^{Day 3}

Ok… you know something is special when I get up for breakfast before I have to while on vacation but this morning, there I was, at the breakfast table gazing adoringly at my first doppio of the day… and it wasn’t even 9AM. I like to think that it has something to do with being someplace I belong and my body instinctively reacts and wants to be up and a out and enjoying the the Italian sunshine and appreciation for the simple good things. It’s probably really just jet lag but until you can prove it, I’m right where I should be. The last of our party arrives for his eggs and melon and cinnamon roll and I order another caffe doppio .

Today we are off to Pienza.

Blind faith is not one of my dominant traits and certainly not a part of Donna’s psyche but we decide to again entrust Sean the GPS with our route. Donna is still not convinced so she has her trusty map in her lap as back-up. Jack is convinced that Sean the GPS will get us where we need to go and show us a new way to get there. It is dodgy at the start as Sean the GPS seems to want to take us straight down the mountain on what looks like a tractor path…. Even Jack who is generally up for ANY adventure thinks maybe we should go down the mountain the way we usually do. Sean the GPS makes his adjustments and we forge on. Sure enough, even though we continue to question him, Sean the GPS finds us a route that we never would have tried. .. and we arrive pretty much in the same amount of time our route would have taken .

Pienza in known for pecorino cheese and there are cheese shops all over. The fragrance of the older, riper cheese wafts through the streets and for some reason reminds me of work.

The town is also notable for the Palazzo Piccolomini. Built in the late 1400s by Pope Pius II, It is one of the first true examples of renaissance architecture and today is a remarkably well preserved walk through time. Well worth the effort. Unfortunately … no photos allowed. Here are a couple over looking the valley from the garden.

oh, and there was a cat in the garden.

After a relaxed and simple lunch, we decided to scoot out of town and head for the Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore.

This time Sean the GPS get’s really creative and takes us on some of the smallest one lane (two way) roads we have been on in years. He seems to really hate the freeways. The scenery is Tuscan stunning and somehow we get there without incident. We are getting close to actually believing in Sean the GPS… even Donna.

In continuous operation for some 700 years, the abbey is one of our favorite spots in all of Italy. We arrived as the rain stopped and the skies turned blue and bright. We wandered through the cloister grande and the library and the church. We happened to be there just as the monks came bustling in to begin a Gregorian chant. It is amazing how 20 guys could sound like 100 in that huge space. Very moving. One of the most beautiful spaces is the library… with the large windows spilling light into the spare but elegant room it is hard to leave.

So…back to Cortona for dinner at Ambosia. A wonderful little place owned by the very talented chef Matteo Sciarri. It is a small place with only 7 tables. Matteo and his girlfriend do everything themselves and it is outstanding. From the opening bit of complimentary prosecco, to the fried rabbit and vegetables, D’s salmon, Lynn’s gnocchi. Jack’s pici to the homemade lemon sorbet I had for desert, it was a treat.

Tomorrow we are off to the north of Italy and Cremona, home of the violin as we know it today and Stradivarius, the greatest maker of them all.