Our first stop was Lucignano, near Sinalunga, which is a beautifully preserved village with all its original walls intact. We took a stroll around the perimeter and found a happy, lively vibe. This is the kind of village where you could stay for a long time and not need to leave. In addition to being "cute" Lucignano has every amenity and at least a dozen good-looking restaurants.
The saying in the wine shop window was spot-on:
We were visiting in the morning, so it was too early to stay for lunch, but we are book-marking this town so we can come back and try a couple of the restaurants.
After Lucignano, we headed over to Monte San Savino, which is known for its antiques shops and furniture restoration businesses. We saw several such places around the town and I just had to stop at this lighting specialist to take some pix for Luisa:
We had a fantastic lunch at a place called La Terrassse, a very attractive restaurant with panoramic views from the inside dining room, as well as a multi-level terrace that would be perfect on a warmer day. My appetizer was pan-seared octopus and potatoes, Joe had the Stravaganze dello Chef, which was a tasting of many of the apps on the menu. Both were buonissimo! We followed up with some hearty pasta dishes. I would highly recommend this place as everything was delicious, the decor is lovely and the prices were very reasonable.
Our next planned stop was Castelnuovo Berardegna, but as we were both feeling sleepy from the big lunch, we decided to do a drive through. Just on the outside of town is the famous Felsina winery, so we stopped in for a tasting in their very stylish tasting rooms.
We tried two whites and three reds and bought a total of four bottles to drink this week. Perhaps a couple of them will come home with us.
Here is Joe doing what he likes to do best--walking out of a winery with souveniers:
Il mio desiderio più grande sarebbe avere uno lampadario autentico italiano in la mia casa nuova. Quanto costa questi lampadari?
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