This was one of the loveliest weekends that Stefano and I have ever had…Everything was perfect, simply purrrfect.

We’d both forgotten how stunning the Val d’Orcia is…the area around Pienza and Montepulciano…magnifica!

And it’s only a 1.5 hour drive from our home! Funny how that happens…

Stefano and I had to return to Florence last night, but our British friends are still there, exploring other bits of the region located south of Siena. They are coming back to Florence this evening.

Visiting the Val d’Orcia with them was just the icing on the cake…

I really don’t have much to say about any of my photos, except to explain that I took the first two in the ancient village of Monticchiello, about halfway between Montepulciano and Pienza. 

A simply adorable little village covered in roses and other flowers…and very neat and clean. It also didn’t hurt that we had a fantassssstic lunch there! 🙂 Very few tourists, too, which always helps…

 Photo no. 1 shows a view of the square in front of the 12th century Church of San Leonardo e Cristoforo (taken from inside the church) in Monticchiello. Photo no. 2 is just a pretty view of Monticchiello from a side street, with roses and whatnot…

 Photo no. 3 shows a typical Tuscan landscape with rolling green hills (so many different shades of green…simply magnificent…my photos don’t do justice to the beauty of this area, but that is all I have, so it will have to do…), a lone farmhouse and cypress trees…

This particular one was taken very near the ancient, and beautiful!, town of Pienza.

Photo no. 4: a view of Palazzo Massaini, near Pienza…Don’t you just love those poppies???!!!

Photo no. 5…Another view of hills and cypress trees, this time taken from the town walls of Pienza…

Well, I would like to end this picture-post by suggesting that if you’re planning a trip to Tuscany, make sure you visit the Val d’Orcia, too…

Stefano and I were so blown away that we have decided to go back and explore the entire region, especially when the sunflowers begin blooming…I can’t even imagine what it will look like (well, actually I can, since I’ve seen heaps of postcards and calendars filled with Tuscan sunflower fields…but seeing it live must be amazing…)…

Life is good. No, I take that back…

Life is GREAT!!!