Montepulciano

We left Florence Thursday morning - rented a car from Avis (that was a crazy scene - dozens of tourists waiting around forever in a hot, sweaty room, getting increasingly agitated, as three agents took their time helping each one - but we had pre-booked our rental and it only took 45 minutes or so).

The drive was smooth - we were all impressed by the newness of the highway, especially the frequent tunnels. Both Steve and I found the other drivers pretty aggressive and crazy -- they tailgate, and drive so fast down narrow streets, and seemingly ignore stop signs and pedestrians. I had to take a deep breath before getting behind the wheel and am glad we won't have cars in Florence or Roma.

We arrived in Montepulciano, a medieval hilltop town about 90 minutes south of Florence, around 1. It's a rabbit's warren of narrow, twisting, steep streets, with a church, fortress, plaza, and town hall at the top. The views from the top are wonderful - the Tuscan countryside, stretching out in all its greenery, in all directions. The streets are lined with cute shops and restaurants and (best of all) there are pedestrian cut-throughs and little alleyways and tunnels linking every street through the town. It is a fantastic children's playground, perfect for playing spy games, for hide and seek, for running this way and that and taking shortcuts. We walked all around, peeking our heads in the various buildings and walking down and up on both sides of the hill.

After our initial exploration, Sebastian had enough of a sense of the town to find our apartment and the main squares, and so the children had a grand time exploring independently and playing together in this ancient place. It was unexpected, in a way - we had intended to stop at some other places on the way here, and not to stay put all afternoon - but once we did, the benefits were really clear. They got comfortable and we got comfortable in allowing them the freedom to walk around and explore on their own, and they loved getting to know all the alleys and tunnels of the town. I expect that we will see many other castle-like towns, but that this will be their favorite because they could treat it like an enormous imaginative playground.

This was the wine cafe that our apartment owner recommended for dinner - we peeked at it early and then returned at 7 to eat.

The other thing notable about Montepulciano? Stray cats: they are everywhere, some are friendly and willing to be petted (others not), and our children are entranced and charmed. Liesl in particular was in love with the kittens, and willing to walk around and around in the hopes of finding more cats to pet. I believe they found 12; they made a list detailing their characteristics, giving them names, and listing locations.

This is the view to the east -

 We love how the moss and greenery covered this arch -

Looking to the southwest, we saw this immense church down the hill, off a little bit in the distance, and decided to try and walk there.

We followed this path for awhile and it seemed promising, but then it ended and all we could find were roads that ran parallel to the castle, and not down/perpendicular to the church. So we gave up for now - it was too hot to walk all the way there and back - but we can always drive there tomorrow.

 Cypress trees! So tall and thin!!

 Below is the church of Montepulciano - ancient and unadorned on the outside.

But still, enormous and impressive inside. The kids and I walked around, looking at everything. They asked about the offering candles and when I explained that people lit candles and said prayers for dead family and friends, Sebastian asked if we could light two for Dianna and Rick. I got a little choked up, and so we did.

 This is the Palazzo Communale -

After that, we saw a sign for a wine cellar, and a promising looking door going downwards into the ground. We explored, and explored further, and were delighted to find, deep underground, an enormous set of interconnected caverns, filled with wine barrels.

 And at the very bottom of the wine cellar, an Etruscan well. Amazing.

Back up the hill to eat dinner and drink wine - I had a tasting flight of the local reds - on an outdoor patio with amazing views off to the west. The children played in the courtyard and Steve and I drank wine, ate salami, cheese, bread, pasta, and two salads (tonnato and caprese).

 And for our post-dinner stroll, more stray cats to chase and pet and love.