We started our 2nd full day in Siena with a quick breakfast of croissants and coffee. Haha, we actually had all our breakfast the same way. We found this cute little cafe a few doors down from us. By the end of our stay in Siena, we were "the regulars" :)
After breakfast we began our long trek back to our car outside the walls. Phew... walking there at an earlier time in the day, and not having to lug our luggage made it slightly better. We set our Googlemaps lady for Pienza, and set off looking for good old SR2. We were going to be on that road quite a bit the next few days.
This was our first drive out of town into the Val d'Orcia valley, and it was a phenomenally beautiful drive. Neatly parceled land in all different hues of gold and green, undulating hills, majestic Italian cypress, and magnificent mansions. On and on and on, we thought we saw a postcard perfect view then we turned a corner and saw more of the same perfection. We pulled off the road a few times to admire the surroundings. Took us a little longer to reach Pienza, but the pleasure was all in the journey. :-)
Walking into Pienza I fell in love with it instantly. Perched on a hill, the walk in from the parking lot led us through small quiet quaint streets.
I can imagine it would be really annoying with a few bus loads of daytourers descending at the same time. As it was I only saw 2 tour guide flags, the town retained its quiet small village charm. The view down the valley was fantastic.
We wandered around looking for a place to have lunch. I picked a cute little restaurant at the end of the long walkway through town. Nice outdoor sitting. Trattoria Latte di Luna. It was so hot by this time so the large beer and cold sparkling water were so good going down... I had tagliatelle al ragu and it was so good. If it hadn't been so hot that i kinda lost my appetite, I could have a few more dishes. The food was that good.
After lunch we set off for San Quirico d'Orcia, only a few short kilometers from Pienza. We parked at the bottom of a hill and walked up quite a way to the center of town. By then, jet lag, lack of sleep, the heat all got to me and I had to sit down in the town square to rest up. SQd'O is a much smaller, sleepier town than Pienza. S liked it a lot better. Too quiet for my taste.
We went home to our fabulous AC apartment. Went back out later that night for some gelato. I've been pressing S to get some gelato, being such a huge ice cream fan that she is... When she finally had some, she finished hers and most of mine.
That cafe was cute!
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