One of the perks of staying in a villa instead of a hotel was that we had a full kitchen to work with. Lunch is the main meal of the day in Italy, so we usually ate it out at a restaurant and then would make ourselves breakfast and dinner at the villa.

The markets had beautiful produce, meats, and cheeses available. A simple salad- whipped up hastily on tired feet at the end of a long day of walking- was a beautiful masterpiece, simply because of the quality of the tomatoes and lettuce.

It was so nice to have a home to come back to each night, and a comfy place to putz around in each morning. We would gear up for the day by sipping espresso and nibbling biscotti next to the fireplace {although, when you’re used to two or more big mugs of American coffee every morning, one little dinky espresso just ain’t gonna cut it. We took to drinking four or five espressos every day!}

Montepulciano is an incredible little town. Since it was our “home base”, we became very familiar with it. It was really fun to hit up some of our favorite restaurants and shops more than once and have the owners recognize us and treat us like regulars. It’s those little things that make a strange place feel more like home.

There is an incredible third-generation coppersmith in Montepulciano named Cesar. He creates the most beautiful copper cookware I have ever seen, and is quite the character. He gave us a complete tour of his workshop and kept us laughing for over an hour. We bought several pots from him and had them shipped home. Can’t *wait* to use them! I feel like anything I make in them will taste delicious because the pots harbor the magic of Italy in their shiny walls. If you ever make it to this town, don’t miss out on a visit to Cesar!

To be continued…