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day 2 :![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
monday, 15 mayWe awoke to dozens of birds singing outside our window. The variety of bird songs and rhythms was like none we had heard before, nor since. It felt like we were in a magical place. Our breakfast included a flavorful homemade orange marmalade, made with oranges and sweet bay laurel leaves picked right on the property. As for the weather, today, like almost every day of the trip, was sunny, nearly cloudless, and around 80°F. We couldn't have asked for better weather.
We had made reservations for lunch in Orvieto at I Setti Consoli based on recommendations from a few different sources, and we were definitely not disappointed. We enjoyed our very filling tasting menu in the open-air garden, underneath the shade of elegant white cloth canopies, listening to the birds sing, the church bells toll, and school children playing nearby. The meal included an appetizer of artichokes prepared three ways (raw with local pecorino and balsamic vinegar, roman-style, and fried); tortelli with pork, fennel seeds, chickpea sauce, and coppa; fettuccine with lamb and guanciale (pork cheek); pigeon prepared two ways with perfectly-creamy polenta; a white fish with spring vegetables; and a trio of desserts. By late afternoon we were traveling through the Toscana (Tuscany) region, and made a quick stop in Montepulciano to get a feel for the town. As it turns out, we didn't have a chance to come back later in the trip, but it looked like a great place to sample the region's wine. There were enoteche (wine bars) on every street, where you can try hundreds of wines produced in the region.
When we arrived, Elena's daughter Fiorenza sat down with us and gave an overview of the Chianti area, complete with sightseeing and eating recommendations. We settled on a light meal at a trattoria in nearby San Sano, and enjoyed excellent homemade pasta with a couple of glasses of Chianti Classico wine, which were very inexpensive. What a nice introduction to Tuscany! ![]() ![]()
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