Parker Lily Ann

Here are just a few pictures of my niece Parker Lily Ann. She was born on March 12th, one week before I got back to the US. She just couldn't wait for me :) Luckily now we get to spend lots of time together. She is amazing and perfect!!! That is definitely not a biased opinion :)

I will post some more pictures soon.

It is basically nap time all the time right now

Parker & Zia Darya

Montepulciano

The last stop on our day trip through Tuscany was to a town called Montepulciano. Montepulciano is the biggest of the four we visited that day. Because it was last we didn't have much sunlight left, so our trip was short.

Montepulciano is a medieval hill top town, with arched alleyways going under buildings. It is well known for its wine and cheese. I would love to go back and look around more in the daylight. From what we were able to see, it is a beautiful town!

Looking over one edge of the town

I always feel like a giant in these medieval towns

Palazzo Comunale

Communal palace

Santa Maria della Grazie

Pienza

After Montalcino we made a quick stop in Pienza. Pienza is a very small town known for their pecorino cheese, yummmmmm! There are many cheese shops where you can sample all the cheeses, and cute artisan shops with leather goods. There is a beautiful early Renaissance cathedral in the center of town (Palazzo Piccolomini) and behind it a wonderful view of the Tuscan countryside.

Pienza is definitely worth a stop if you are a cheese lover like us. Everyone we passed on the streets were carring grocery bags filled with cheese wheels.

Walking towards Palazzo Piccolomini

The cathedral in Palazzo Piccolomini

Building across from the cathedral

David found heaven in Pienza

The old entrance to the city

Palazzo Piccolomini

View from behind the cathedral

The back of the cathedral

Me in front of the ancient well

Montalcino

After our short stop in Bagno Vignoni, we were off to Montalcino. Montalcino is a small town in Tuscany with many churches and a large castle over looking the valley around. This area is well known for wine, cheese and olive oil. During tourist season you can take wine bus tours starting at 9am, which seems a little early to me. Especially because the wine they are known for is Brunello, a bold red wine. Not that I am judging anyone who gets on that bus first thing in the morning.

We walked all over town, and stopped for lunch in the only place we found open. It was Sunday, so we had considered crashing at someones house and pretending we were long lost cousins. The food was good, but over priced. Our very unfriendly waiter had a thick Tuscan accent, that even David, Federica and Riccardo had trouble understanding, and they are all Italian. Inside the castle is an Enoteca, with very, very high priced wines. We saw some bottles for 5,000 euro. Needless to say we did not buy or taste any wines there. Overall we had a great time, and it was a beautiful town to visit!

The castle

The Enoteca is in the far right

View from inside the castle

Assorted antipasti

Cheese antipasti

Clock tower

View from the edge of town

Yes, that is David with a beard