Volterra

Another day, another picture-book tuscan village to explore.

The curvy mountain roads to get to Volterra were kind of nerve wracking. Like most places in Tuscany, it was surrounded by hills and vineyards and promises of good wines, and after that good rain there were mushroom hunters dotting the hillsides and patches of forest as well.

We did find a lovely little wine shop just packed with fantastic wines and lots of different grappas, and a proprietor happy to give us a taste. I'm not a grappa fan, but I did try a bunch as they make a lot of different varietals with different grapes and aging techniques. I love how every meal here ends with a bottle of either grappa or limoncello on the table.

People all over Tuscany were generally very friendly and happy to see tourist.

The town was built upon Etruscan and then Roman ruins, and there were some fun alleyways to explore, with tiny churches and roman fountains.

I thought the fort-building looked intriguing, but upon further inspection, it started to get ominous, with barbed wire fences and security cameras and postings saying no pictures. It ended up being a prison. What a lovely view!

We off-roaded our way to a lunch spot, which ended up being fantastic.

The woman running the joint spoke no English, but decided if she spoke really slowly in Italian, we would understand her. It...kind of worked! She was sweet as can be and was happy to feed us. We got food and wine anyway, and she happily ran about the kitchen to bring us bruschetta and cheeses and slices of cured meats to go with their homemade wine and olive oil. It was simple, but so enjoyable and good.