Capuchio Designs

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

San Gimignano

Ciao!

Today we started off with an hour and a half bus ride through the tranquil region of Tuscany.  Our first destination was San Gimignano ~ a smallish village, where we admired the Salucci Towers, Chigi Towers and Cathedral.  This town had an outer wall, which seemed to be rather common in this region.

Photographing these beautiful small Italian towns was amazing.  There was beauty everywhere!

Somehow this guy doesn’t make that scrumptious-looking ribbon pasta look more appetizing!

There is so much texture in these Italian villages, with the cobblestone roads, and old plastered walls. You definitely know you’re not in the States anymore.

We took a short, but very steep hike up “La Rocca” (steep stairs) to get the most magnificent views of the Tuscan countryside. Our views were as far as the eye could see from the top of this stone look-out. Well worth it!

Exploring on our own was one of our favorite things to do. We always found very interesting shops and evidence of daily life in each place that we visited.

Although there weren’t many large grassy areas in these villages, there always were beautiful displays of flowers and greenery. So, so pretty!

Apparently each town is well-known for something, and in San Gimignano they’re famous for their gelato. They were world champions for multiple years. We can proudly say that we devoured the most creamy and tasty gelato on the planet. With our experience as our evidence, we strongly agree in the town’s reason for fame.

My choice was berries of the forest (much prettier in Italian – frutta de rosca … I think), which included strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. Very refreshing on this hot day.  Isn’t this display absolutely luscious?

Siena

When you hear Siena, you think of the earthy, reddish color … huh?  Well that is the covenant color, and is in abundance in the medieval hill town of Siena.  The emblem that can be seen all over town is the “She Wolf” suckling two infants.  There is historical significance to this dating way, way back.

In the center of town is the medieval public square, Piazza del Campo, which is shell shaped. The population here is about 50,000.

Twice a year the “Palio”, a medieval horse race, happens in Campos Square. Each of the 17 “contrade,” or neighborhoods, participate. Prior to the race itself, horses are led into church to be blessed. If the horse relieves itself while there, it is considered a sign of good luck … gross! The racers ride bareback around the square, while the audience is packed in the center like sardines. It can be quite dangerous for both riders and the audience, as you can imagine.

The trophy for winning is a banner of the Virgin Mary. Huh?

We were spoiled by this scenery as we meandered through the streets while enjoying a slice of one of Italy’s tastiest pizza pies. YUM!
A local guide named Nicky took us on a tour through the zebra striped Cathedral of Siena.

Isn’t the outside of this Cathedral stunning?  I still can’t get over how ornate and intricate many of Italy’s churches are!  This cathedral’s interior boasts the fine art work of Donatello, Bernini and Michelangelo himself.

The day was scorching hot, and dipping into the interior of this gorgeous Cathedral offered cool relief.  We were able to lean up against the cool marble striped pillars, and admire her beauty.  There were lovely frescoes, statues, brilliant mosaic art and stained glass, as well as pretty inlaid tile floors.

The ceiling was so lovely. The Piccolominis were a noble family who had their own chapel inside the cathedral, with paintings made by Raphael’s students. Their alter had four sculptures done by Michelangelo. The details were unbelievable!

Look at the intricate mosaic work on the ceiling of the Piccolomini’s library ceiling.  Can you imagine reading or studying in there? There were so many stories that were told through this gorgeous art.  Beautiful indeed!

There were so many pieces of art work everywhere you looked.  The stained glass depicts the last supper.

After enjoying this Cathedral, we were able to snap a few photos of some points of interest: a Ferrari … (for the boys), and children playing … (for me).

We left Siena via bus and arrived at our hotel, the Grande Albergo Fortuna, in the spa town of Chianciano Terme. The grounds were very nicely landscaped with lovely views of the “old town” nestled on the hillside across the road. There was a refreshing pool, but there was no air conditioning in our hot, hot, room … again! What a drag! After voicing a a complaint to our tour guide, she was able to upgrade us to a suite with two bathrooms and a living room. SCORE! … especially since there was air conditioning (not great) in there.

This visual will forever be etched upon my mind. I can’t believe this was the view from our hotel room. Whoa!

After a little time on our own to relax, we boarded the bus for a dinner excursion at a Tuscany farmhouse ~ Ristorante Casale.

We dined with our favorite Australian family – Norris, Faye, Leigh and Troy. Whenever we were with them, there was nothing but hilarious laughing and fun. Tonight was no different. When we were eating a delicious pasta dish, Troy reminded us that there was a duck sauce on it. Remember that Troy and I thought we saw a duck’s foot on the platter of food at the monastery the night before? It came back to haunt us! A few minutes later, I noticed a little, black hard thing on my plate, and Troy and I thought it was a duck’s eye. We all broke out in hilarious, uncontrollable laughter, which got the attention of our fellow (not as fun) diners. Troy then saw two more “duck eyes” on her plate, which only fueled the hysterical roar. Then, her mother Faye, started coughing and Troy said it was likely due to a duck feather stuck in her throat. We all burst out laughing again, and that was enough to spin us out of control with the giggles. I’m surprised we didn’t get kicked out of there! There is one thing for sure … whenever we dined with the Aussie’s, we were the table having the very most fun!

There was dancing tonight too, but it was to the horrid music of a lounge lizard singer. He was so very awful! We made the best of that inferior music and had a good time anyway.

We arrived back at the hotel at 10:30 ish and then we heard a knock on our door. It was Leigh inviting us to have drinks on the patio overlooking the pool. Of course we had to say yes! After all, we were the coolest bunch of people on our tour. Only Andie (tour guide), Maria (cool USA Italian from the East coast) and Troy and Leigh (awesome Aussie sisters) were privy to the after party. We talked about the culture of Italian men and their mistresses, drugs, and lots of other interesting Italian cultural conversations. We were having such a good time, and were so loud with our laughter that the hotel management basically kicked us out, due to noise complaints from the other guests. Ooops!  We finally got to bed around 1:00 a.m. and we needed to be up for breakfast at 6:30. Short night sleep, but very worth it!

Today’s events were many and very tiring. What wonderful, memorable experiences.

Ciao bellas!

Tomorrow is the hot baths of Bagno Vignoni, and Pienza.

2 Responses to “Italy Day 11: Southern Tuscany – San Gimignano – Siena – Chianciano Terme”

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