For my last full weekend in Italy, Case planned a weekend in a hilltop town in Tuscany to celebrate my last weekend as a 26 year old. (Warning: sappy) So, Case and I have been together for almost 4 years now, and have yet to spend a single birthday together. Normally we celebrate birthdays when we get to see each other, which is normally Christmas, in May, or Late summer. So being able to celebrate my birthday with him was truly special in itself. Case made it even more special however, by finding a the most charming and beautiful town I have ever seen…Ptigliano.
We left friday evening after Case got off work (in a real car–no mosquito car) and hit the Italian highways…which is always an experience in itself. As we entered into the provence of Toscana, we were greeted by dark and narrow roads, as well as some wildlife. At one point we almost ran into what we thought was a Turkey…but quickly realized it was actually a porcupine. THe animal wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed (ha, it was actually literally sharp) demonstrated by the lack of urgency to move off the road. Which met we slowly followed the porcupine down the road while it finished it’s evening walk. Finally he veered off, and we were able to continue our journey to Ptigliano. Before arriving into the city… we saw it from a distance, my goodness was it impressive. We came around a bend, and there on top of a hill, was beautifully lit up purely stone city. It was incredible!
After getting over the shock of the beauty, we were able to check into our B&B. Case had booked a beautiful room, in a tower near the entrance of the city, which had an amazing view of the city limits from one side, and the city from the other side. After setting our stuff down, we were both starving, and set out on a mission for food. The mission ended quickly, when we were drawn in by the restaurant across the street. Toscana is known for their wild boar meat (cinghiale), so obviously we had to try it. We both had a pasta dish with a Chingiale Ragu sauce, it was incredible! The first picture shown (left) is Case in the restaurant, we were both fond of the inside, we felt like we were in a cozy cave–many buildings (if not all) had this same feel. The second picture (right) is the Cinghiale Ragu sauce–my mouth is watering as I relive the dinner.
The pasta was followed by a just as impressive pork meat, from a black pig, for the second, and all paired with typical red wine of the area.Below, the picture show me with the pork meat and wine
We stretched our dinner out for some time, and next thing we knew it was 1130 pm. We decided it would be wise to get some sleep, so we could spend the next day touring around.
The next day we woke up and took our first walk through the city. Instantly we were both in love. The town was obviously old, but well kept, and gorgeous. Each street and alley way was filled with cute shops, and beautiful flowers. We stopped at a small cafe for a cappucino and cornetto, where our seats overlooked the main square and church. You could tell it was off season…which was great for us… it felt like we had the whole town to ourselves! After finishing our cappucinos, and did a little shopping, we hopped in the car to go see some other towns nearby. Below are some pictures from Ptigliano. The picture on the right was our favorite meat shop, I am not sure if you can tell, but there is a head of cinghiale hanging from that top…really good meat though! The bottom picture, is a view from our hotel–it looked out over the limits of the city, stunning!
The picture below, is the city from afar in the daylight–beautiful!
On our way to the first town we were going to see, we saw signs for wine and olive oil, so we turned off the road and followed the signs. After a mile on a dirt road, we arrived at our destination (we hoped). In front of us stood a gorgeous leaf covered farm house, a small fenced in area for a donkey, and a few cats wandering around.
It took us awhile but we finally found the guy with the wine and olive oil, he was showing someone else around, so we waited and got to know the donkey.
After 20 minutes or so, the man came back, and gestured for us to follow him. Our first stop, was a small run down shed with several bottles of wine lining the shelves. Many however, were older than I was, and didn’t quite think it was in my budget. After taking a look at the wine, we decided we would rather just stick with Olive Oil. So the guy gestured us toward his house. We literally walked into the house he lived in and wandered into the basement, where there were two HUGE containers of freshly pressed olive oil. He gave us a taste, which was incredible, and we decided to buy a liter. Unfortunately we had no olive oil can, and neither did he, but don’t you worry! We found one, and guess where, on the floor of his truck… so we washed it out and filled it with a liter of olive oil, why not? After saying our goodbyes to the man, the cats, and of course the donkey, we were back on the road.
We soon ran into another hilltop town, which was almost as charming as ours.
After walking around for a bit, we realized there was only one wine bar open…so we took our seat before there were none left. We spent the next few hours, relaxing, sipping wine, eating a small plate of cured meats and cheese, and really enjoyed our surroundings. We then decided we should move on, but not before buying some of the wine! For everyone out there who thinks Italy is expensive, we bought three bottles of wine, had two glasses of wine a piece, and shared a cheese and meat plate–with a grand totel of 43 euro. I am going to be in shock when I have to buy things in the US again… Feeling happy with our purchases, we hopped in the car and hit the road again.
This time we knew our destination, we were on the lookout for a natural hot springs near a town named Saturnia. On the way to the hot springs, we were quickly distracted by a frontoio (a place where they press olive to make olive oil) and stopped off to see what they had.They had a lot.
Ten minutes later we were walking back to the car with 2 Liters of olive oil. Soon after restarting our journey to hot springs, we quickly spotted them nestled into the hillside! We were thinking earlier, and had packed our swimsuits…it was no fun to just look at the hot springs, we were going to really experience it. We weren’t the only ones, there were several people doing the same thing. The second we stepped our feet into it, we knew it was going to be incredible. The water was about 100 degrees, and a light blue color very relaxing. Surrounded by Tuscan hills, and with a back drop of the hot spring waterfall…it was truly better than a spa.
We spent a bit of time relaxing in the pools and watching the sunset over the hills, before heading back to Ptigliano for the night.
Dinner, that night, was considered my birthday dinner (even though I had already had a birthday dinner in Paris–Case spoils me), so we went to a restaurant we had researched a bit and were quickly impressed. We had a wine..my new favorite, which was a blend of a Cabernet and Sangiovese, which was incredible (don’t worry we bought a bottle the next day). For our first I had the Cinghiale Ragu (yes again, but so so good), and a second of a slow cooked pork. Below is picture of me with my second and my new favorite wine… we thought we should document this moment..I mean how many birthday dinners to you get a year (in my case 3).
Case was a bit more adventurous, and had a mushroom pasta, but also was weak and ordered Chingiale for the second (AMAZING). To top off our dessert, we had what looked like apple pie, but I personally thought was a million times better. This time after dinner we had a bit more energy, and wandered back toward a wine bar we had a glass at before dinner. The small wine bar felt like a very well decorated cave, filled with wine and liquor and with three tables methodically placed. The perfect way to finish off my birthday dinner!
The next day we woke, had one last walk through of the town accompanied by a cappucino and cornetto, and bought as much wine and gifts as we could carry back to the car all before 11am (I guess we are morning shoppers). After taking our last few pictures, and taking our last looks at the town, we headed off toward the direction of a few other hilltop towns.
The first town we stopped at was small, but charming, and of course we located a perfect spot for a glass of wine and a bit to eat. Somehow we had ended up with a four course appetizer, with meats and cheese, and finished off with a small slice of fresh fruit cake. Of course, it was impossible to leave without buying wine, so we made sure to take with us two bottles of the wine we had with our four course snacks. As we were leaving the town, we ran into yet another frontoio, and had to buy another liter to take home with us. After finding a spot for the olive oil amongst our small cellar of wine, we were on our way again to see another hilltop town. Yet another small town, captured our hearts as we drove. The town we stopped at as called Sorano, this one had no spot for us to buy and or drink wine (which was probably good) so we walked around, and found ourselves on a wall which overlooked the city (Case loves his ancient walls). Pictured below are a few pictures we took from up on the wall.
After enjoying the view for awhile, we again hit the road and slowly decided to make our way back home. However, again we were distracted, and decided to see Lago Di Bolsena (Lake Bolsena) before heading home. It was a perfect time to arrive at the lake, the sun was setting, and the sky was slowly turning vibrant colors.
After the lake we drove through yet another beautiful town, where we spotted a castle…Case likes castles as much as he likes ancient walls… so we stopped again and took more pictures and walked around a bit.
Finally we got back in the car, and really decided to start heading toward home, with only one more stop…at a town called Civita Bagnoregio. The discription of the town we were heading towards, was literally the town that was dying. Why you ask? The town was built on a rock hilltop, much like many other tuscan towns, however this hilltop had begun to slide into a valley, and was slowly dying, because the town itself was falling down. When we arrived at the town, the sun had completely set, and the town was lit up in the distance. Surprise, surprise, it was gorgeous! We took a foot bridge over to what was left of the town, and walked around the alleys and streets, and took in the city. Below are some pictures from the city. The first picture shows the city from a distance. The second picture is of Case, standing at the entrance to the city.
After seeing the dying city, we decided it was really time to head back towards home, so we did just that.
My last full weekend in Italy was incredible, much in part to my other half. I must say, a majority of my experiences here in Italy truly would not have happened without Case. The amount of things I didn’t have the time or patience to write, about are endless. The amount of dinners we shared with welcoming families, and relationships we built with people all over Italy, especially in Aprilia are priceless. The memories I have made here will be with me forever, and for that I am forever thankful. I hope you all enjoyed following my trip for the last three months, as much as I enjoyed living it! Until next time…hopefully sooner than later ciao ciao ciao!
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