La Vitaleta

Another early morning start, however today we only had to walk to the back of our hotel for stunning views over Val d'Orcia and the Belvedere. We were treated to some lovely colour in the sky before the sun rose over the horizon and again when the sun sprinkled it's rays over the landscape.

After breakfast we visited the Chapel of the Madonna di Vitaleta which once housed a Renaissance statue of the Madonna sculpted by Andrea della Robbia in 1590 (later moved to the Church of the Madonna in San Quirico).  La Vitaleta was restored in 1184 by architect Giuseppe Partini and was recently classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.  Thank you to Clive (one of our tour leaders) for the inspiration for this blip. 

Our lunch stop today was in Pienza where we sampled the local Tuscan soup - which was delicious. It was at lunch today that I discovered that one of our group, Terry, was in fact TerryS365 whom i've followed on blip for some time.  We blippers get everywhere! Was so lovely to put a face to the name at last. After lunch we had some free time to explore the wonderful Renaissance architecture of this lovely town.

Back to the hotel for our afternoon break before heading back to La Vitaleta - this time from a different advantage point on the Pienza road. Whilst watching the evening light subside we were treated to a rainbow which disappeared into the clouds above. 

Dinner tonight was in a different restaurant in San Quirico d'Orcia. Another fabulous meal and today I treated myself to a (half) bottle of Brunello di Montalcino which was absolutely superb.  Thanks go to Phil (our other tour leader) for the recommendation. :-)

Another fantastic day. I could get used to this lifestyle!! 

A few extras ..... 

Thank you all so much for all the comments, likes and hearts on yesterdays blip - I really do appreciate it, especially as I have been absent from Blip for some time.  This really is a special community.