Tuscany 4/29/13

Our final morning in Rome, I was happy to hit the road.  A walk to the train station, asking for directions to the rental car station and then attempted to be on our way.  The rental company pointed to the street and said we would find our car out there.  What service!  Loaded our bags into a two door Fiat, plugged in the GPS to find it was not working, I ran back into the station to try and find a map (my Dad would be disappointed we didn't already have one), the line was huge so I run back out to Rob who had figured out the GPS and we were on our way.  A few horn honks, missed turns and we found the freeway and headed towards the country. 

Rob & our Fiat Francesca

 

No trip for Rob and I would be complete without a visit from the local law enforcement.  We (Rob) were minding our business, sticking to the speed limit, watching all the signs.  Mrs. GPS had us taking the scenic route to our destination which meant driving through country roads.  It was a beautiful drive with our little two door car zipping through olive groves and grapevines.  We come upon a intersection, made the stop and then pull up next to a police car.  The officers are standing outside of the car, one holding a large stop sign.  He holds it up to us.  I look at Rob and feel like we are on our honeymoon again.  Yes, Rob got pulled over on our honeymoon.  The office asks to see I.D., Rob hands over the international driver's license.  The office flips through the first couple of pages which are in Japanese, Russian and a few other languages other than Italian and we are sent on our way.  A drive never to be forgotten.

About the halfway point on our driving adventure from Rome to San Gimignano we made a stop at Civita di Bagnoregio.  Perched on a pinnacle in a grand canyon, the traffic-free village of Civita di Bagnoregio is Italy's ultimate hill town.  The town on the hill used to be connected by an old donkey path, it was bombed in World War II and replaced in 1966 with a new footbridge. 

 The view from the parking lot

 

 I love Wisteria!  It was in bloom everywhere we went

Our snack stop, Antico Frantoio Bruschetteria.  Bruschetta toasted over hot coals.  While we waited for our bread to toast we walked around the olive mill.  This olive press is about 1,500 years old.  Until the 1960's blindfolded donkeys would trudge in the circle, crushing olives and creating a paste that would then filter down for the second press. 
One of the shops we stopped in at was selling goodies from his farm.  Yummy cheese, honey and olive oil were brought back to enjoy when we got home.

 Views from the top of the city

 

Our next stop was Orvieto.  We parked at the train station, purchased tickets to ride the funicular to the top and then made a mad dash to see the sights.  Major regret of the trip...not spending more time here.  I was in a rush to arrive at our farmhouse and receive the cooking lesson I had been promised.  We got to the farmhouse so quickly that the owner greeted us and then let us know we had two hours before dinner prep.  To think I could have had that time in Orvieto.  Next time Orvieto is getting a 1/2 day of our trip!

 

 A quick peek into the Duomo

 

One of the man Pinocchio shops we came across in our hill town shopping

The view from our Agriturismo, Le Tre Stelle, http://www.letrestelle.com/index_e.html
What a wonderful gem, Donatella asked that they next time we visit we need to bring our girls along.  What fun that would be

The future prosciutto

 Our evening detour; Certaldo via the funicular.  A small sleepy hill town full of locals sitting on the street talking about the gossip for the day. 

 

Things that made us laugh today:



Van full of nuns

Cats all of Civita

Our run in w/ the police