Siena, Monteriggioni, Chianti and San Gimignano

Saturday was reserved for a day trip. After fending for ourselves all week, we opted for an organized bus tour, which would allow us to visit 4 different places with minimal trouble. So we got on a bus with some mostly English speaking folk, and off we went.

First stop was Monteriggioni, too early for many things to be open and there was too much fog yet for great views out over the valley, but it was a sweet little village--really a tiny outpost in the wars between Florence and Siena--with a neat knit/woven goods shop where Loie bought a beautiful hand knit scarf and chatted with its creator.

The central campo in Siena is impressive and can only be reached on foot. It is a huge public space, maybe the size of a football field, designed for running horses in an annual ritual that continues to this day. The surface is serpentine red brick that is packed with sand on the day of the races. Each of the 17 neighborhoods of the city (called Contrade) has a club and representative racers. The Ram had recently won and was being celebrated with a series of parties and events, but every neighborhood was filled with Contrada pride and decorated with banners and symbols of the neighborhood.

Next stop was a winery in Chianti where they make...wait for it...Chianti. It was a modern operation and they had just begun the Chianti grape harvest. We got to sample the wines, but my favorite was the balsamic vinegar (aged 12 years), so I bought a bottle to bring home--it was quite sweet and had a strong fig flavor, which will be good for mixing with meno caro vinegar back home!

Our final stop was San Gimignano, another hill top outpost, this one with so much of the flavor of St. Paul de Vance, if you've ever been there. Stone paved narrow streets with old 2-3 story buildings packed tightly side by side, the facades a decorated view of what might be behind the painted shutters and window boxes. Incredibly charming with loads of shops for purchasing italian-made goods: leather purses, shoes, belts, ceramics for serving and keeping, and, of course, tchotchkes of all kinds. We stopped to watch a puppet show (definitely a version of Punch and Judy--see what's behind you?--but much less whacking!) in the square and caught an exceptional view out over the valley. This is the view you have in your imagination, even if you've never been here: quintessential Tuscany!