So I finally fixed my computer problem with much help from my host and decided I would begin blogging and sharing my pictures. My trip over here sucked without a doubt... I guess I must be a fragile person. When I came to, a day later, sober and curious to explore my new surroundings, I discovered a quaint Italian village and knew that my sucky voyage to the unknown was completely worth it.
San Quirico d' Orcia is a village of about 3,000 inhabitants, with one grade school, a few bars, restaurants, shops and many farms in the neighboring area. Pretty much everyone here speaks little or no English which has been an interesting avenue to navigate but on a good note, it has proven to be great practice for one who doesn't actually speak Italian. To be pithy; I've had to learn quickly. San Quirico is beautiful and simple with all the charm of the movies and everything I thought of when the name Italy comes to mind. Lush green hills rolling over one another, grove after grove of olive trees and bountiful vines of grapes seem to be everywhere I look.
I had very little information on exactly what I was to do here but promises of travel, eating, drinking and adventure were definitely on the table. My hosts, Lorenza and Vittorio Cipolla, own many properties in and around Tuscany. They have an Agriturismo called Il Rigo, about two kilometers from the village; named after the small river that runs across their land (there seem to be tons of these Agriturismo everywhere in Tuscany. People take their old farm houses in the countryside, renovate them and then charge foreigners and lost Italians buckets of cash to "live like an Italian" or something. I really admire the business model.). Their home in San Quirico has been in Vittorio's family since the 1600s and was at one time part of a wealthy estate in the middle of the downtown historic area inside castle walls (everyone has to park outside the walls). Underneath the home is a courtyard with a cafe/wine bar called Il Pozzo and a restaurant named Deghli Archi opposite of it. They also have a home in Florence.
Below are some selected pictures to give you an idea of what it is like in San Quirico and their businesses in the Village. In the section titled "All Photos", you can see all of my pictures and yes some are artsy fartsy.
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