After a long train ride and a change of trains in Florence, we arrived in Siena with my brother Chuck and his wife Georgiann waiting at the station. We packed up and drove to our little villa in the Tuscan Hills.

The view from the house is spectacular and we sat out under the stars, enjoying the warm Italian evening.

On Sunday, we drove to Pienza and then Montepulciano for a full-day celebration of Chuck’s 60th birthday. Pienza has been described as a “perfect town” and I think that is true. It is small, beautiful and has a rich history. It is also known for its outstanding pecorino and ricotta cheeses.

The drive from Pienza to Montepulciano is breathtaking…one fabulous vista after another. At this time of year, the crops have been harvested and the ground is plowed, but that doesn’t detract from the view.

Montepulciano is much larger and sits atop a huge hill. You park at the bottom of the hill and climb up to the summit, where the central plaza is located. It is a huge climb. Here we visited the many churches. One of particular interest was St Agnes. This church’s altar has on view the “uncorrupted remains” of Saint Agnes. They have a stone mask covering her face and she is fully garbed, but her feet and hands are visible as dried skin over slender bones. Interestingly, her hands are wearing more than a dozen rings. I will have to read more on this phenomenon.

In Montepulciano, we decided to stop for a snack and asked for a cheese plate and some wine. The cheese plate had four large slices of four different cheeses. The cheeses were all pecorino, but one was aged 1 month, another 3 months, one 6 months and the last was aged 11 months. It was amazing to taste the differences that the aging process made.

After our adventure, we returned home for Chuck’s birthday dinner, which he prepared himself. Chuck is a gourmet cook and delighted us all with his wonderful birthday dinner.

By the way, our little town doesn’t have internet access, so we are posting this in Montalcino as we have lunch. Our posts may be sporadic until we leave the villa.