The last time we visited Montepulciano, I had some really good pasta with meat sauce, along with a plate of salami and cheese served with honey and jam. I really enjoyed the combination of the salty cheese with the sweet toppings, and it made me quite interested in Tuscan food.
Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t very good on that trip, so we gave up on exploring more of the area.
This time, we started from Verona and first went to San Gimignano.
When I was planning the route, the town caught my attention because of its many towers and old buildings.
But after we arrived, it was the food that caught my attention.
There was tiramisu at a bakery near the city gate, and then there were the gelato shops around Piazza della Cisterna.
By the evening, we were already quite full from all the food. We skipped dinner at a restaurant and just had one slice of pizza.
The pasta I really wanted to try would have to wait for the next city.
The next day, we went to Siena.
I first noticed Siena because of the 2008 James Bond movie. The old town looked beautiful in the film, so I decided to make it the second stop of our Tuscany trip.
For lunch, we found a restaurant next to the main square. We ordered a Tuscan sausage platter and pici with mushrooms. The mushrooms were really good, and the pasta was very fresh. It was a little expensive, but we had a nice view of the town hall from the table.
For dinner, we found a restaurant near our hotel where we could choose our own pasta. We could pick the type of pasta and the sauce separately.
I chose pici again, this time with wild boar ragù, and even ordered 30% more pasta. It was very satisfying, although looking back, I probably shouldn’t have ordered the extra portion because I couldn’t fit in dessert.
When we got back to Verona, I tried to order pici again, but the waiter didn’t know what I was talking about. I guess pici really is a Tuscan thing.