Tuscan Hill Towns

The thing I love most about Tuscany is that every hill is topped with some medieval town. I could spend a lifetime exploring all the old towns there. But seeing as we only had a week we only got to see a few. 

The first one we saw was the walled city of Monteriggioni built in 1213. The walls and buildings are the best preserved in all of Italy. The city itself was tiny we only spent an hour or so walking around, here are some pictures:

Luke enjoying a coffee

A coffee the size of a sugar packet

Next we visited the town of Radda in Chianti. They had a great playground for Jack so we spent a few hours letting him have some fun

We took a short stop near the town of Castellina. Here is a picture of the town

We didn't go into town. Instead, we took a detour to see the Etruscan burial vault at Mt. Calvario. 

The tombs were built into the summit of a small hill. There were four entrances around the the top the hill

Luke checking to make sure no monsters are inside

Some of the entrances were filled with water so we couldn't get in

It was pitch black inside and we had no flashlight. I kept taking pictures just to see what was there

Jack running down the top of the burial site

Our last little Tuscan town was Montefioralle. It was a charming town with cobblestone streets that Jack loved to walk on

 

This town claims to be the birthplace of Amerigo Vespucci

We stopped in at the Taverna de Guerrino which my guide book said is the best place to eat in Chianti

We had another 4 course meal with 3 different types of wine

It was amazing... and I don't usually like wine

Afterwards we were all tired

We headed back into the car for the final part of our trip. Florence.

Siena, Italy

The day after Thanksgiving we made a day trip down to Siena. It was cold and rainy but we knew there were coffee shops to be found so we made our way to the center of the city. 

All main streets lead to Siena's campo and it is an impressive sight.

It is divided into nine sections representing the nine main governors of Siena when it was built.

Jack loved running up and down the dividing lines

At the bottom slope of the campo stands the Palazzo Pubblico which was built in 1297 and the chapel (bottom left) was added in 1348 to give thanks to God when the Black Death ended.

The Fonte Gaia was added to the Campo in 1419

Jack had a blast feeding the pidgeons

Luke and I sought the warmth of some coffee

After we were warmed we headed to the Duomo museum. It had some interesting sights

But I had no time to read about what I was looking at

So I just grabbed some pictures

Then, spent the rest of the time chasing the 2 year old who doesn't know how to sit still

And trying to find him when he hides beneath the exhibits

The museum wasn't working with Jack, so we headed up the tower hoping the hundreds of steps would wear him out

The view from the top was amazing

Luke at the top of the second tower

After the museum we headed into the Duomo

Here is the picture of the Piccolomini alter. What makes this special is that a young Michelangelo worked on the four sculptures in the niches.

This statue of St. Peter was created by Michelangelo alone.

The dome

This is the ceiling of the Piccolomini library

Thanksgiving Part 2: Tuscan Heaven

For two days we stayed in a little B&B in the outskirts of San Gimignano. The name was Il Vicario and it was run by Fulvio and Katia. Here is the entrance to the place:

When they found out we were traveling with a toddler, they upgraded us to the apartment room which was much bigger than a standard room. Here is our living room (with kitchen and fridge)

Our bedroom

Our view

My guys relaxing on the bed

Jack loved that they even had a kitty to play with

But the best thing about Il Vicario was the food. Fulvio made us dinner each night and it was spectacular! I have never drank so much wine in my life...

Dinner is served in a community room with all the other guests from the B&B. One night we dined with Robert De Niro...okay, so he didn't admit that he was Robert De Niro, but we still think it could have been

Luke and I were the only ones at the table who spoke English, but that is one of the things I love about Europe. We learned some Italian and we were able to practice our Spanish as well.

Each night Fulvio would make a special kids plate for Jack

To give you an idea of what we ate, I took pictures at one of the meals. Each night we had an antipasta (appetizer) with a glass of wine. Here is a plate of salami, cheeses and bread

Then, we had a second course (with another glass of wine). This is spaghetti with thick noodles

Then, for the main course we had pork (which almost looked like turkey) with spinach and peas and another glass of wine of course.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dinner starts at 8pm and usually lasts for at least 2 hours. Since Jack's bedtime is 8pm, we were worried that he would not last through the dinner so we brought along our trusty DVD player to keep him happy and quiet.

For dessert we were served biscotti which you dip in a sweet wine (Vin Santo).

It was amazingly delicious!

\

After 3 glasses of wine we slept very well! I think we might have to make Il Vicario our yearly Thanksgiving tradition! Anyone want to join us next year!?