Today we arrived in Maremma - the southwestern region of Tuscany along the Mediterrranean coast. We are staying at a fabulous hotel, L'Andana, outside the seaside town of Castiglione della Pescaia.
Several months ago we purchased a four night stay on Luxury Link, knowing that we'd want to spend some time elsewhere in Italy after our bicycle trip. Check out the hotel's website to see details about this place - L'Andana. We figure this is the fifteenth travel package we have purchased at auction on Luxury Link in the past six years.
We have appointments to visit several of the local wineries. No bus tours stopping at the wineries here like they do on Highway 29 in Napa. Here it's by appointment only.
We also plan on spending a day in the nearby Natural Park of Maremma and renting bicycles to tour the countryside (we haven't had enough bicycling yet?). And of course, we plan on having some great Italian meals and sampling the local wine output.
On our way from Rome, we ventured off the main highway and drove up to the small town of Pitigliano. This is an amazing town - you read about places like this and doubt you'll ever see one in person. It was built in the 10th century atop tufa stone - volcanic rock. The street are unbelievably narrow.
Located in Pitigliano is one of the oldest synagogues in Italy - founded in 1598. It was destroyed during WW II and restored during the 1990s. There are no longer enough Jewish people in the area to sustain a congregation, so it's primarily used as a museum and meeting place. There's Jordan wearing a yamulke to take a picture of the sanctuary.
This is a picture of the congregation from 1936.
We ate lunch at a fantastic restaurant in this town - Il Tufo Allegro. The wild mushroom soup was to die for. And Caren had gnocchi made out of cheese, no pasta. A good meal in Italy is not cheap, but it can be a great gastronomic experience.
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