So, in order to do these long trips I make a loose budget and try to stick to it.  One of the basic rules is not eating too often in restaurants and never twice in a day.  Well, we totally broke that rule AND got a €28 parking ticket to boot!  Oh well…

Pamela told us Bagno Vignoni was not to be missed so we headed there first.  It was really lovely, built around a huge Roman bath/hot springs.  The pool is the center of town and now is home to a very cool kinetic art installation of moving oval mirrors.  The photo really doesn’t do it justice.  We stopped and talked to the artist before he waded in and started cleaning each mirror.

We walked to the edge of town where there is a ancient mill, a stream of warm water flowing down the mountain and an amazing view:

San Quirico was our next stop and we just walked all over town.  Ken really wanted a salad for lunch so we went into Osteria del Cardinale because they had one on the menu.  By the time we ordered, somehow we got a whole lunch.  The sausage and beans were really delicious as was the sauteed spinach and, of course we had a salad.

We had a look into the formal garden, Horti Leonini, and drove back home.  San Quirico is lovely:

I haven’t gotten a good picture of these hills, as we drive.  These colors are not even in the big Crayola box.  Yellow, green, chartreuse, yellow–green.  Those names don’t work.  They are stunning.  They make me want to write “colour” instead of color.  And the views have texture and the occasional classic row of Tuscan cypress trees.  No wonder people love to come here.

Dinner was at La Porta in Monticchiello.  We walked around the tiny town first and then went in.  I took this view shot from the terrace but we decided to eat inside because of the cold; the temperature really drops when the sun goes down.

Our best course was the first, which was a little cake of Jerusalem artichoke with a gorgeous, tasty but not overwhelming pecorino sauce and a tiny bit of truffle.  It was really a “wow”!  We also had pici with a deliciously simple white duck ragu and a roast pork “barbque” dish.  The panna cotta for dessert hit the spot and it came with a dessert wine made from cherry juice and cinnamon.

So a lot of eating and not that much walking this day.  Tomorrow we’ll do better.  It’s going to be hard to leave here.  We’ve gotten so comfortable so quickly at Poggio Etrusco:

Pamela and Johnny’s beautiful home