Heading a little bit south, our next stop was in Montepulciano. You might be surprised, but among many other things that they are famous for, they are also known for their wines – especially Vino Nobile de Montepulciano and Rosso de Montepulciano.

For our three days in Montepulciano, we are calling the Palazzo Carletti home. What an awesome building – both beautiful and historic.

Our hostesses for our stay were Anna and Federica. Both were very nice and very helpful. They were there every other day and made sure we were comfortable.

The Palazzo only had five guest rooms and was a generally quiet place. Security codes allowed us to get in and out of the building as there wasn’t always a “desk” presence.

We stayed in the Carletti Suite. It was a large room with high ceilings. The furniture was aligned to give us a separate seating area and sleeping area. There was a nice bright bathroom and a separate steam room / shower. We also had a mini bar that was included and restocked daily, plus access to the drink cart in the salon.

After settling in, our first stop was to the local Farmacia. Unfortunately, we both are dealing with colds again. Not sure if we got rid of them the first time or if the symptoms just eased off a bit waiting to repounce. That’s life!

The medicines didn’t really do much, so we just rested up until dinner time. Anna from the hotel had called and made us reservations for dinner at a small family run restaurant just a few doors down from the hotel: Trattoria Rosso Rubino.

Dinner was not a fancy affair, but it hit the spot. I started with a big bowl of homemade vegetable soup and then roasted duck with roasted potatoes. Sue just had the pici pasta with cinghiale ragu. All of the dishes were delicious. We even saved a little room for a tiramisu to finish up.

We trotted back to the hotel to get some rest, which didn’t come easy. It’s a good thing the walls are thick.

Houston, we have a problem!

We both woke up not feeling good, Sue much more than I. We were scheduled to visit the Cantine Valdipiatti to sample some of the regions wines from the barrel, however we had to cancel. How very disappointing!

Over the next two days, we managed to go for a walk a few times to get some fresh air in our lungs. It’s a shame we were not at our best, as Montepulciano is a pretty town. A hilly town, but a pretty, hilly town.

On Saturday evening, we had reservations at a restaurant run by a friend of Luca’s – Osteria Al Borgo. Francesco greeted us warmly and we chatted a bit before being led to our table.

The restaurant is known for its homemade pastas and extensive wine list, all at very reasonable prices. I started with Pici pasta and then followed that up with a delicious steak. Sue had pasta with mushrooms and then the beef cheeks over mashed potatoes.

We enjoyed our meals, the wine, our waitress, Claudia and, of course, Francesco. Despite not feeling well, it was a nice night out.

Our original plan was to arrange for a driver to take us around the Val D’orcia to take some photos and stop in Pienza and Quirico. We once again had to opt out due to the colds.

It was at this point that we contemplated two options. The first was going to a hospital and the second was canceling the rest of the trip and heading home. Since it was the weekend, we decided to wait until we got to Orvieto to make any decisions.