We were trying to ride to La Foce...a small village revitalized during the 1920's by an American woman and her Italian husband. More of that story when we actually get there.
We never made it to La Foce...dead-ended by roads where the pavement ends. Instead, we wandered around and found perhaps the most beautiful ride we've yet encountered in Tuscany...which is saying quite a lot.
The ride first went to Montecchiello, a tiny village with one of the two best restaurants in the area.
After leaving Montecchiello, we got our bearings right and decided to extend the ride (it turned out to be 50 km long with 820 m of climbing) with a visit to what Pienzans call "the town with no name."
Pienza lies at the north-east entrance to the Val d'orcia. San Quirico at the north west. Either can control access to the whole valley. They have been arguing and fighting over it for centuries. The rivalry is so fierce many native Pienzans refuse to utter the name "San Quirico."
Consequently, we wanted to see what made the town so horrible. Take a look:
 |
| The main street |
 |
| The Duomo |
 |
| The commercial district |
 |
| The community rose garden |
...and...
 |
| The view on the ride home. |
It's very cool that you can outline your route and post it here. Hope you'll describe your Italian birthday, Carol!
ReplyDeleteWhen is your birthday? Keep up the good work. Fay
ReplyDeleteI finally got on the blog! Yea! Thanks for the help with the Italian Roger.
ReplyDeleteWe had such a lovely day yesterday for your birthday Carol! Loved seeing you guys. Thanks for the lovely tour of your city and the countryside. Great day!!
The rain has stopped here in Cortona. Nice day. Hope it is nice in Pienza so that you can get out on your bikes! Arevidechi!!
Carol,
ReplyDeleteWe carried on the Italian theme here in Seattle by dining at Serafina. Perhaps not as authentic, but delightful.
Your blog is awesome! Happy birthday to us! Brenna
hey! greg and i made it to San Quirico before you did? who'd a thunk it :)
ReplyDelete