Last weekend, I took a day trip titled “Tuscany and its Vineyards.” As you can see from the picture, the views were impeccable. In fact, multiple times throughout the day, I was simply left… speechless.
We were bused first to the small medieval town of Pienza, south of Firenze. The town, conceived by the Pope Pius II sits onto of a hill overlooking beautiful views of Tuscany.
I mean, I’m slowly realizing that this beautiful view thing…it’s a trend.
Pienza had an overwhelming amount of character. With the little shops, the quaint stores, and the plethora of flowers, it was straight out of a story book.
The town was smaller than downtown Lewisburg. You could easily walk from one end to the other in about 7.2 minutes.
You could run in about 91 seconds…not that I do that kind of thing.
The streets were quiet (aside from all of the tourists that piled in shortly thereafter) and everything was medieval and old…in a magical kind of way.
Jessica and I just casually posing behind the Tuscan hills. I mean, no big deal, everyday occurrence.
But, my favorite part of Pienza, you ask? The town is renowned for its production of Pecorino cheese (which is sheep’s cheese. Pecora is Italian for Sheep. So literally, “pecorino” is cheese from sheep)
I was so overtaken by the aroma that I began skipping through the streets of Pienza. And then, I turned around because I ran out of room to skip.
Above was just one example of an menu from the town. I have never been so upset that a restaurant was not open. I mean, REALLY? PECORINO FONDUE!!?
And then that lard….oh it follows me everywhere.
I was so upset, that I bought a lot of cheese instead.
I’m not sure what I was trying to prove….but it worked.
Is a caption for this photo even necessary?
Didn’t think so.
There was pecorino with black pepper and pecorino with truffles and pecorino aged in straw and ricotta pecorino…
and pecorino with green leafy things…
And then….there was what I purchased: Pecorino with walnut.
O.M.G.
I have been eating that cheese daily like its a vitamin. And who knows, it may be. The semi-sharpness of the aged pecorino is brilliantly paired with a slight crunch and savory flavor of the walnuts.
It is delicious paired with pears and honey, or bread, or a fork, or…well….with nothing.
I’m pretty sure that I will be taking a bus to Pienza before I go home….if you know what I mean.
After the cheese obsession had taking it’s toll on all of us, we boarded the bus and traveled to Montelpuciano. Our first stop was the absolutely incredible cathedral, which sits on a hill all by itself, overlooking the countryside.
Inside, mass had begun and I was struck with the brilliance of it all.
Like, I had one of those moments…just standing there and realizing where I’m at and how blessed I am to be healthy, how blessed I am to be here, and how blessed I am to be alive.
And after my moment, my friend Lauren and I realized that because our names were the same, we should jump up and down.
And so…we did.
We then hopped back in the bus and went to the city center. Well, we were actually taken to the bottom of the entrance to the city. This Medieval town was built on a hill.
A very very very steep hill.
And we were going to have to climb it.
Crap.
I did consider finding this “secret passage” and hiding myself until the rest of the group came back down from the strenuous sounding hill hike. However, with little time to prepare my plan, Jessica realized that I was planning something naughty, and I got drugged along.
And it was completely worth it, other than the 15 minutes of over-exerting myself that I will never get back.
Now I know absolutely nothing about the Twilight movies (I or II), but I do have a tidbit of information which I find rather fascinating. The Volterra scene from New Moon was actually filmed in Montelpulciano, not Volterra. As Bella makes her way through the red hoods, she splashes through the fountain and yells, “Edward, DON”T!” It’s all very dramatic, yes I know.
However, there is actually NO fountain, as was portrayed in the movie. I’m gonna make an assumption and say that the splashing water made it much more romantic…or something.
In addition, my Italian teacher Dario was an extra in the movie. He was one of the hooded men in that scene carrying the large throne type object.
He said that Bella was not very nice, in fact he scratched her three times.
Actually, the words he used to describe her may not have been, “not nice.” (if you catch my drift)
And being ignorant at the time to the Twilight madness that went down in the same square where I was sitting, I was able to have another moment of wonder and peace. There was a man sharing a few beautiful songs on his guitar and rather than walking down the large mountain, I decided to stay and soak it all in. It was at that moment that Jessia (who had stayed there with me) and I saw small ant-like beings on to of the clock tower and we realized that we could probably get up there and treat ourselves to some pretty amazing views.
So we did.
Even though we had 19 minutes until the bus came.
We went up a set of very old stairs to witness this…
By far, the most incredible view I have ever witnessed in my life.
And I had an overdose on special moments right then and there. It was indescribable…and as stated before…
left me speechless.
(Which can be a very good thing sometimes)
And then, I realized that I really had to pee. So, I found this bathroom. And well….this (below), was my view..
my view from the BATHROOM.
Yeah.
After running down the hill due to our lateness (which is kind of my jam), we boarded the bus to our last stop. The Salcheto Vineyards, situated close to Montelpuciano, is an organic and sustainable vineyard, which produces excellent organic wines.
But after all of that walking up hills, trekking up steps, running down hills, etc, we were extremely hungry.
As we were led into the small enoteca on their grounds, we passed by ripe grape vines and these strange E.T. looking space domes. Apparently, this is how they let the light into their grape fermentation area, in order to avoid electricity and instead, use natural sun-light.
For lunch we had homemade pici pasta with a fresh tomato sauce. Again, something so simple, but the taste was absolutely brilliant.We were also treated to a traditional Tuscan appetizer buffet which included grilled vegetables, cold cuts, bread, homemade honey, olive oil, and toasts with delightful savory spreads.
For dessert we were served apricot and blackberry tarts. Very nice. The combination of the apricot and pastry dough was my personal favorite.
We were given the opportunity to try three different types of wine: a new wine that was harvested this year, a 2008 wine, and a 2006 select wine, all red. Being the un-educated wine expert that I am…all that I can really say is…
I liked them.
And drank them all.
We were then taken through a tour of Salcheto wine production facilities. The tour included a view of the fermentation room, the storage room, and the bottling facility.
It was all very interesting and the building itself is what struck me. The circular shaped structure is covered in vegetation to keep the temperature at an ideal level. I mean like, that is seriously cool.
After reviewing the day in my mind, I was hit with the realization of my privilege in life. And after battling a stomach illness for over 8 months last year, I NEED to constantly remind myself of how blessed I truly am. Health is an amazing thing and allows a human being to experience things with a clear mind. The Lord has blessed me with health for this season, and I am so grateful. He knows my needs and knows how to handle me through them.
Psalm 103:2-5 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits–who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s