Tuscan Countryside

Today we headed out of city and into the countryside.  We drove south of Florence and pretty much immediately began to see the typical Tuscan landscapes of vineyards, majestic homes and cypress trees.  It was like a post card! It wasn’t raining but it was cloudy.  It would have been nice to see the Tuscany landscapes with some sun but we were happy to not have rain.
Our first stop was in Sienna, another breathtaking village perched up on a hill.  As we walked 8nto the town, we had marvellous views of the town towering in front of us.  We walked up and down through narrow alley ways to reach the centre of Sienna.  Our guide, Donatello, was quite entertaining.  First we visited the church dedicated to Saint Catherine and then we went to the Sienna Cathedral, another amazing, Gothic masterpiece.  This church contains the Piccolomini Library, which is covered in frescoes dating back to the early 1500’s.  These frescoes have been preserved in a way that they have never been restored but they are still as brilliant the day they were painted.  Amazing!!
Our tour ended in the main square of Sienna, which is famous for its horse races.  The light rain began just as our walking tour ended.  We still had some free time to take pictures and check out the shops.
From Sienna we drove to San Gimignano, another beautiful Tuscan town perched up on a hill.  We had a couple of hours of free time to get lunch, check out the quaint town and it’s shops.  The town is surrounded by a wall and from the wall’s edge 9ne can get amazing views of the Tuscan countryside.

Our afternoon concluded with a wine tasting at a local winery.  The presentation was quite comical and we tasted about 7 different wines.  We struggled to drink the wine as fast as they wanted to pour it!






















Needless to say, the drive back to Florence on the bus was quite lively!!! Our bus driver is very good natured and he turned up the tunes and let the fun begin!!! We returned to the hotel where some of the “festive” mood continued for a few more hours!!







































































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