Greetings from beautiful Montepulciano and Tuscany!
Unfortunately, the weather in Tuscany has changed. It’s now cloudy and they say several days of rain are headed our way! Europe had a very hot and dry summer, so they need the rain. Tour guide Cindy and I grew up in the PNW, rain doesn’t effect us 👊
Thursday market, Montepulciano.
Lest you think we’ve been lying around in the Tuscan sun, drinking wine and reading books😜 let’s get started with our latest adventures.
Thursday is the market day in Montepulciano. It’s held in the bus station parking lot, right up the hill from our Villa. Everything is uphill from our Villa!Look at that delicious sheep cheese, pecorino. It’s absolutely delicious.Porchetta sandwich? Yes please!It’s spring in Tuscany.Beautiful views from Montepulciano.Tempio di San Biagio.
Up bright and early, tour guide Cindy says enough of this resting stuff, walking tour Montepulciano 2.O🥵
Montepulciano from the top.
This short video shows the Cathedral Tempio di San Biagio below Montepulciano. It was built in the 1500’s and while the outside is not finished, the inside of the cathedral is fantastic. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to get in yet, hopefully this week.
Back into Montepulciano.Look, it’s Cantina Crociani, home of the delicious Montepulciano Vino Nobile!
Should we stop in, sure why not!
Look, it’s our friend Roberta. We’ve known her for 10 years now. Cellar tour?Cantina Crociani is a very small, family run winery. They feature the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.Oh my goodness, it looks like it’s tasting time, care to join in?As I’ve said, Tuscany and the hilltop villages are very, very hilly. Cindy’s Fitbit sent her a badge on Friday, “The Rollercoaster” badge. Awarded for climbing 125 flights of stairs in a day😜 Mike did not win that award ✔️Saturday, road trip. Fortress Monteriggioni .
Built in the 1200’s, this fortress served as the first line of defense in the constant wars between Siena and Florence.
It’s largely intact and very interesting to visit.Mainly empty this time of year. I’m sure it’s packed with the tour bus crowd in season.Entrance and exit, like I’ve said, the wars were nonstop!Ok, let’s roll up the road to Volterra, a place we visited last week and loved. The view here is spectacular, unfortunately, the weather has changed and it’s starting to rain.Roman amphitheater, Volterra Castle Volterra, unfortunately it’s really raining now.Rain over Tuscany!Ok, that’s enough for today! Tour guide Cindy has more trips lined up, and a train trip to Naples where we’ll eat pizza all day long😎😜👊✔️From beautiful Montepulciano.
Trafton’s European Adventure Part Two 