Pienza ❤

We have had a week in Pienza, which is a small hill town 2 hours south of Florence. Most people just visit here for a day or two, but we’ve had a glorious week to slow down, stroll around town, read, sketch, paint, play games, go for drives, take a cooking class and eat lots of the local food, especially pici (a local pasta) and of course gelato. 

On the way to Pienza we had to pull over to let a faster driver past, and this was the view!

Driving up to Pienza

Always say yes to Gelato

One morning the view from our BnB terrace reminded us of a scene from the game Assassins Creed.

 

View from our BnB window. When it was warm we slept with the window open - unfortunately it turned cold due to snow falling on the mountains nearby, and we had to put the heater on and keep the window closed.

Pici with Ragu

We stayed at the La Bellavita BnB and it was wonderful - the owner Elisabetta welcomed us like family and made our stay perfect.

Breakfast at the BnB was unbelievably good. Meat, fresh pecorino cheese, fresh yoghurt, croissants, cakes (which were made by Elizabetta’s husband and were sublime) coffee, fruit. 

When I had a bad PTSD day we stayed in and I painted from some photos we took on the first day.

Skye LOVED our drives, with her ears in the wind and her snout in the sun, she was in bliss.

The green windows were our room.

Lots of strolls around the walls of the old town

Italian pedestrian crossings sometimes defy logic on where they are placed.

Pici cacio e pepe (pici pasta with cheese and pepper)

We ate a few meals here -they were delicious

Hand rolling the pici at the cooking class at Tenuta Santo Pietro Agritourismo.

The cooking class staff were so lovely and kind and they LOVED Skye.

At the cooking class we cooked Pici with a tomato and garlic sauce, Chicken Cacciatore, and Tiramisu.

Aeropol Spritz

Our hotel for our last night in Italy (Florence) is so dog friendly that they provided Skye with a bed, a blanket, food bowls, dog poo bags and a toy. We all felt very welcomed.

The view of the Arno from our hotel room window for our last night in Italy.