Day Trip: Rocca d'Orcia

  I kid you not, I have wanted to visit Rocca d'Orcia for at least ten years. 

  Every time we drive through the hills and valleys of this stunning area, I've gazed longingly out the window, wondering what the holy heck that big old tower thingy was.

  You can see it from miles and miles away. Especially on the beautiful drive between Montepulciano and  San Quirico d'Orcia. This is the heart of the Val d'Orcia, land of a million calendar photos. You've seen them, I just know you have.

  Anyway, we wanted to visit the nearby Bagon Vignoni, where we had read about a new art space that features contemporary art, so we decided to make a day of it.

  First stop was to see the artwork. Johnny wrote about it on his blog. We both were pleased to have sought this place out. We seem to keep discovering interesting art galleries, etc. in the most unusual places…

  Afterwards, we headed for the Rocca….

Yes, way up there.

Ummm…what were we thinking?

  Actually, the drive wasn't bad at all..it just looked scary from way down below. After a few hairpin turns, we found some parking, and hiked our fannies on up the hill.

I assume this is some type of town crest, since it
was at the front portal into the small town.

  Walking into this small hill town, in March, is like walking back in history. Except for the total lack of inhabitants, that is.

  There was no one around, though I did see a few places that had laundry on the line. For the most part, we were alone. 

  I think most of the residences are holiday rental units, or second homes for owners in Rome or Florence. 

  It was kind of eerie. But so beautiful, at the same time...

It was an overcast day, so this just added to the sombre feeling of the place.

The main piazza.
Just us and a couple of cats.

Unreal, right?

  After "ooooohhhh-ing" and "ahhhhhh-ing" for a good while, just standing and soaking it all in, we began the walk up to the actual Rocca itself.

All I'm thinking is:
"There better be a good lunch after this hike up."

Another small group of mostly closed up houses...

  Halfway up the hill, I spied the perfect spot to set the camera up on a timer, so we could actually get a picture of the two of us. 

  Plus, we were pretty much huffing and puffing our little hearts out…Good thing we are regular walkers! I don't know how we'd get to some of these places otherwise.

Not there yet, Baby….

I want to be up there, with the birds!
See the ruins of yet another Rocca, way over in the background?

  We made it to the bottom of the Rocca, where there is a small building with a nice docent to sell you tickets to climb on up. It's a great view from this spot, but I was on a mission. I wanted to get to the top of this one!

  Poor Johnny, I truly think he just figures I want to do him in. He's a very good sport.

  He does enjoy a good castle, tower, battleground…..all the historical stuff around this area. Thank god. That's what keeps him hanging in there on these hare-brained ideas of mine.

  Bless his (pounding) heart.

Just. A. Bit. Higher.

Ok. I'm beginning to regret this. 

  You know, I didn't really think about the whole "I'm afraid of heights" part of this foolhardy adventure. Sigh.

  There is a nice lunch after this, right?

  I must say that I am really quite proud of my little old self. I kept right on going, and left that scaredy-cat self behind. Down below, where it was really safe.

  Big old baby.

Up we go to the first level of the Rocca.
Totally worth it for the views, of course.

  

  When you do arrive to the Rocca, you go inside and there are several displays which talk about the history of the Rocca, and old photos, etc. Johnny loved this part of the adventure.

  It's really well kept, and in all truth, not scary. The steps to the very top, though super steep, are very sturdy, with railings all the way up.

  And I do mean UP.

I'm not scared.

No, really. I'm not scared.
Ok, at this point I did sort of go on hands and knees….

Ta-Da! 

There's the little town, below, and the road we came up
starts way the hell down there.

  I say go. 

  It was totally worth it, especially since there were only two other people there. It wasn't really all that hard to climb, and the views of the Val d'Orcia can't be beat. 

  We spent only about ten minutes at the top, because the day wasn't perfect. I want to go back on a sunny and clear day, to do this again. I can only imagine what these views would be like on a nice day...

  

  We made our way back down, down, down…which was just as difficult, I gotta say..especially on the knees. The damn knees.

  

This is one empty little hill town…
But just so gorgeous.

I made it!
Now…where's my lunch?

  

  We walked around the areas of the town we hadn't seen on the way up…and actually came across a small gallery that was prepping for a photography exhibit that was opening later that evening.

  Go figure. Who would attend? Being a Saturday, maybe quite a few folks staying or living in the area.    We got to see the show, so we were happy.

 We ended up going the mile or so up the way to Castiglione d'Orcia, which was also lovely, and had more activity.

  We had that lunch I was hoping for…which will be another post here in the very near future.

 
  On our way back home, we stopped for a walk around Pienza, a favorite spot for a late afternoon glass of wine...

Views on the way to Pienza.

View from the walls of Pienza…classic Tuscan.

  I love these day trips. I dream of them all year. It's fun to be the co-pilot along the way, and it seems there is always a sweet spot for a glass of wine somewhere at the end of the day….

Happy Boy.

Happy Girl.

    Can't wait to see what's next on the agenda…as soon as this freaking rain stops, that is!
  In the meantime, I have a good chance to write, so it's a win-win, si?


Here's the place to climb, brave friends:

Rocca d'Orcia