After leaving Bellagio, we took the train south to Florence, where we rented a car. So began the odyssey of Mike driving in Italy, even though he really doesn't drive a stick very well. Actually, things went surprisingly smoothly. However, it bears mentioning that Italians are really bad drivers, at least by Canadian and American standards. I can't comment on whether or not they have an unusually high number of accidents, but they sure have a lot of trouble staying in their lanes! You don't really get completely used to it in a week, which is probably for the best as this wouldn't fly once you got home.

We stayed in a beautiful converted monastery just outside of Montepulciano, Sant' Antonio. This is highly recommended if you ever want a place to stay in Tuscany! The pictures below really tell the tale of our trip, but there are a few things worth mentioning...

First of all, don't bother trying to be a normal tourist in the rain. We made this mistake our first day, and visited Montepulciano. Things started okay, but we were quickly caught in a downpour. Frankly, it was miserable - look at how wet poor Juniper got! We should have stayed in our cottage, lit a fire, and sucked down 6 or 8 bottles of wine apiece. Which isn't to say that Italian wine is particularly good (we didn't think it was), but it sure is cheap!

We also really need to explain "The Screw". This place was packed, and I mean packed, constantly. So we strolled in there, and made Stupid Tourist Mistake #1: We ordered, without confirming the price. So our two rather average pieces of bruschetta show up, and we ask for the price. Well you could literally see the wheels turning in the woman's head, as she tried to decide exactly how much she could get away with charging these stupid tourists. Augh! 15 Euro. Augh!

A few other things... Radicofani was great. We had the place to ourselves, the view was superb, and there was an excellent little museum tucked inside the tower. If you smell something in Pienza it's the cheese. Yum. Go to Montichiello, you won't regret it. And finally, do yourself a favor and eat as much Cinghiale (wild boar) as you possibly can! It's a Tuscan specialty, and it's super-tasty.