Time to say goodbye to Rome and head to Greve and our villa.
After a gauntlet of people offering "help" in Roma Termini, the train station of Rome, we were on our way to Orvieto. I assume that they wanted a tip for helping people with their bags and they were very persistent as well, but they could be pick pockets and luggage thieves as well.
This was Davin when he realized that he would be traveling backwards for the train trip.
After Monika met us at the train station, we headed up the road to the medievil, fortress town of Orvieto, which is one of my favorite white, patio wines.
The main Church in the tiny town. A short while later, a bride and groom pulled up and we stood in the procession line to congratulate them as they walked into the church.
We stopped in an enoteca for a quick wine tasting and much to my surprise, they offered free shipping to the United States due to the current Italian economy... 12 bottles please.
Our driver Monika Iris with the girls.
After touring the tiny fortified town, we took a few quick shots of the walled city of Orvieto on the way to Montepulciano.
Next stop... Montepulciano, which is another one of our favorite reds.
This ancient city was stunning and so was the view.
And the girls found a shoe store, of course.
We stopped for some lunch high atop the hill of the city.
The view from the patio of the restaurant.
We stopped in and spoke with a local mosaic artist that had worked on several pieces in the United States. One in San Fransisco that was 4,000 square feet and took 7 years to complete!
Next, we toured the cellars of Montepulciano. Room after room after cave after cave after staircase after staircase that went deeper and deeper into the mountain. The picture below is an Etruscan grave that is from 500 BC!
The pictures from the caves should give you an idea of where the distinct taste of Montepulciano wine comes from.
And then we met Adamo Contucci. He was full of life and he LOVED the American ladies. :)
He loves Rick Steves and when I told him that we live about 40 minutes from Rick Steves, he got even more excited and pulled out excerpts from one of Steve's book where Adamo is featured and he is pictured with Rick!
More sights from the beautiful town of Montepulciano.
We continued to climb higher and higher into the city. We went inside what is currently a music school. There was a very small staircase that went down and down and down with occasional other hallways that disappeared into the darkness. We descended down further and further and we passed through the centuries of construction. Like Adamo's winery, each room and corridor held more and more wine barrels.
The very bottom of the stairs held an Etruscan well.
We emerged in the tasting room of the de' Ricci winery and after a few glasses, we grabbed a few bottles for the villa. I think we are close to 10 bottles already that are just for the villa.
Small door ritual!
A farm house just off the road on the way to the highway.
Siamo Qui.
We are here... in Greve.
Insert your own headline for the picture below:
While trying to meet up with Brian and Sadie, I went to Allessandro's for some coffee. He also had his own Chianti, so I grabbed a bottle of that as well. That is Allessandro on the bottle.
One of the views from the villa.
After drawing for our choice of rooms in the villa, we headed into town for dinner at Il Portico.
Let me try to recap what was going on at Il Portico.
The deli owner's son was getting married. The deli owner's daughter owns Il Portico, so the restaurant held the reception dinner, but Monika still got us a table reserved for that evening! :)
The house wine that we love so much (I bought 4 bottles to go for the group!).
The damage assessment of the wine that has been drank at the villa, so far.
We already have a reserve built up.
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