While Florence was our base in Tuscany, the hub and I signed up for a day trip to visit the rest of the medieval Tuscan towns in the area. The first place we went to was San Gimignano, popularly known as the Town of Fine Towers as many medieval towers were very well preserved in this Unesco Heritage Site.
The summer heat that day was so unbearably hot that the first thing we do was to get a gelato each at the shop that claimed that they sell the world's best gelato, or so they say. If there is one thing I learnt from this Italian trip, it is that people could eat gelato at practically any time of the day and in all sorts of weather conditions.
San Gimignano is practically truffles wonderland. You see fresh truffles and truffles product in any corner you turn. This shop here even offer truffles hunting trip! The price of truffles and its related products were so unbelievably affordable that it makes you think twice about ordering that portion of truffles fries in some indie/boho cafe at home the next time!
With just 2 hours to spare, the visit was very much touch and go. It is a really quaint town and if I could have my way, I would really love to spend more time having coffee and people watching at the main square below.
The ultimate symbol of Italia - no, it's not the Ferarri; it's Vespa! ;)
It was almost lunch when we left San Gimignano. We proceeded to lunch at a Chianti winery, which was quite a disappointment. The food and Chianti wine presented were nothing to shout about. I thought I had better Chianti wines at the Florentine restaurants we tried out and the prices of the Chianti wines sold direct from the vineyards were nothing to cheer about either. What I enjoyed most was looking out at the scenery of endless vineyards and rolling hills.
By the time we arrived in Siena, we were rather tired out. But Siena is such a pretty and interesting town. Siena and Florence has always been keen competitors, both in ancient days and in the present. Both towns seek to outdo each other in trade, in architecture, in the arts and today, in soccer.
Even when we were in Florence, a lot of comparisons were made between the Sienese school of art and the Florentine school.
Siena remains a very traditional town until today. Every summer, they still hold the palio horse races in the square above, which is a real sight to behold.
And a must visit for any visitor to Siena is the Siena Duomo. The Duomo was initially conceptualised to outdo the grandeur and scale of the Florence Duomo. But because of financial challenges, the original plan was abandoned. Once you are in the Duomo, look up at the ceiling near the alter area. The stars that adorned the ceiling are well-represented in many famous art works by Sienese artists.
The final stop of this day trip was to Monteriggioni. By then, I had only enough energy and enthusiasm to take this one last photo below for posterity sake. According to our guide, this puny town has only got 42 inhabitants and you complete seeing this town in 30 minutes, which is pretty much the case for us.
Overall, the day trip was a good introduction to these smaller towns for us travellers who do not drive and it certainly made me want to go back to explore more. I just wished I had more time for coffee!
Hope you have had a good weekend and I will continue documenting my trip in the upcoming posts.
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