Exploring Tuscany & Umbria
It feels almost too late to be posting about our trip from over two months ago but there are so many places and pictures I wanted to share that I just can't help myself. I thought I'd start off by talking about our countryside villa that served as our home base and wedding location for the week we were with our families. Just a 20 minute drive from the town of Cortona (where Under the Tuscan Sun was filmed), our villa was situated 3km up a very narrow, very windy, gravel road. What was once a monastery turned farmhouse, is now a charming rental perfect for a family vacation. All 15 of us slept under the one roof, plus a little guesthouse called the "pig stye". We spent our days splitting off into groups, venturing into nearby towns or lounging poolside with an aperol spritz in hand. Dinners were had al fresco under a grapevine-covered pergola, sharing family stories and slurping down plates of fresh pasta, washed down with the region's best (and cheap!) varietals.
It can't go left unsaid that the villa had its quirks. The teeniest pasta pots that had us questioning if we were even in the right country. A leaky roof that made itself known in what was probably one of the most exciting lightning storms I've ever witnessed. Scorpions crawling up bedroom walls and under dining tables that left some sleepless at night. I can't help but love these little details that made for good stories to come home with.
The "pig stye"
On cooler nights we ate dinner by candlelight in the dining room
So many amazing finds brought home from the local markets
Cortona
I was lucky to go to Cortona twice during our stay and I'm so glad I did because it's so lovely and the perfect sized-town for a leisurely day trip. There's a lookout with some of the most beautiful views of rolling hills and terracotta rooftops. Charming shops line the streets and restaurants had some of the best food we had the whole trip.
Where we ate: Ristorante La Loggetta(the sea bass was incredible and their terrace looks out over the main square), Ristorante Tempero (the best gluten-free pasta I had all trip), Gelato Ti Amo(the first gelato stop on our trip and it didn't disappoint)
Where we shopped: Enoteca Molesini (boasts an impressive selection of Tuscan wines), Antica Drogheria (a tiny wine, cheese, truffle, and olive oil shop run by a local wine-making family), Castellani (an antiques shop that's just fun browsing), there's a linen shop I bought a small hand-woven rug from but I can't figure out the name. It's across from Caffe Vittoria.
Montepulciano
The drive from our villa to Montepulciano was the most picturesque of all our drives and I hope to one day do it again. In the Spring, the surrounding fields are chalk-full of sunflowers and that is a sight that I can only imagine is all kinds of wonderful (so takeaway, I will be back). Also on the way to Montepulciano are many wineries, which we sadly didn't partake in - another reason I need to go back. Like many of the old medieval towns in Tuscany, you have to park outside of the walls as they only allow local traffic inside (totally worth the pedestrian-friendly streets). We mostly wandered around the town, stopping at some incredible viewpoints along the way. There's a large main square that we had lunch in and while the people watching was excellent, our restaurant of choice was nothing to write home about. I have heard there are some excellent restaurants there though. We did stop by the highly recommended Caffè Poliziano to pick up a box full of cannolis to take home for dessert.
Umbertide and Assisi
Our villa was situated almost exactly on the border of Tuscany and Umbria, making Umbertide and Assisi the perfect day trip. On Wednesday mornings, Umbertide has a great open air market where we picked up pecorino cheese, cured meats and fresh produce. We capped off our market wanderings with an espresso in the main square, while taking part in some top notch people watching.
A 40 minute drive from Umbertide is the hill town of Assisi, known for its patron saint, St. Francis (any art history fans out there?). Driving up to Assisi is quite something, with its impressive basilica and fortress walls set high up into a hill. It was giving me serious Gondor vibes. As you can imagine it's a very hilly town, with breathtaking views all around. The basilica truly is something and it's worth going to Assisi to just spend your time there.
Where we ate: Caffe Centrale in Umbertide (for an espresso and good people/market watching), Le Terrazze di Properzio in Assisi (sit under an umbrella on a terrace and take in the most magnificent views of Umbria's landscape)
Where we shopped: the Wednesday market at Umbertide (goes from from Piazza Matteotti to Piazza Caduti del Lavoro), vintage store around the corner from Caffe Centrale in Umbertide
The sights and smells of the markets
All the pecorino and cured meats
The beautiful St. Francis Basilica
Notable Mentions
• Orvieto: on our drive from Rome to Tuscany, we took a lunch break in Orvieto, a charming town in Umbria. We had lunch in Piazza del Duomo, looking over a 14th Century Roman Catholic cathedral. It was the perfect start to our trip.
• Chiusi: on our way from Tuscany to Rome, we stopped for lunch in the sleepy town of Chiusi. We just happened to come across La Solita Zuppa, a Michelin star restaurant that felt like we were sitting in nona's kitchen. We got there right when it opened and lucky we did because they barely managed to squeeze us into a reservation-packed Sunday. This meal made the top 3 for sure, with its hearty Etruscan stews, handmade pastas and the most amazing panacotta I've ever had, with a peach sauce made from the owner's peach trees. What we thought was going to be a quick pit-stop turned into a three hour lunch that I'll savour forever.
Duomo di Orvieto
After one amazing week in Tuscany and Umbria, we headed to the Amalfi Coast to start our honeymoon!