Our group took some side trips to Cortona and Castiglione in Tuscany, and went to an olive oil tasting and dinner in Panicale in Umbria. We learned that in Tuscany, they stucco the outside of their homes, where as in Umbria the stone and brick is left bare.

Cortona is the town written about in Under the Tuscan Sun, and we saw both the writers home on the hill and drove past where the movie had been filmed. I thought it was a particularly charming town, and I understand why it is popular. While there, I fell in love with the Laura Laurento bags shown below and we actually got to meet her. Sadly, I did not buy one.

Castiglione was perched above a lake and I took lots of photos of olive trees there, which I’ll group together with those I took in our friends grove to share with you later.

In Panicale we were treated to the famous late day Tuscan light overlooking the valley. There we enjoyed an olive oil tasting, where we learned a lot, and not surprisingly, loved theirs best (see here). Their boutique hotel is charming too, if you’ve got some money to spend. After our tasting, we had one of our best meals there. (I’m saving all the food posts for another post; but check out their recipes here) I would have liked to explore this town more, liking very much the cameo of it that we saw.

My husband went with two others on yet another outing to Orvieto to see the cathedral there, which is shown last below, while the rest of us stayed in Chiusi to paint.

Enjoy these photos of some lovely locales!