Tuscany weekend, Day 1 - Orvieto and Montelpulciano

We left just a wee bit behind schedule this morning. Not bad for a troupe of seven. Our first stop is Orvieto. As you may recall, the Rosenbergs spontaneously visited this medieval hamlet back in September after missing our exit off the Autostrada. This time we were back to show the magnificent Duomo to the Rivals and take a caffe break. It was bustling with locals on a Saturday morning. We found the market where, along with produce, meats and cheeses, you could buy your socks and underwear, handbags, hats and jackets as well. Like a virtual outdoor mall all in one little square.

But we had no time for 
shopping. We had a lunch reservation to make in Montelpulciano. You may also recall that Josh and I visited Montelpulciano on our anniversary weekend and we enjoyed our lunch at Osteria Aquachieta so much we decided to go back – this time with the family in tow. The food didn’t disappoint and we had a fun meal at this charismatic Osteria. After lunch we strolled around town in search of a gelateria – that we never found. But we did find beautiful vistas, a playground for the kids to let loose, and of course the picturesque town square.

Then we were off again to drive the back roads to Vico d’Elsa, a tiny -- and I mean tiny! -- village outside of Siena, near Poggibonsi to find our lodging for the next two nights. At 5:15pm it was pitch black and it was not easy to find La Volpaia. But once we found the place, our hosts Andrea and Silvia came out to greet us at the end of the long driveway with flashlights and helped us inside with our bags.

Apertif at 7pm and dinner at 8pm. We helped ourselves to red wine, home made olive bread, flat bread, bresaola, caprica and olives as we sat around the fire and 

met the other guests. La Volpaia is a restored 17^th century farmhouse and the home of Silvia and Andrea. It feels like a home and not an inn or hotel. It has only five rooms and our family was staying in the three of them. The other guests were a newly married couple from Toronto on their honeymoon. They’d been staying alone here at La Volpaia since Wednesday and said they were happy for the company…despite the fact that the company had three children -- one of which was permanently loud.

We were then invited to walk across the courtyard to another building which housed the dining area and an industrial kitchen. Silvia prepares all the food herself and we were ready for a feast. Tonight, we started with a saffron pasta with zucchini. The vegetable was delicious, but I didn’t care much for the creamy saffron sauce. Next, various ingredients for a salad were placed on the table and each of us were able to prepare a salad to our own liking (Mache lettuce, tomatoes, shredded carrots and beets). Afterwards, a pig on a spit came out of the kitchen – but not just any pig. This was a free-range pig of a very special breed whose name I do not recall (too much wine?). This type of swine is not very big, but is known to be very tasty. And with (mediocre) mashed potatoes, it was. This was followed by a cheese course – Pecorino – and then a dessert of semi-freddo zabaglione with raspberry sauce. Dessert is always a hit.

It had been a vey enjoyable evening but by now it was late and the kids were very ready for bed. Except for Charlotte who can’t put down the latest Stephanie Meyer novel and insisted on reading