A beautiful last day trip

Today we went to visit San Gimignano. I was a gorgeous day to visit the medieval town in Italy. Clear skies, warmth, sunny weather; a perfect day for sight-seeing and touring. We left Fiesole by coach bus and 8:30 this morning and were in San Gimignano by 10.

Bob took us on one of his quick tours through the city. We entered through the Porta San Giovanni which is one of the original five gates into the walled city. Bob pointed out little shops along the way to our first stop, little interesting places to visit and browse the merchandise. Our first stop was at the Piazza della Cisterna. It has a water well in the middle of the piazza that dates back to the 13th century. From there we came to the Piazza del Duomo.

Here Bob went and purchased tickets for us into the church Santa Maria Assunta. This church was simply beautiful on the inside. The walls of the church are filled with frescoes depicting the Old and New Testaments. The best part of the church is the depiction of hell and heaven on two of the arches in the church. The arch depicting hell is very graphic in its depiction of the seven deadly sins. There is one part of the fresco that has a woman being raped by a demon; another part shows the gluttonous being force-fed food. Back when people couldn't read and depended on the frescoes to tell them the stories, the depiction of hell in Santa Maria Assunta would be a great deterrent.

Upon leaving the church, Bob took us up to this old 13th century castle. We climbed one of the remaining towers and that's where I got some of the best landscape pictures. When I upload my album you'll be able to see what I'm talking about. With the clear day we had you can see for miles from this tower.

Then Bob took us to one of the other churches in town, Chiesa di San Agostino. Inside the 13th century church are frescoes down by Benozzo Gozzoli depicting the life of St. Augustine. There is also a little chapel inside the church, San Bartolo, with three statues depicting the virtues faith, hope, and charity. Here is where Bob's tour ended and the group split.

I first went with Nikki into this linen store and almost bought something for my Grandma but I couldn't decide. I then walked up the street, looking into shops, peering at post-cards. I bought this really pretty necklace at this one shop that sold a bunch of really great jewelry. Then, walking alone along the main street I saw Bob coming from the opposite way. He told me that Betsy, Ania, and Allyson had headed toward the co-op near where we were dropped off to pick up some lunch. I headed that way to meet up with them.

We picked up some bread, brie, boar sausage, Pringles, a bottle of Vernaccia wine, pesto, and peach juice. We took our food back up to the fort and had ourselves a little picnic. We had such a great time, the four of us, sitting in the sun, enjoying the food and having a great time. Afterward, we laid down in the grass and took a little nap. Others from our group joined us after a while and took a nap too.

Around 3ish, the four of went took off and walked around town again. We stopped and got gelato and went to the bathroom at this little shop, bought some postcards at this touristy shop and headed back toward the bus. Before lunch, Betsy, Allyson, and Ania tried some wines and bought a few bottles. They took me there after I met up with them and I bought a bottle of Chianti and Vernaccia to take back home with me. We boarded the bus at 3:45 and headed back toward Fiesole.

Most of us slept on the bus ride back. We headed up toward Villa Bonelli after departing the bus and waited for dinner.

Dinner tonight was not the greatest. We had a gnocchi dish for the first course with was okay but not great. For the second course, we had roasted potatoes, omelets, and cooked prosciutto. It wasn't very appetizing for me. Luckily we had tiramisu for dessert. Dr. Mary Fox joined us for a little bit after we ate and we chatted with her for a while.

Ania, Eldon, Bob, and I joined Dr. Fox for dinner at Etrusca after we left La Reggia. She ordered dinner for herself while the rest of us ordered gelato, Bob ordered ananas (pineapple). We shared a bottle of wine, many great stories, and great company. With the exception of Ania, we had limoncello for our after dinner drink. I had a blast talking with Dr. Fox about all sorts of different topics. It really was a great night preceded by a great day.

I'm going to go to the History of Science Museum tomorrow with Allyson and Adam as it's his last day in Italy. So, I'm exhausted now and probably a little bit tipsy from all the good alcohol I've had today so I'm going to bed. Buonanotte!