L Andana Castiglione Della Pescaia

I was so excited about going to Montalcino. Had read a book about it years ago and always dreamt of going there. It was so gorgeous too. See high up on a hillside, just like the rest and a population of only 5000. So pretty and I could have stayed for hours. There is a famous wine called Brunello which is from this area so 98% of the shops were wine shops! It was another of those ...

... century was interesting. This whole place was built with defense in mind -- on a hilltop, surrounded by a wall, a large fortress at the entrance, narrow windy passages throughout. Oh I pity the ancient attackers.

The area surrounding in Montalcino is filled with wineries and many have tasting rooms. This place is what Napa wishes it was. Our first and best experience of the day was at Casato Prime Donne where a lovely woman named Antoniello gave us (just Tim and I because we were the only two there) an education in the production of and regulations on the regional wines. We tasted five different wines: a Chianti and Super Tuscan (from their estate in the Chianti region) and a Rosso, Brunello, and Brunello Riserva from there. The Sangiovese grapes were growing out back ... and out front as well. We bought a bottle of the Brunello. Antoniello said ...

... wall lined alleyways in search of the famous local vino -- Brunello di Montalcino (“the Brunette,” named for its characteristic brownish red color) and it was not hard to find. There are more wine bars in this little hamlet than college bars in Athens, and they are all selling several dozen different brands and vintages of Brunello di Montalcino, by the glass or by the bottle, preferably both. Caffe Fraschetteria ...

... it is afternoon and the stores and most of the restaurants are closed. There are always a few gelato stands open and of course we frequent one of them. We go back to the room for the required nap.

That evening the town wakes up and is full of lively Romans taking in the shops and dining al fresco. Dining on the street is the thing to do all over Italy, people love to watch each other, talk and linger over their meals. The ...

... footpaths. Therefore
it is advisable to go from the sea, using the boat service offered at
Giglio Porto.
Assistance NO
Localization Cala dell' Allume
Locality Isola del Giglio

CALA DELL' ARENELLA
Town Giglio Porto
Type Caletta
Description
Wonderful small beach that can be reached by ...

Avant de travailler sur le périple oenologique sur lequel nous ne pourrons faire l'impasse cette année, Voici un rappel de notre balade du 5 mai 2008 jusqu'à Massa Maritima en passant par Sticciano, Roccastrada, Sassofortino, Rocatederighi, Tatti et Bellavista

On July 3rd, JF and I did a tour of Tuscan mountain towns. It seems that in the middle ages, the lords would build these mountain-top fortified towns, including churches as they were easy to defend. Little did they realize that they were creating a tourist industry for their descendants many generations later. We started with Montalcino, which is one ...

... was sometimes German, sometimes Italian, which was a bit confusing, but all in all as wonderful an experience as Dave and I hoped it would be. It was 1 am before we got home - way past our bedtime - but I took advantage of the time difference to call the Pinkertons. I've been having grandbaby withdrawals, with two Saturdays having gone by and not talking to them. On my last cell phone, I used "The Magic ...

... plenty of daylight, so DH feels confident that we can hit the road, find a place to eat, and be back before dark. At this point, he's not so confident that he wants to try driving after sunset. We take off, and soon discover that the roads connecting these hill towns are very winding. A couple of towns over we spot a promising pizzeria/ristorante and we pull over and park in a nearly-full lot with high hopes of another wonderful multi-course Iocal meal ...

... an announcement for a talk in the theatre so we made our way there. We saw Cortney and Aaron right away and we did quick introductions. We summarized our travel stories over the past few days in about 5 minutes. Next, we listened to the cruise director for a bit before I whispered to Sus that we should skip this boring part. I have been on lots of cruises and know that they play these talks on the TV in your stateroom over and over again if you really want the info. I suggested that ...