Driving through Tuscany

Monday was our last full day in Cortona. Our driver Dejan picked us up and off we went to visit Pienza and Monetepulciano. Once again the ride through this Tuscan region was just magnificent. We were “oohing and aahing” the whole way. As we approached Pienza we learned that this part of the region was known for its cheese made from sheep.

Our first stop was in the charming town of Pienza , considered to be a “newer” town because it only dates back to the 15^th century. Cortona and Montepulciano are much older, dating back to the Etruscan period around 400 years before Christ. Pienza is famous for its pecorinno cheese so of course we went to a cheese shop for some sampling.  We tasted three types of pecorinno, the only difference being the age. All were equally delicious and now I’ve found a new type of cheese to buy!  At this time it was pouring rain so we hopped in the car and were off to Montepulciano.  All of the older towns were built high on a hill for protection from invaders. This was a much bigger city but still manageable. Unfortunately, although the rain had stopped, it was very chilly so we didn’t wander around too much. Dejan took us to a very large and well known winery in the town, Gattavecchia, which used to be a monastery. There we did some wine tasting and had a delicious lunch of robatilla, a tasty bread and vegetable soup. It was great to be inside where it was warm and inviting.

We then headed back to our hotel so we could rest up for the evening’s adventure of a cooking class with Donatella, who has an inn and huge kitchen made for teaching classes.  Just the four of us were in the class, which made it very special for us.  We made crostini, past(pici) and tiramisu and assisted with the soup and sauce. We watched Donatella prepare the pork and had many cooking tips along the way. It was such fun and we had a lot of laughs. Of course we dined on our dishes after that and tried to pace ourselves as there was so much to eat. We started with crostini, then soup, pasta, pork and vegetables, and finished with tiramisu. Of course there was wine also! It was a very special evening and a perfect way to end our time in Tuscany!