Up and down the Tuscan hills in a vintage car

Modena

We left Milan fairly early. We had decided to stop for a night in Modena to break up our journey; in short, we really wanted to take everything slowly and leave behind the stress of the past year. In Modena we stayed at the Albergo Del Pozzo. The hotel is a two-star but very cozy. As soon as we dropped our bags in the room we decided to go out and take a walk around the city. It actually surprised us a bit to see so many foreigners with a guidebook in hand. The Duomo is truly beautiful and imposing. On the outside it was the colors that struck me; the interior really makes you want to sit down and admire all the treasures around you. During our walk around the city we saw that an open-air concert of Ennio Morricone's music would be held that evening, so we decided to have a quick dinner and go attend it.

Cetona

On the morning of 08/03/07 we left fairly early to try to avoid traffic, especially near Florence, which of course we failed to avoid… but luckily the rest of the road was clear. The directions that the company Zephyrus, the company we rented the vintage car from, gave us to reach the farm stay turned out to be excellent; in fact, to get to Podere Lamaccia you have to take a dirt road that isn't very visible from the main road. The farm stay is right in front of a sunflower field, which offers a breathtaking sight. The property is excellent, the rooms are mini apartments. During our stay we always had dinner here because the dinners were really very good. Right after we arrived we visited Cetona.

Chianciano Terme, Montepulciano, Pienza, San Quirico d'Orcia

On 08/04/07 the Zephyrus staff brought us the car we had booked directly at the farm stay and gave us a road book with 9 different itineraries of the area, complete with road directions (the least busy ones and with the best views). After pausing a moment to decide on the first itinerary, we set off with great enthusiasm. My first experience as a navigator was terrible; I don't know how many people have managed to get lost in Chianciano Terme, but I assure you I did... Our first stop of the day was (indeed) in Chianciano Terme; of course it's famous for the spa facilities located around the town, but its historic center is also very beautiful. The second stop was the church of San Biagio di Montepulciano; we weren't able to visit the interior because a wedding was taking place, but even just the square and the view you enjoy from there satisfied us.

Right after, we drove toward the center of the town, passed through the main gate, and took a walk without a specific destination. We had lunch in a restaurant and returned to the car to move on to Pienza; famous for Piazza Pio II and the Duomo. Scattered around Pienza are lots of shops selling pecorino; the smell is irresistible, I assure you, and the urge to go in and buy wheels of it as souvenirs was truly very strong. I recommend walking around the walls too, not just through the center, because from there as well the view over the surrounding hills is truly beautiful. The last town on the day's itinerary was San Quirico d'Orcia. The town was practically deserted. In fact, our guide also said it's less well known than the others we visited earlier, but I assure you it's absolutely no less charming. In the evening we had dinner at the farm stay, with Pici all'aglione.

Lake Trasimeno and Cortona

First of all we visited Castiglione del Lago. After having a wander around the town we went to visit the Rocca. We didn't reach the islands because we didn't want to take away space from the other towns that were on the itinerary. We did, however, take a walk along the lakeside. Afterwards we moved on and reached Tuoro di Trasimeno, another town on the shores of the lake, famous for the Hannibalic route. The third stop on our route was Cortona. From the terrace of this town you can enjoy a beautiful view.

Siena

On the third day we didn't use the car for the whole day because we had decided to leave in the early afternoon for Siena. We were a bit sorry to make this decision, but we were afraid of hitting traffic. My husband was keen to go to Radicofani, particularly with the vintage car. It was wonderful driving around these hills. In the afternoon as anticipated, we reached Siena. Our hotel was in a residential area, but served by public transport, in fact we always moved around the centre by bus.

Siena

Early in the morning we set off from the hotel and headed to the centre. Our first stop was Piazza del Campo, given the number of people queuing outside we decided to skip climbing the Torre del Mangia. After the customary photos at the Fonte Gaia, we went towards the Duomo. We bought the entrance ticket that also included the Piccolomini Library. I recommend the visit inside the Duomo because it is truly very beautiful, it leaves you speechless. We continued to the Church of San Domenico, the interior is less decorated than the Duomo but very interesting. From there we pushed on to the Fortress, from which you can enjoy a beautiful view over the city.

Lucca

We went to Lucca and immediately reached our hotel. Right after dropping off our suitcases we went out to have a wander around the centre. Towards midday a thunderstorm took us by surprise and so we decided to go straight to lunch at the nearest place and we ended up at the Osteria Baralla. We ate very well and the prices aren't very high.

Lucca

Two dear friends of ours came to visit us. With them we visited the Cathedral, the Church of San Michele, very beautiful inside as well, we climbed the Torre Giungi, the view over the hills is spectacular. For the lunch break we decided to return to the Osteria Baralla, given the good impression we had the previous day. In the afternoon we did the circuit around the walls, it was quite long but it's beautiful to see the city from all these different angles.