grandmother and her kids who run the place, and make all the food, including the pasta. First was your typical Americanized pasta and red sauce. At least that's what I thought, until I tasted it: best. Americanized. dish. ever. Then we had another pasta dish, with a delightful mushroom concoction, followed by a cheese and cold cuts (lots o delicious meats, and that area is famous for some specific cheese, which was good), followed by some biscotti with a dessert wine. We finished the meal at 4:30ish. It is now 11:00. I am still full.