We only stayed for a minimal amount of time in Rome, but I was eager to leave the crowds behind. If I had extra days, a few would definitely be added to Tuscany. All those books and movies praising the sceneries and foods of Tuscany weren't lying! We also encountered some of the most beautiful and friendly people...
Itinerary of the day: Rome → Lake Bolsena → Civita di Bagnoregio → Orvieto → (scenic stops) → Pienza → Agriturismo Podere Palazzi del Papa
The idea of driving didn't appeal to us, so we hired a chauffeur at Hill and Roads. Yes it's more expensive than car hire, but not outrageous, considering we had three persons.
Our driver, Luca, was a humourous and knowledgeable man. We had many good conversations about cultures of the area, botany, history and Germans.
The main area in my itinerary focused on Val d'Orcia, which after shuffling through piles of google images, anticipated that it has the most gorgeous Tuscan landscapes.
To put the title more accurately, we spent the first half of the day in Lazio and Umbria, but by no means were they any less impressive! Especially that we pretty much drove on the "Via Francigena" (pilgrimage road leading to Rome) made me unreasonably happy.
Our first stop, Lake Bolsena.
Cheese tasting!
Civita di Bagnoregio. My parents did not know of this place prior to arrival, so they were pleasantly surprised by this floating town.
Cat lovers will love this town! I lost count of how many cats I ran into.
Currently Civita di Bagnoregio has about 12 or less residents, and most of them are over 80 years old. What's going to become of this town in 10 years...?
This old lady's garden (€1 donation recommended) had an amazing lookout.
Lunch was at Osteria al Forno di Agnese, probably one of my favourite restuarants of the trip. Every dish we ordered were extraordinary!
Apologies in advance if I've identified any dishes incorrectly, as the names are straight from memory. I'll try to be as accurate as possible.
Fiori di zucca fritti (fried pumpkin flower).
Mushroom soup. Fungi was another produce that I thought was exceptional in Italy.
Linguine al tartufo (linguine with truffles).
Spaghetti alla chitarra con pesto di pistacchi (squared spaghetti with pesto of pistacchio).
I hadn't tried tiramisu five days into the trip, so I saved stomach space for dessert. This is very different from the cake-like Tiramisu usually sold in Canada and Taiwan, but 100x better!
Photography was one of my top priorities while traveling, so Luca stopped at many great viewpoints, such as this one of Orvieto.
I was skeptical about Orvieto's Duomo, judging from the photos I saw online, but it was comparable to other more famous cathedrals of Italy. The interior, in my opinion, was more eye-candy than Florence's or Milan's Duomo.
The façade is a masterpiece and well preserved. The mosaics are made of gold, lapis lazuli, onyx and other jewels.
Our most memorable shopping experience did not came from any fashion streets of brand names in a big city, but in small town shops. An olive wood pepper mill I bought in Orvieto became my favourite souvenir of the trip.
Luca sometimes would suggest to change our previously arranged itinerary if he saw fitting. I really have no idea what town we went after Orvieto, but I took many, many photos here.
I was just constantly caught on camera like this...
As we exit Lazio and entered Tuscany and Val d'Orcia, it became even more impossible to stop snapping shots. There just isn't anywhere else quite like this.
I suspect the rolling hills would be even more beautiful in the spring and summer!
We greeted today's sunset at our next stop, the tranquil town of Pienza.
Road lights do not exist in the farmlands of Tuscany, so Luca hurried us to our lodging for the night, "Agriturismo Podere Palazzi del Papa". It was one of the highlights of the trip! Dad kept saying this would be his ideal way to spend retirement.
Kitchen and living room, too bad that we only stayed for one night and wouldn't have a chance to use them.
We got an entire unit of apartment with two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Huge yard with hammocks and patio chairs.
They even had a pool!
After making sure us dumb tourists are settled, Luca waved us goodbye and returned to his home in Siena. Since we were out of a car, I booked a half-board (dinner and breakfast) at the hostess's home, 500m away from the guest apartments.
The household consisted of parents Enzo and Sabrina, their daughter, and the husband's mother. There were not many reviews on TA (all the reviews are in Italian), most likely because the hostess, Sabrina, does not speak any English. Most of the previous email inquiries I sent were most likely replied by her young daughter. Nevertheless I had a great time and would not hesitate to recommend this place despite the language barrier!
Sabrina was quite camera-shy, so to comply her wish I will not post photos of her. Their house was lovely though!
The foods were prepared by Sabrina's mother in law, and everything was homemade and came straight from the farm, including the wine.
Throughout the meal Sabrina attempted to have a chat with us by speaking really slowly and simply. Even though I do not know Italian I was somehow able to comprehend most of her questions by catching the few words I had learned during travel planning. This dictionary app was very useful for answering and ask her some questions myself. I felt that her hospitality was genuine and really appreciated that she treated us so well.
Best prociutto and salami of the trip, just the right level of saltiness.
I didn't know what to expect regarding food portions, until I've realized it was a full course meal! Primi was pici al ragu toscano.
Secondi was a food item on my must-try-in-Italy list: bistecca alla fiorentina! Too much tendons in this one, but respectable job. We would try more in Florence!
Dolce was homecooked biscuits with nutella and prunes marmalade, which would reappear in tomorrow's breakfast.
"Have an Italian mama cook a homemade meal for me" has been on my bucket list for a very long time, and now I can finally cross it off. Thankfully I didn't have to ask my coworker's mom to do it (that would be embarrassing).
We returned to the guest apartments after this unforgettable meal and had the best sleep in a long while.
