Travels to the Other Side of Nowhere

Italy 2005
Day 3 - Monday, March 28

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Breakfast was served at the hotel. Again we were the only ones in the dining room! It was a simple fare of breads, cheeses, salamis, and a stainless steel pitcher of excellent caffè Americano, freshly brewed at the enormous industrial espresso machine in the kitchen. The caffè was accompanied by a pitcher of steamed milk so that we could prepare our own caffè latte, a half-and-half mixture of coffee and steamed milk.

After breakfast, we hit the streets in our SmartCar. With patchy sunshine today, the rolling green hills of Tuscany are finally visible. The vistas just keep going. Tuscany is a land of big sky... like nothing we have ever seen before. There are mountains behind mountains towering over lush green valleys dotted with vineyards, farms, and castles... and more castles... and more castles.

Surprisingly, the vineyards were very small and localized, unlike Napa where the entire valley is covered in grapes. Here, the vineyards are just small plots, with no obvious winery facilities. Very occasionally, we saw a cooperativo, a co-op where several neighboring parties work together to crush grapes and bottle wine. These facilities were about the size of a small winery in Napa. Other than that, the wine production facilities were virtually invisible. Later we found out that in the in small communal territory of Montalcino, there are over 200 bottlers. Some of the most famous wines in the world come from here.

Around 7:00am, we arrived at the town center (centro) in Montalcino, staring up at the fortress (fortezza). The streets were deserted, so we parked and walked around. Montalcino is a walled city perched atop a steep hill with a fortezza in the middle. Inside the fortezza is an enoteca or wine shop. Since we were in Montalcino, the racks were lined with Brunellos, Brunellos, and more Brunellos. There was also a very cool collection of grappas in exquisite bottles, each one made from a specific grape (i.e., sangiovese, prosecco, etc.). Around 9:00am, a group of Italian tourists showed up to the fortezza, touring the city sights on their Easter holiday.

We bailed out as the town woke up and headed north to Siena, which was rumored to be a beautiful city, full of charm. Siena turned out to be very busy, in part because it is a larger city and in part because it was a holiday. The town is laid out on three mountain ridgelines with deep canyons between. There is no easy access from one part of town to the other. We made a quick stop to get some gas, and used up all our cash. Apparently the self-serve gas stations will take a credit card, but it must be a MasterCard or VISA with EuroCard symbol. Please, click on the attached photo to read the instructions on how to operate the gas pump in five languages. It is worth it. Obviously, some things get lost in the translation.

Outside of town, there was a bar with a bunch of motorcycles out front. In Italy, a bar is not so much a tavern, but more like a café. We stopped in for birra alla spina and a panina, a draft beer and a sandwich. The bar was cash only, so we went in search of a Bancomat, which is an Italian ATM. The operator of the bar was not especially helpful in directing us towards the Bancomat. He waved his hand in the directition of town, shrugged his shoulders, and turned away.

Not so easily diverted, we found our way to the Bancomat and returned to the bar, cash in hand. There was a huge pork roast stuffed with garlic and potatoes inside the cold case. We ordered this on a toasted baguette along with an ice cold draft Lowenbrau, then sat outside in the sun and talked motorcycles with the riders at the bar. Once they found out we had a bike, there was an instant bond of camaraderie. This turned out to be a repeating them throughout the rest our trip. Want a friend? Speak motorcycle-eze.

In Tuscany, the crest of each hill is topped by a castle or large stone building that looks medieval—because it is! Most are still standing, and a large percentage appear to be occupied.

In many cases, these old structures exhibit signs that someone is living there (laundry, trash cans, flowers, vegetable gardens), but rarely is anyone outside. The doors and shutters were usually buttoned up tight, even with the beautiful weather.

The rolling landscape is spotted with herds of long-haired sheep that travel the hillsides like a fast-moving amoeba. It was a wonder where they were actually going. Is the grass really greener on the other side? The sheepdogs ran the roost and were very friendly.

We saw very few cows in our travels. There are many agriturismos in Tuscany. These are large buildings or castles whose primary business is agriculture (farm, dairy, vineyard) but who also offer rooms for rent. Most were quite nice and nearly all had pools where guests can relax in the sweltering summer heat.

We inquired at one, La Palazzia, to find out what's what. The proprietor was very young. Unfortunately, she had no rooms. Rooms were called apartments, and were rented by the night (2-night minimum), week, or month. All apartments had kitchens, but we were buffaloed about where you would shop for groceries if you rented one of these apartments, much less lived in the agriturismo. Every one we saw was out in the middle of nowhere!

We drove dirt roads all day with absolutely no destination. The roads were not on our map, so we navigated by the road signs, which were still present, even on the most deserted dirt roads. Out of Siena, we went back to the country, and headed south through the mountains towards Roccastrada. The roads were still great, winding up and over mountain passes, but we encountered rain on every pass, even hail at one point. The scenery was beautiful, but very different. We took an easterly pass back towards the wine country.

We ended up back in Montalcino at Bellaria Hotel, the one next door to our previous hotel. This one turned out to be especially gracious and hospitable with a spacious, sun-drenched room overlooking Tuscany in all its glory. All this for € 90.

We ate dinner in the attached pizzeria. Pizzerias seem to be everywhere, even though Americans claim that pizza was not invented in Italy. This place was packed... nearly all families with extremely well-behaved children. It had a wonderful atmosphere. All tables had wine, but the restaurant was very low-key and quiet. There was no background music, and everyone was very soft-spoken. What a fun dinner! Again we ordered the vino della casa (house wine), this time in a bottle based on a recommendation from Stefano, our waiter and the hotel proprietor. It was great, though not as much fun to pour as the pitcher. We ordered acciughe for an appetizer. Did you know that the Italian words for artichoke (carchiofo) and anchovies (acciughe) can be easily confused? When our artichoke turned out be anchovies, boy, were we surprised... but not disappointed. The anchovies were soaked in vinegar for two days to desalinate them. They were then topped in pesto and served with crusty bread. Really good... especially with the wine.

Then on to dinner. The pizza looked really good with a super-thin crust, served rosso (red) or bianco (white). The bianco version is not prepared with pomodoro (tomatoes). The cheese used on almost all versions is mozzarella. We passed on the pizza in favor of more pasta, including Pinci con Ragu. Hard to pass up Pinci when it is such a local specialty... and di fattura casalinga (homemade)! Everything was outstanding. We debated about which pizza to have as a second course, but instead passed so we could have cantucci con Vino Santo for dessert. Stefano brought an unopened bottle of Vino Santo, an old-fashioned tumbler for dipping, and a big bowl of small cantucci (biscotti). To eat, you dip the cantucci in the Vino Santo. He also brought a wine glass so we could drink the Vino Santo on its own, which turned out to be like a late harvest Riesling, only not so cloyingly sweet. We were smitten! When the next table ordered the same dessert, we simply passed the bottle from table to table. The old-fashioned tumblers got refilled as many times as necessary... until all the dipped cantucci were gone.

After dinner, we talked with Stefano for hours on end, while a romantic couple sat in the front lobby drinking grappa. The topic of motorcycles came up and he said he was a rider and wanted to show us some pictures. Turn out he is a serious racer. In each picture, he was on a different bike and in a different set of full leathers, scraping a knee puck on the track. Not at all what we expected from our mild-mannered host. Stefano told us to call him when we return to go biking. In June and July, the weather is great. August is very hot, plus that is when all the Italians take vacation.

We had such a wonderful time that we considered staying another night... to be honest, we just wanted to try the pizza, but the pizza guy was taking tomorrow off. "Pizza man kaput." Our room was warm and cozy with a terracotta floor, exposed beam ceiling, armoire, big windows with shutters that opened out into the vineyards of Montalcino. There was a beautiful pool, though it was closed for the season. None of the trees or vines have started to bud here yet. The daffodils are up, but that's it.

Around midnight, we turned in to rest up for another day of exploring.