Arezzo

When we arrived in Arezzo, we had a nice dinner at the hotel, a usual pasta and then pork with mushrooms in an oil and butter sauce.  After dinner, DDV led a group of us into town (15 min walk) to get a drink called 'grappa.'  When we arrived at the bar, he was served a glass and told us it was made from fermented grape husks, essentially Italian whiskey, but clear.  I took one whiff of it and I lost every hair in my nose.  That stuff could take paint off the walls.  I settled for a beer across the street...

The walking tour of Arezzo was very nice, and again very hilly.  The movie La Vita è Bella was filmed in Arezzo, and DDV pointed out various buildings that appeared or were used in the filming.  (It's a great movie.  If you haven't seen it, please do.  Watch it in Italian with English subtitles.  That way you can enjoy "Buongiorno Princepessa!")

We had a 30 minute lesson in Basilica d. San Francesco where we viewed the The History of the True Cross, a myth on the life of the wood used to crucify Christ.  We were then given 4 hours to explore the town, and Arezzo quickly became my favorite.

Arezzo Duomo

Grace and I ventured away from the group and tucked into a little trattoria for lunch.  No one was in this place and an older woman who didn't speak English offered us menus.  When she took our order, she scoffed when we didn't order secondi piatti, obviously an insult to her Italian culture.  Grace got the soup and I ordered gnocchi, because it's different everywhere in Italy and was very happy with it, though not satisfied.

I forgot to take a picture of it, but here's the after...

I got the woman's attention and when I asked for a menu, her face just lit up.  I had a question about word I did not know, and she went into a long explanation about pork something with potatoes and how its so great and I would love it... but they didn't have it that day.  She then described the "piatti del giorno" (plates of the day) and I said, "I'll take that."  She looked at me puzzled and asked, "Quale?"  Apparently I didn't understand there was more than one, so I just told her to surprise me.  I was surprised with the same dish I had the night before.

Porchetta con funghi

And I enjoyed it just the same.

We then ordered due cappuccini perche abbiamo avuto molto tempo a Arezzo e abbiamo voluto sperimentare un pranzo autentico italiano.  The two older, but obviously young at heart guys turned on the TV above the to watch the Simpsons (we were the only two in the place) and we made the effort to watch as well, seeing if we could understand.  We were able to get the gist of it, and I one point I laughed out loud and one of the guys turned around and smiled at me.  Apparently impressed that this American guy got an Italian joke.  Just as we were finishing our cappuccinos, a woman in a bakers outfit brought us out a few pieces of small fried dough, and we looked at it puzzled and she told us, "Dolce per Carnevale!"  It was awesome.  Restaurant owners will take much better care of you if you make the effort to dine like an Italian.  I have ordered wine and a pasta dish and been basically ignored on the way out, but when you order all the courses and take your time, the service and experience is so much better.

Grace and I wandered around for the last hour, exploring a park at the top of the town and the view was beautiful...

We lost track of time and had to rush back into town to catch the bus to take us to a wine tasting and dinner at a 12th century castle.  Upon our departure, DDV stood up and gave us the best news of the weekend.  He worked his magic and extended the trip for a third day (which was cut in the rescheduling) and we would be going to Pienza and Orvieto the next day.  The announcement was followed by a PSA that the next morning would be very windy, so don't get too drunk tonight.