Thursday, May 31st -- Today we went to the Avignonesi Winery for a tour and lunch. On the way there we stopped at a local outlet mall to purchase an extra bag for our trip to Paris. I mistakenly believed that by paying an extra $20 for an additional bag allowance, we would be able to add an additional 20 kg (44 pounds) of weight between the Fellers and ourselves.  Wrong!! I paid the extra $20 only to find that we could check an extra bag, but not an ounce more of weight. We have a total of 80 kg between the four of us, and it matters not a hoot if that is spread between four or now five bags. So we bought an extra bag for $50 and gained not an iota. Who says flying within Europe is inexpensive?

Well, our lunch at Avignonesi made up for the screw up with the luggage. The weather was perfect, sunny but not too hot, an incredibly gorgeous landscape, an interesting tour, and a fabulous lunch served in a magnificent outdoor patio. We were served a total of seven different wines starting with a lovely proseco before the tour, a chardonnay aged in stainless steel, three reds, a late harvest dessert wine, and grappa. Our waiter never allowed any wine glass to remain without wine until the next was served. We chose a three course lunch beginning with zucchini flan that was indescribly delicious, a fried, a garden salad from their own gardens, a fried lamb dish that was good (not great), and a coffee parfait - fantastic!

We arrived for the tour and lunch at noon and didn't leave until after 3:00 pm.  As I was in no condition to drive, Daniel took the keys (he had as much wine as I, but somehow believed he was in better condition to drive).  We drove to the hill town of Cortona where we parked and walked through the old city inside the walls.  The town traces its roots to the sixth century, but most of the buildings are from the sixteenth and seventeeth centuries. Another jewel of a town and one we were glad we had a chance to visit.

For dinner we chose to have a light snack at the local pizzaria in town.  After the lunch and wine this afternoon, we had no appetite for a full dinner.  Tomorrow we leave for Pisa.

Wednesday, May 30th - How can one travel to the fasion capital of the world and not spend at least one day shopping? So today we shop!! We went to two locations just outside Florence, Prada -- the second The Mall.  Both are high, high, high end fashion outlets with prices to match. I have not pictures to share, but suffice it to say we did a lot more window shopping then buying.

Afterwords we drove through Arezzo, one of the hill towns. We took a wrong turn and ended up driving in the restricted area inside the walls. We made it through, but decided not to stop as we were on a mission to find a famous gelateria in Monte san Savino. Hidden at the top of the mountain in the old walled city, the search, with more wrong turns than I can remember, was worth it. Not a high tourist area, we enjoyed walking the streets and taking in the shops, homes, street and people.

We just returned to Fontelunga and we'e enjoying a glass of wine before heading out to dinner at 8:00pm. Tomorrow we have a wine tour and lunch which I'll tell you about tomorrow. Ciao.

Tuesday, May 29th - A lovely day, temperature in the low 70's, a perfect day to explore some of the surrounding hill towns. After breakfast we headed to Montepulciano about 30-minutes away.  We walked the narrow streets of the old central town, filled with shops and churches. It was surprising how much english we heard on the streets from the throngs of visiting tourists. 

The shops catered to the tourist traffic and after a little more than an hour and a stop for a coffee, we headed on to Pienza, a smaller hidden jewel of a hill town. The village felt more real, not geared solely to the tourist trade. Shops were closed for the afternoon break, as they are in almost all Italian cities. We ate at a small restaurant featuring cheeses, especially pecorino which is made locally. We shared a half liter of a local white wine with a few shared cheese dishes. Daniel and I had a bowl of fogiole, a vegetable bean soup. All the dishes were very good.



Pecorino Cheese in Shop Window



Lunching in Pienza



Daniel Walking Steet of Pienza



Stairway in Pienza



From Pienza overlooking Tuscany Valley

After walking around for an hour, we decided to head back to the Villa Fontelunga (Long Fountain).  He stopped on the way back at a local grocery store and picked up a few bottles of wine. The most expensive was 3.95 Euros, a Chianti Classico Reserva D.O.C.G.  Silvestro told us that we should be able to get excellent wines in that price range, and he was right. The same bottle in the US would likely be in the $18 to $22 range. It was 18 Euros at our Villa, so we were happy to pay the 3 Euro corkage charge for bringing in your own bottle.




Villa Fontelunga



Paulo and me



Just Before Dinner



Garden Walk at Fontelunga



Dinner in the Gazebo

I worked on the blog for an hour or so, sitting outside on the patio with Daniel and Sharona, enjoying a glass of the Chianti we bought. We had arranged for dinner at the Villa tonight, a 3 course affair served in the gazebo off the patio. We started with several glasses of Prosecco and several starters, including fried zuccini, and fried sage leaves - both unusual and and quite good. Dinner began with a bowtie pasta with a pesto sauce followed by chicken cacciatori, and ended with a strudel for dessert. We had two bottles of wine with our meal, a house labeled white and red. We were the only guests partaking, and the setting and service was a delight.  Enjoy the pictures and more tomorrow.

Monday, May 28th -- We woke up to the sound of birds.  Actually, we woke up to the sound of birds regularly thorughout the night. But what a glorious night. It was raining when we met downstairs for breakfast at 9:00am. Our host recommended we take a day trip to Florence, about an hour's drive away. We walked around the city for several hours, toured throught the Duomo, ate at a recommeded restaurant from our host (had pizza with an egg on it), did some window shopping (Donna bought a few pair of gloves), and drove back. Enjoy the pictures -- nothing really to tell.

View of the Arno River

View of the Arno River

Donna Found her Passion

Ponte Vecchio

Latest in Italian Fasion (???)

Babtistry with Gibergi Doors

Stained Glass Panel in Duomo

Detail of Stained glass Panel

Fresco in Dome of Duomo

View of the Arno River

Our hosts made reservations for us at another restaurant -- literally everyone from Villa Fondtlunga was there. Not as good as yesterday, but very enjoyable. Got to bed a bit earlier and planned to head to some of the Hill Towns in the morning.