Day 14: Castelmuzio
Today we have an appointment to meet the owner of one of the properties I have used near Pienza, so we are rushing to get there on time. We decide to take advantage of the kitchen in the villa, as well as the access to fresh eggs from Rebecca's and Mark's chickens. However, we don't take into account the time it will take to figure out how to use the coffee maker and electic kettle, how to turn on the stove and where all the ingredients for breakfast are kept. So we are a bit rushed--but the eggs do taste good. I needed help from Mark to unseat the hen who was jealously guarding her cache of eggs. (It turns out that both the coffeemaker and the kettle have plugs that don't match the sockets; Rebecca gives us a proper adapter when we mention our difficulty.)
We drive to the property, right past the church of Sant'Anna di Camprena--one of the locations in the film The English Patient--to the farm property called Le Cretaiole. This property also has one of those priceless views, over the rolling hills to the town of Pienza about five kilometers away. Isabella, the owner who speaks English, is late and we spend some time talking to Carlo, her husband, in Italian. When our Italian runs out, we sit on a lawn glider and enjoy the panorama. When Isabella arrives, we talk about the travel business a little and have a look at one of the rooms; she tells us about the activities that they organize for their guests and we take some brochures. I think that I will have more clients interested in staying here.
We then move on to Pienza, where we have stayed twice in the past; it is one of our favorite towns to visit. I also recommend to it to clients who want a convenient and beautiful base in southern Tuscany. Things have changed somewhat since our last visit; the square just outside the walls--where we used to park--is now reserved only for residents and there is a new, pay parking lot a few steps from the walls of the town.
Pienza still has that beautiful look--the old brown stone buildings, the narrow gently-curving main street, the side streets with neat houses all sporting window boxes overflowing with flowers. The main piazza, with the cathedral and palazzo, still looks as it did in 1500. The walk in back of the town still has the gorgeous view over the valley to the mountains in the distance. It does seem that there are more shops selling local food specialities--principally the sheep's milk cheese (pecorino) that Pienza is famous for. And there also appear to be more restaurants.....
There are a couple of tour buses full of Americans--this is on a Thursday morning, but the town is certainly not overcrowded...as it can get on holidays and weekends. It has become a popular destination for Italians out for a day trip. We buy some bread for lunch at the bakery we have been to the past; the bread still looks as good as we remember. We also buy one of the famous cheeses--after some samples to choose which age cheese we prefer--and some prosciutto and salami (made of boar) to go with the bread. We also visit the very good bookshop in the town, which has a nice selection--even a number of books in English. We sit for a while on the promenade and drink in the view before heading back to the villa for our lunch. Pienza still is a very attractive town and I am sure we will come back again in the future.
Driving back to Castelmuzio, the sky darkens and rain appears on the horizon. We hope to be able to eat outside but the rain starts too quickly, so we have to move our picnic indoors. It still tastes very good.
Later in the afternoon, we get in the car and start driving in the countryside. We drive past Montisi and Trequanda (the neighboring towns) and then decide to go to Lucignano, a village to the north and east, which is known for its unusual urban design. The street plan is made up of concentric circles, which narrow towards the center. This plan results in four piazzas on each slope of the hill. The commercial area is concentrated in the outermost ring. The walls of the town are virtually complete and there are good views over the plain on all sides. It is yet another one of those attractive Italian towns--which the country seems to have an unending supply of. After a walk around the town and some window shopping, we stop for a gelato before heading back to Castelmuzio.
One interesting feature of the countryside in this area is that we discover a number of roadside picnic tables, perched along the road at places with particularly nice views. Something that sometimes frustrates us is trying to find an appropriate place for a picnic while we are driving. In the Val d'Orcia, this doesn't appear to be a problem.
Back in Castelmuzio, I take a walk around the village and discover that there is a bar, a newstand, and a small supermarket....all of which had been closed on the holiday yesterday. The hotel and restaurant in the middle of town is going through a change of ownership, so this large building in the heart of the village is closed. While walking back through one of the town parking lots, I see a tractor pulling a large wagon (it turns out to be a portable kitchen that had been used for the community Easter dinner). They can't get past a car parked in the lot. They ask me if it is my car and I have to tell them that it isn't. They are very frustrated and very determined to get the wagon through. I stop and watch for a while; the men are trying to lift the car and move it just enough for the wagon to squeeze through. When we go to get the car to go to dinner, both the car and the wagon are gone.
For dinner tonight, we are meeting our friend from the Italian forum on Compuserve, Miriam Margolyes. She has a house just outside the village of Montisi and is now in Italy shooting a program for the BBC about Tuscan houses. The restaurant is in Trequanda, about 8 kilometers (five miles) from the villa and we arrive a little early. We walk from the parking lot to the center and locate the restaurant, Il Conte Matto (the Mad Count). Miriam hasn't arrived yet, so we sit in the main square, watch the last merchants from the weekly market close up their stalls and enjoy the arrival of twilight. It is also interesting to watch these big trucks and vans easily negotiate the very narrow and winding streets of the village--something that I still find difficult in a normal sized car. We also direct a party of nine Norwegians to the restaurant.
Miriam arrives, along with the television crew (they are all staying at her house in Montisi and they eat together every night.) We have a very nice dinner and have interesting discussions with Miriam, the director and some of the crew about the project. It is a wonderful evening. It is always fun to get together with Miriam and spending time with the television crew is an extra bonus. The food at Il Conte Matto was also very good--I had parpardelle with a boar ragu followed by "fritto misto toscano"--fried meats and vegetables and Diana had a filet with pepper sauce and an unremembered pasta. A very nice evening.......
We drive back to Castelmuzio and walk to the villa from the parking lot...the stars are not as bright tonight as they had been the night before.
Diana and Jim
We drive to the property, right past the church of Sant'Anna di Camprena--one of the locations in the film The English Patient--to the farm property called Le Cretaiole. This property also has one of those priceless views, over the rolling hills to the town of Pienza about five kilometers away. Isabella, the owner who speaks English, is late and we spend some time talking to Carlo, her husband, in Italian. When our Italian runs out, we sit on a lawn glider and enjoy the panorama. When Isabella arrives, we talk about the travel business a little and have a look at one of the rooms; she tells us about the activities that they organize for their guests and we take some brochures. I think that I will have more clients interested in staying here.
We then move on to Pienza, where we have stayed twice in the past; it is one of our favorite towns to visit. I also recommend to it to clients who want a convenient and beautiful base in southern Tuscany. Things have changed somewhat since our last visit; the square just outside the walls--where we used to park--is now reserved only for residents and there is a new, pay parking lot a few steps from the walls of the town.
Pienza still has that beautiful look--the old brown stone buildings, the narrow gently-curving main street, the side streets with neat houses all sporting window boxes overflowing with flowers. The main piazza, with the cathedral and palazzo, still looks as it did in 1500. The walk in back of the town still has the gorgeous view over the valley to the mountains in the distance. It does seem that there are more shops selling local food specialities--principally the sheep's milk cheese (pecorino) that Pienza is famous for. And there also appear to be more restaurants.....
There are a couple of tour buses full of Americans--this is on a Thursday morning, but the town is certainly not overcrowded...as it can get on holidays and weekends. It has become a popular destination for Italians out for a day trip. We buy some bread for lunch at the bakery we have been to the past; the bread still looks as good as we remember. We also buy one of the famous cheeses--after some samples to choose which age cheese we prefer--and some prosciutto and salami (made of boar) to go with the bread. We also visit the very good bookshop in the town, which has a nice selection--even a number of books in English. We sit for a while on the promenade and drink in the view before heading back to the villa for our lunch. Pienza still is a very attractive town and I am sure we will come back again in the future.
Driving back to Castelmuzio, the sky darkens and rain appears on the horizon. We hope to be able to eat outside but the rain starts too quickly, so we have to move our picnic indoors. It still tastes very good.
Later in the afternoon, we get in the car and start driving in the countryside. We drive past Montisi and Trequanda (the neighboring towns) and then decide to go to Lucignano, a village to the north and east, which is known for its unusual urban design. The street plan is made up of concentric circles, which narrow towards the center. This plan results in four piazzas on each slope of the hill. The commercial area is concentrated in the outermost ring. The walls of the town are virtually complete and there are good views over the plain on all sides. It is yet another one of those attractive Italian towns--which the country seems to have an unending supply of. After a walk around the town and some window shopping, we stop for a gelato before heading back to Castelmuzio.
One interesting feature of the countryside in this area is that we discover a number of roadside picnic tables, perched along the road at places with particularly nice views. Something that sometimes frustrates us is trying to find an appropriate place for a picnic while we are driving. In the Val d'Orcia, this doesn't appear to be a problem.
Back in Castelmuzio, I take a walk around the village and discover that there is a bar, a newstand, and a small supermarket....all of which had been closed on the holiday yesterday. The hotel and restaurant in the middle of town is going through a change of ownership, so this large building in the heart of the village is closed. While walking back through one of the town parking lots, I see a tractor pulling a large wagon (it turns out to be a portable kitchen that had been used for the community Easter dinner). They can't get past a car parked in the lot. They ask me if it is my car and I have to tell them that it isn't. They are very frustrated and very determined to get the wagon through. I stop and watch for a while; the men are trying to lift the car and move it just enough for the wagon to squeeze through. When we go to get the car to go to dinner, both the car and the wagon are gone.
For dinner tonight, we are meeting our friend from the Italian forum on Compuserve, Miriam Margolyes. She has a house just outside the village of Montisi and is now in Italy shooting a program for the BBC about Tuscan houses. The restaurant is in Trequanda, about 8 kilometers (five miles) from the villa and we arrive a little early. We walk from the parking lot to the center and locate the restaurant, Il Conte Matto (the Mad Count). Miriam hasn't arrived yet, so we sit in the main square, watch the last merchants from the weekly market close up their stalls and enjoy the arrival of twilight. It is also interesting to watch these big trucks and vans easily negotiate the very narrow and winding streets of the village--something that I still find difficult in a normal sized car. We also direct a party of nine Norwegians to the restaurant.
Miriam arrives, along with the television crew (they are all staying at her house in Montisi and they eat together every night.) We have a very nice dinner and have interesting discussions with Miriam, the director and some of the crew about the project. It is a wonderful evening. It is always fun to get together with Miriam and spending time with the television crew is an extra bonus. The food at Il Conte Matto was also very good--I had parpardelle with a boar ragu followed by "fritto misto toscano"--fried meats and vegetables and Diana had a filet with pepper sauce and an unremembered pasta. A very nice evening.......
We drive back to Castelmuzio and walk to the villa from the parking lot...the stars are not as bright tonight as they had been the night before.
Diana and Jim
