Flying is no longer a pleasure but a necessary evil to get to your destination.
Landing in Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino, Rome's airport we gathered our bags and headed for our first nights logging in Ostia, a seaside resort a short distance away. We found the area overrun with Harley Davidson motorcycles as they prepared for a weekend gathering from all over Europe (reportedly 200-300 thousand. Fortunately we are leaving before the roar begins.
After introducing ourselves to some of our fellow travelers, we had a great dinner in a seaside restaurant and crashed hoping to find ourselves in this time zone when we awakened in the morning.
Thursday, June 13th, we boarded our bus and headed for Tuscany and our hotel in Chianciano which will be our home for the next few days..
Following group get acquainted dinner, a stroll through the streets of Old Chianciano, gave us a peek of how Italians follow their afternoon siesta with late dining, playing games and visiting with friends.
Friday, June 14th - a scenic ride through the Val d'Orcia, a perfect picture of the Tuscan landscape, stopping first at the village of Radicofani, where we walked the cobblestone streets, admiring the buildings for their fine stonework, enjoying the a sampling of biscuits at a local bakery plus wine and cheese, and then on to the "Casato Prime Donne", at Montalcino Winery, known for its' Brunello wine, where we toured the facility, learning about the Italian method of winemaking and then a light snack of bread, cheese and meats while tasting 3 different wines, and sampling their olive oil.
On the way back to our hotel, we stopped at a small village - Bagno Vignoni, home to therapeutic hot springs.
Click picture below to enlarge & see captions
Landing in Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino, Rome's airport we gathered our bags and headed for our first nights logging in Ostia, a seaside resort a short distance away. We found the area overrun with Harley Davidson motorcycles as they prepared for a weekend gathering from all over Europe (reportedly 200-300 thousand. Fortunately we are leaving before the roar begins.
After introducing ourselves to some of our fellow travelers, we had a great dinner in a seaside restaurant and crashed hoping to find ourselves in this time zone when we awakened in the morning.
Thursday, June 13th, we boarded our bus and headed for Tuscany and our hotel in Chianciano which will be our home for the next few days..
Following group get acquainted dinner, a stroll through the streets of Old Chianciano, gave us a peek of how Italians follow their afternoon siesta with late dining, playing games and visiting with friends.
Friday, June 14th - a scenic ride through the Val d'Orcia, a perfect picture of the Tuscan landscape, stopping first at the village of Radicofani, where we walked the cobblestone streets, admiring the buildings for their fine stonework, enjoying the a sampling of biscuits at a local bakery plus wine and cheese, and then on to the "Casato Prime Donne", at Montalcino Winery, known for its' Brunello wine, where we toured the facility, learning about the Italian method of winemaking and then a light snack of bread, cheese and meats while tasting 3 different wines, and sampling their olive oil.
On the way back to our hotel, we stopped at a small village - Bagno Vignoni, home to therapeutic hot springs.
Click picture below to enlarge & see captions