First of all, thank you so much for this website! My printer is begging for mercy and I'm going to have to hire filing help before long....

I've rented a villa in Montisi, just down the road from La Grancia, for a week at the end of May. It has been my wish for a long time to show my friends the Italy I love - and I'm finally going to do it! I've done all the planning and arranging - art lessons, ballooning with Robert Etherington (he sounds like so much fun!), winery tour, car rental, etc. - and 10 ladies are trusting me to make it all happen. Yes, I'm a little stressed. But very excited, too.

My husband is going along as our sherpa (he and I will stay in a separate cottage), so if you see a mini-van with a "Drivin' Miss Daisy" sign on the side and a 60ish bearded driver, give him a wave. But don't feel too sorry for him - he'll have lots of sipping-wine-by-the-pool time.

We were lucky to be able to visit the villa last October and it's perfect for us. Loads of character and charm. I'm trying to be as informed as I can about the area before we arrive, so I don't waste time - a week is so short!

Here are a few questions I have: Is there a bakery in Montisi where we can buy our breakfast goodies each day? What other shops will we find in Montisi? I know there aren't many. Is there a bar and a caffe? Is the closest market in Sinalunga or Trequanda? How long does it take to drive to these towns, and to drive to Chiusi for the train?

I read somewhere that the wineries in Tuscany are having a big festival on Sunday, May 26th, with free tastings and no appointments needed - sort of like a regional "open house". Most of our group will be a little jet-lagged, but if there is a winery close to Montisi, I'm sure we could rally. Any suggestions?

Finally, can you think of an extraordinary something not to be missed in this beautiful area of this country I love? Something not found in the guidebooks. Something that gave you goosebumps, filled your eyes with tears, or made you think "Oh yes, this is it....".

Thanks for your help.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kim,

Hi Gail! We spent 3 weeks just outside of Montisi last fall and LOVE the area. We rented La Fornacina from www.tuscanhouse.com . It is just south from Montisi, on the other side of that small valley. Montisi is SMALL - really small.

FOOD STORES: We went shopping there our first day, but there is only one little food store - good enough for emergencies. These little food stores usually sell bread - they have it in a bin behind the deli counter. I remember the deli counter there, but not the bread.

You are 10 minutes by car from Pienza. There is a really good store for bread there. Go in thru the main gates and a few stores along on your right is a "Milk Store" or dairy or something like that. It is small, but they have really good bread (behind the cash register area right by the door). There is also a good food store further up that street, on your left just before the main piazza. And two modern stores on the main road outside of town (one on each side).

We like coffee and toast in the morning and what we do is pickup bread the day before when we are out. There is a very good bakery in Montalcino. I probably have it listed on my Food Shops page:

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/food/shops_list.htm

Okay, it isn't there. But it is in the Capalbo book. I will look it up and add it to the list.

CAFFES: Montisi has two caffes. One is more of a wine bar - on the main road across from the restaurant La Romita. The coffee wasn't good and it wasn't like a real Italian caffe. The other is a regular caffe, on the main road, but on the west side of town. We didn't go in there.

Pienza has a wonderful caffe and that is where we went many mornings. I made a page about it:

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/food/caffes_pienza_bar.htm

Trequanda has a good caffe, but we didn't try it. I read about it in a book about this area (Allan Parker, Seasons in Tuscany, Penguin Books, 2000 - published in New Zealand). He says the caffe on the main road is for kids, but there is a great caffe in town on the main piazza. These are my notes about this area from his book:

There is a fresco by Sodoma (Giovanni Antonio Bazzi) in the main church in Trequanda (on the main piazza). The Ascension.

Belsedere is an agritourism estate near Trequanda.

Best Trequanda caffe is on main piazza - Bar La Siesta.

Petroio's oldest terracotta factory owned by Benocci family - 200 meters inside the town walls. Five terracotta factories are within the town walls - new ones on the outskirts.

He knows the owners of the pizzeria in Torrienieri, the one Zak recommends.

He talks about the San Giovanni d'Asso truffle festival.

Trequanda will probably be your closest town for a caffe, groceries, etc. It is not a touristy town - but is very pretty.

MARKETS: The farmers market on Thursday mornings at Montepulciano was recommended to us by Bill Sutherland who lives in the area and it was a very good market. I am still not a big fan of Italian markets - a "Walmart" on wheels is how I feel about lots of them - but it is an interesting scene.

WINERIES: Montalcino is famous for its wine. You are only 15 minutes drive from there. I would look in that area. Drive Montisi - San Giovanni - Torrenieri - then south on the main road a bit then west to Montalcino.

TRAIN IN CHIUSI: I think we talked about this in another thread. But the drive to Chiusi will be about 40 minutes - it is slow going from Pienza to Chiusi. Instead, drive north from Montisi - Trequanda - Sinalunga - Siena-Bettole highway - to Bettole. I remember Bill saying he got a bus from there. I will look up the thread. But, if it were me with such a large group and a nice husband driving, I would drive anywhere for day trips. When you are going to use the A-1 autostrada, but sure to go to it via this route - it is much quicker than taking the Chiusi entrance/exit (even if heading south - I timed it both ways).

THINGS TO NOT MISS: The Sodoma frescoes in Monte Oliveto. Have you talked to the tour guide Peter Kilby? He lives in this area. He is our our Tour Guides page:

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/planning/tour_guides.htm

That hot air balloon takes off from the field at the bottom of the valley right in front of the house we rented last year. I have photos of it going up. I am afraid of heights, so we didn't do it - but I have heard it is a great experience.

The chanting at San'Antimo - but be sure to have my schedule from the Things to Do page:

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/todo/tuscany.htm

Siena for the day.

Have a great trip!! Who did you book the villa with and will you send us a review?

If your group is interested in cooking classes, Bill Sutherland with www.tuscanwomencook.com is right in your area. I don't know if he does one time classes like that or if you have to book the whole week.

I can't find the thread where I remember Bill saying where they get a bus or train to Florence. If you are not renting from TuscanHouse, let me know and I will send you Zak's excellent directions for getting from the A-1 to Montisi - there are many strange turns around Sinalunga.

There is a huge Coop outside Sinalunga that you go by - we shopped there too.

We have some good winery info in our FAQ section. Here's the link:

http://www.slowtrav.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=16;t=000007

Pauline! You are incredible! Do you ever have time to sleep?!! Thank you so much for all the information. I had already copied some of the pages referenced, but many were new to me. And thanks for your personal details.

We are renting the villa through the owner who lives in England. I will be happy to e-mail him to see if it's okay to post his information on your website. If he agrees, I will be glad to share my photos of the villa with anyone interested. It's a beautiful, peaceful place. An Italian villa with an English garden....

Last May my husband and I rented the Pretorio apartment (3 bedrm, 3 bth) in Cortona through Rentvillas for 2 weeks, and enjoyed it so much we returned in October for another week. Let me know if you would like a report.

I know my girlfriends would love a cooking class with tuscanwomencook, but I'm not sure it's in our budget! We are sharing the cost of the trip and we are all budget-travelers. I have enjoyed reading the Sutherland's posts so much - they are doing what many of us only wish we could do! - and I hope maybe we'll run into them during our week. I especially liked reading about the local craftsmen working on their house.

After our week in Montisi, my husband and I will spend a couple of nights in Arezzo to attend the antiques market (so much fun!), then wend our way along the southern coast of France to our favorite B&B in Provence - www.clos-saint-antoine.com. It's in L'Isle sur la Sorgue (east of Avignon) and they have a wonderful antiques market there every weekend.

We like Provence a lot and are looking forward to seeing our French friends, but, I don't know....it just isn't Italy!

Mille grazie.

Please write us a review of your Rentvillas place! We all want to know of a good place in Cortona.

Review form: http://www.slowtrav.com/submit_review/about_submit_review.htm

And, if the owner wants the information made public for this latest villa, send it along too.

And a brief review of the France B&B would be appreciated - we are just getting our France section more organized now.

Sounds like a great trip. Let us know if you have any more questions and we look forward to a full report after the trip. Sally Watkins did a trip last year with a large group of women (didn't you Sally?) - it sounds like a great idea to me. Lots of fun!

Pauline - the owner of the villa has asked me not to post his information at this time. He said he is booked for this year and most of next (!), and is afraid it would encourage fruitless enquiries. Wow, I feel lucky to have found this place!

Yes, I would appreciate Zak's directions from the A-1 through Sinalunga to Montisi. That is the way we went before, but I do remember a few wrong turns.

Soon I will post a review of the apartment in Cortona and the B&B in Provence.

Thanks again for all your help and this wonderful website!

Gail