We intended for Pienza to be our "home base" while exploring the smaller towns and wineries throughout Tuscany. What we didn't realize is that we would fall for this charming little town and our momentum would be slowed to a hault.
Pienza is simply beautiful with an old world sophistication. It is a world heritage site and was the birthplace of Pope Pius II. After Pius became Pope, he decided to give his town an Extreme Makeover, Reniassance Edition. As you navigate the small side streets- aptly named lovely things like Via Amore and Via Fortuna- you get glimpses of the Tuscan hillside just outside of town. All streets lead to two things- the Duomo (afterall, a Pope would direct everyone in town to church!) and Via Vista- a stone walkway that stretched around the outside perimiter of town and had the most amazing views of the lush, green Tuscan hills. Needless to say, we walked along this many times during our visit (and yes, I lit a candle inside of the Duomo). We were visiting during Festival dei Fiori (May flower festival) so the private gardens and potted plants outside of the little homes and shops were stunning. Everything was planted in either brown woven hanging baskets or terracotta pots, providing a neutral background for the great bursts of color from the flowers.
Now that I shared the history and lovey vibe of Pienza, it is time to get to the good stuff- the food & wine! We concluded that Pienza is the best cuisine that we have had on this trip to date. (Chad is declaring it the best food on the trip, period- as we are now in a region known for their pesto and pesce- which he doesn't really like. Since I love both pesto & pesce I'm not declaring Pienza the winner just yet.) Our first meal was dinner at Latte di Luna, recommended by Marco, one of the owners of our B&B (Piccolo Hotel La Valle, charming with great views and a fabulous breakfast spread!). This tiny restaurant only served dinner from 7:30-9:30pm, so we were lucky when we showed up right at 7:30 and got a seat. We accidently forgot to say "mezzo" and ended up with a full liter of the house red. Yikes. Molto vino! This drew some sideways glances and giggles from the older couple seated next to us (they were sharing 1/4 of a liter of the house wine, by comparison). I ordered the bruschetta con pomodoro, which was 1 piece of garlic bread, toasted, with a fresh tomato diced up and salted sitting on top of the bread. It was so simple (no basil, cheese or balsamic like the Americanized version of bruschetta)- and it was completely delicious! Following the bruschetta, I was introduced to the handmade pasta that this region is known for- "Pici"- and it was love at first bite. Chad enjoyed a plate of Pici, as well as a secondi of roast beef and potatoes. All this after informing me that he was starving because our occasional grazing on pizza, panini and gelato wasn't cutting it for him- it was time to throw down a serious meal. :-)
After we finished our meal the aformentioned couple sitting next to us (Swiss, speaking French) forced us, through a series of emphatic hand gestures, to order the dessert that they just finished- homemade panacotta with oranges. We were 3/4 of the way through our liter of wine, so we happily agreed. They began talking with us, starting with the basics- them: "we Swiss", us: "we Chicago." Mind you, they were talking to us in French/Italian and we were talking to them in English/Italian! Much like my interaction with Antonio in the shop in Siena, this hilarious attempt at communication is definitely going down as a highlight of our trip. The difference here is that the Swiss couple wanted to talk about politics and money, not cheese and "boogie, boogie."
Here is the very rough interpretation of what we discussed (oh how I wish that I had video of the conversation, because the hand gestures added so much entertainment value!)...
The Swiss: Obama, yes? no?
Us: Yes, yes. Very good.
The Swiss: eh, he ok.
Us: he is from Chicago too.
The Swiss: Chicago, Kenya, Chicago, Kenya? Eh?
Chad to me: we've got a birther up in here!
The Swiss*: We pay very high tax (lots and lots of french words inserted here about their taxes)
Chad to me: Swiss taxes are 80%
Swiss: We have no problem with work, no debt. Everyone has job. School free, you sick it's free, we have no debt.
Us: (lots of head nodding) that's great
The Swiss: Your democracy here (hand gesture down low) our democracy here (hand gesture significantly higher)
Us: that's great
The Swiss: you'll figure it out someday. good luck until then.
We then said our goodbyes to the Swiss, finished our liter of wine and stumbled back to Piccolo Hotel La Valle cracking up about what just happened. Talking about money and politics with complete strangers is tough enough- let alone trying to do so in 3 different languages. They were charming people (they invited us to call them if we ever visited Switzerland), and I am certain that we would have had a very enjoyable and enlightening conversation if we were all speaking the same language.
The next two days involved a lot more Pici and the discovery of the second treasure of this region- Brunello red wine from Montalcino, yum! We only ended up driving to one other town, Montepulciano, where we saw the medievil town center (they recently filmed a scene from New Moon here and there were pictures from the filming all over the place) and we tasted Vino Nobile from this town (not nearly as good as Brunello).
The Pici, the Brunello, a little bit of rain and beautiful Tuscan hillside views kept us very content and relaxed during the Pienza portion of our trip. We are so happy that we discovered this little town and allowed it to slow us down in our traveling tracks.
We are now in the Cinque Terre (with more rain, boo!) hoping to hike the trail at least once over the next 3 days before heading home (boo again!). I will blog about this portion of of journey next time.
Ciao for now.
May 4, 2010
Pici & Politics in Pienza
Posted by KPF 0 comments
May 2, 2010
Simply Siena
My Italian is rusty. I spent four years with Mrs. Amero & Mazzella at BHS and now I can hardly string a sentence together. They would be so ashamed. Although, I must say that I am kicking ass with my days of the week (oggi รจ Dominica) and my numbers. The other day I joined in with a group of school children (ragazzi) as they chanted off their numbers while climbing the stairs up into the Duomo in Siena (una, due, tre...dieci, undici, dodici...)
Posted by KPF 1 comments
May 1, 2010
Firenze Fabulous
I am paying 11 Euro to use this computer for 1 hour. It comes with a fabulous view, overlooking the lush, hilly Tuscan countryside in the town of Pienza, so I suppose that makes it a bit more worth the price. It is also used to writing in Italian, so it currently is underlining all of my words in red (indicating that they are mis-spelled) so please pardon any true mis-spellings- you know me, I count on spellcheck to help me clean up the mess that I typically make when storytelling!
Posted by KPF 1 comments
Jul 29, 2009
Rest In Beast
Today we bid farewell to a dear member of our family. Our 1995 Toyota 4-runner (Limited Edition, Chad insists that I add), The Beast.
We decided to take advantage of the Cash for Clunkers program and recycle The Beast in exchange for $4500 cash towards a new car. A stellar deal considering that we would be hard pressed to get $500 for The Beast otherwise. However, it is bittersweet because it feels a bit like we are putting an old pet to sleep. The Cash for Clunkers program mandates that when an old vehicle is turned in, the parts of the car can be stripped but the engine block must be rendered inoperable (insert ominous music here). DriveOn.com warns softies like me, “the program rules lay out various ghastly means to accomplish that. Don't look. It will only break your heart.”
Sure, The Beast had no air conditioning, no antenna, a missing volume knob, a broken driver’s side mirror, a busted off gas door, rusted back and side paneling, and a license plate attached with zip ties (thanks to Andrew’s innovation!). However it had more personality and character than any other car that I ever drove, and I will miss it.
I loved driving a car that so dramatically contradicted with my personal style and femininity. There was something very fun about climbing up into a rusted out SUV wearing 4” Jimmy Choos and a dress. I embraced the irony, I knew that we didn’t look like we should be together, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care what others thought when the temperature would dip below 30 degrees and The Beast would scream (literally) in protest. Hell, I hate when it is that cold too, we should all be allowed to scream that way until we warm up! I didn’t care what others thought when I would come barreling around the corner of our alley and accidentally clip the dumpster. The dumpster was the one that needed to be worried. I loved piling my family, my dog, my friends (and even my entire team once!) into that car and always having a memorable ride.
So while our new car will smell good and be cool (literally and figuratively) and quiet and ride smoothly- it won’t have a name or a personality. We will treat it well and welcome it into our family, but The Beast will always have an extra special place in our hearts.
Posted by KPF 2 comments
Apr 30, 2009
Places to Put Stuff Wins the Noblesse Oblige Award
Thank you to Laura Reviews for presenting my blog with the Noblesse Oblige Award!
Laura Reviews is a fun, enlightening, and passionate blog about reading. The blog is full of wonderful author interviews, insights on current event articles, and many exceptional book reviews! It is hard to believe that Laura began blogging only 4 months ago! I also admire Laura’s tech savvy integration with Facebook and Twitter as a vehicle to let people know when she has a new post. If I could turn around and give this award right back to her, I would- but alas, I must oblige (pun intended) to follow the rules. Here is a little information about the award:
The recipient of this award (that’s me!) is recognized for the following:
1) The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervades amongst different cultures and beliefs. (Thank you!)
2) The Blog contents inspire; strives to encourage and offers solutions. (I try!)
3) There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding on Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Culture and Sciences and Beliefs. (Hmm, I might need to work on this, I have more of a potpourri approach)
4) The Blog is refreshing and creative. (Thank you!)
5) The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking. (Well, I may have made a few enemies during the election.)
The Blogger who receives this award will need to perform the following steps:
1) Create a Post with a mention and link to the person who presented the Noblesse Oblige Award. (Done)
2) The Award Conditions must be displayed at the Post. (Done)
3) Write a short article about what the Blog has thus far achieved – preferably citing one or more older post to support. (Done, see below)
4) The Blogger must present the Noblesse Oblige Award in concurrence with the Award conditions. (Done, see below)
5) The Blogger must display the Award at any location at the Blog. (Done)
First and foremost, my blog has provided me with an opportunity to write for fun again! I genuinely enjoy sharing my thoughts, observations and experiences with others. I also enjoy provoking discussions about difficult topics- whether politics or personal safety. I believe that life and learning are only made more rich by others sharing their thoughts and experiences with you.
With this, I present the award to two fellow bloggers:
Putting the Pieces Together: Yes, Dani Jo is my sister-in-law, but don’t you dare call this award nepotism. Her blog is a beautiful, optimistic, and realistic look into her life with two children on the Autism spectrum.
Michael’s Thoughts and Tips: Mike is a real estate agent here in Chicago, and a good friend. I admire his blog because it is very informative and incredibly optimistic (just like Mike himself). I find it to be a refreshing change from the negative economic press that plagues us daily. Like Laura, Mike has also embraced Twitter and Facebook to drive people to his blog- so he gets bonus points from me for exploring social media!
On a final note, is it bad that I was a member of the National Honor Society in high school and I didn’t even know that Noblesse Oblige is the motto of the NHS until I found it on Wikipedia while researching for this blog?
Posted by KPF 2 comments