What to do in Italy...

There is so much beauty in Italy. Jason and I both prefer Italy to France. We both find the countryside of Italy to be breathtakingly beautiful. We tried to figure out what it was about the countryside that we loved. I think that it is not just that it is agricultural but that it isn't defined in clean cut squares. The area is filled with hills which gives you something to see other than just flat farm land but beyond that the farmland on the hills are not squares. The farm land has irregular lines between fields which seems to be defined by the land. It makes every field different. We also both loved the narrow, windy, hilly streets of the hill top walled towns. There is so much history in the walls. Not necessarily book history (although there is plenty of that) but just the history of the people who have lived here. Families who have lived in a town for hundreds of years are still living in the same apartment that has been passed down through the family. Because so much has stayed the same you can imagine what life was like a long time ago. We enjoy the evening stroll where locals and visitors alike come out and stroll the main road at dusk to chat with friends. So, with all of that in mind, what did we do in Italy? We drove around the countryside and visited small towns. We visited Cortona, Pienza, Asciano, San Quirico D' Orcia, Orvieto, Monte San Savino, and Lucignano as well as spending a lot of time in Montepulciano.