Tuesday, May 16
Pienza
Yesterday, while driving to Pienza, Maritza noticed the oil light go on. So, this morning we headed to the local gas station. The car was very low on oil and we needed to have two containers added at a cost of 26 euros.
After addressing the car situation we headed to Cortona (below). It was beautiful from a distance, but I was not so enchanted once inside. This was the most physically challenging hill town we visited, which may have been the cause of my disappointment. We separated for a while and met for lunch at the Osteria del Teatro. Had the restaurant been in or close to Pienza, we would have been regulars. We dined inside listening to classical music. I had cheese stuffed pasta with pears covered in a walnut sauce (below), accompanied by rosemary potatoes and sautéed spinach with pinenuts. All excellent! Maritza’s choices were even better…a platter of cheeses with assorted chutneys and honey (below), followed by cubed beef in a red wine sauce, rosemary potatoes and a glass of wine. Exquisite. I’ve never tasted beef that good. Lunch came to 47 euros. This is a don’t-miss restaurant experience. As a side note, the restaurant’s ladies room wins my vote for cutest bathroom in Italy.
At this point, the food is killing me…but what a way to go! How do these people stay so thin? They’re going to have to roll me onto the plane for my return home.
We stopped off at the phone center/internet point at Via Guelfa, 25, located down a side street in Cortona. I was charged something like two euros for 40 minutes of internet time—I don’t remember exactly, but it was reasonable. They also had telephones in private booths for calls to the States for 15 cents a minute. Maritza took some time to call her hubby again while I checked my emails and sent some email postcards.
