Siena & the Tuscan Countryside- September 3-9
Today was moving day. After another fantastic breakfast at La Spiaggia, we walked to the train station to begin our journey to Siena. We had to change trains a couple of times before arriving in Siena. Overall, it was a fairly easy trip, although we did have some congestion on one of the legs.
The lady in purple was not pleased with us!!
Once we arrived in Siena we checked into our hotel, Pensione Palazzo Ravizza. We really lucked out with this one. It had a beautiful terrace where we could enjoy breakfast every morning and was close to all the major attractions inside the walled city. After checking in, we went down to the Piazza del Campo, where the Palio is run twice a year. We found a nice outdoor table and enjoyed some adult beverages.
Wednesday September 4 - Today was exploring the city. John and Reid have never been to Siena, so they wanted to visit the Duomo. Bill, Karen, Jeri and Blaine have all done the Duomo tour. As beautiful as it is, we opted to just walk around and enjoy the city. The weekly market is in town today, so we headed there. Bill bought a new belt, custom sized. It’s a good thing Jeri was there because the vendor put the buckle on backwards after he had sized it. Blaine and Bill decided to head to the train station to purchase tickets for our journey to Germany on Monday. We were supposed to travel by train on Sunday, but the workers called a 23 hour strike for Sunday, Fortunately, we were able to secure one more night at Palazzo Ravizza. Meanwhile the girls stayed at the market to shop. Big surprise!! On the way to the train station, Bill found a tablecloth that was exactly the same as one that Karen had bought 20 years previously. She had been hoping to find that one again, and thanks to Bill, she did.
Blaine made dinner reservations for a restaurant, Osteria Cice, which he had found online. It is close to the hotel and had really good reviews. The food was really good. Blaine ordered the rabbit, but he was brought a huge plate of lamb chops by mistake. Unfortunately he didn’t keep that dish, as it looked and smelled delicious. Reid started feeling sick so John took her back to the hotel.
Thursday September 5 - Blaine had arranged 2 tours of wine country through Tours Around Tuscany for today and Friday. Reid was still feeling sick, so her and John were not able to go on today’s tour.
Our driver Gianni (pronounced Johnny) arrived around 9:15 to pick us up. Little did we know what a fun day this was going to be. Gianni talked non-stop. He gave us the history of the area and the towns we visited, as well as many funny stories about his personal life experiences.
We first stopped at the small of Buonconvento, which is enclosed within a city wall built in 1379. Each spring, Buonconvento hosts Nova Eroica, the amateur cycling event that mainly takes place on dirt roads.
Our next stop was the town of Montalcino. The town takes its name from a variety of oak tree that once covered the terrain. During medieval times the city was known for its tanneries and for the shoes and other leather goods that were made from the high-quality leathers that were produced there. In more recent times the city has become known for the Brunello di Montalcino wine, made from the Sangiovese grosso grapes grown in the commune. We toured the Fortress before heading to our next stop, the Cantina Patrizia Cencioni winery.
The Patrizia Cencioni Agricultural Company is family-run, managed by the owner Patrizia and her two daughters Annalisa and Arianna. The vineyards date back to 1989, the year in which the company was born, which draws its origins from an ancient company in Montalcino created in the 1950s by grandfather Giuseppe Cencioni, one of the founders of the Brunello di Montalcino Consortium
Our next stop was the town of Bagno Vignoni. Bagno Vignoni is truly unique: nowhere else in Italy will you find a swimming pool, located in the central square, full of hot thermal water: 160 feet long and 95 feet wide, this Renaissance-era square was built exactly above the original source of thermal water, the same one that the Romans also used. There are many spa centers and hotels throughout the city. We did not partake in those services, but we did enjoy the magnificent and famous views of the Italian countryside known as the Val d'Orcia. A quick stop for lunch at a small outdoor cafe, and we were ready for our next adventure.
Our next stop was the town of Pienza. Pienza is also the city of cacio, which means cheese! The Pecorino of Pienza is a tasty cheese made from sheep's milk, renowned worldwide and delicious, which can go from a delicate flavor to a decisive one based on how aged it is. The original town name was Corsignano. In 1405 Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini was born in Corsignano, He later became Pope Pius ll. Once he became Pope, Piccolomini had the entire village rebuilt as an ideal Renaissance town and renamed it Pienza. Blaine couldn’t resist buying a nice chunk of the Pecorino cheese.
Our last stop of the day was the town of Montepulciano. Gianni drove us to the top of the town by the main square. We were all glad he did, because we had to meet him at the bottom of town after we were done exploring. It was quite a hike down through the narrow streets. We were entertained by a man singing opera on the street as we made our way down to meet Gianni.
Friday September 6 - Our second day of touring started with Gianni picking us up at 9 o’clock. Reid was feeling better today, so her and John were able to join us for this tour. Our first stop was the town of Monteriggioni. Monteriggioni is a medieval walled town, located on a natural hillock, built by the Sienese in 1214–19 as a front-line defensive fortification in their wars against Florence. Every July within the fortified wall of the town a special event is celebrated: the Medieval Festival of Monteriggioni, one of the most beautiful medieval festivals in the region. The city goes back in time to the Middle Ages, the streets fill up with craftsmen, cavaliers and people in period costume creating a really enchanting atmosphere. Dances, live performances, music, theatre, kids’ entertainment, duels, acrobats, storytellers and more entertain the public as well as recreate the atmosphere of what chaotic life in a castle used to be like.
We had a winery visit to Capella di’ Sant’ Andrea scheduled for 10:30. but somehow Gianni’s GPS took him around in a loop, so we didn’t get there until around 10:50. Capella di’ Sant’ Andrea produces the Vernaccia di San Gimignano white wine. We were given a tour of the wine cellar and then escorted to the tasting room, which is the old stable.
Our next stop was San Gimignano. San Gimignano is famous for all the towers that were built by wealthy families, each trying to outdo the other. Most of the towers have been brought down by wars, catastrophes, or urban renewal. It was lunch time, so we stopped at BelSoggiorno Ristorante. We got a table by the window with a beautiful view of the countryside. After lunch, we didn’t have much time to explore San Gimignano, and it was pretty crowded, so we headed back to meet Gianni at the van.
San Donato was our next stop. San Donato is a small medieval village at the top of a hill minutes from the Firenze-Siena roadway about halfway between Florence and Siena. This is Chianti territory. The town is small but it still conserves its medieval heritage. The heart of the town is still surrounded by the defensive walls built in the 12th century and along the western edge a watch tower still stands.
Our last stop of the day was Castellina in Chianti. We were pretty worn out by this time, so a stop at the local Gelateria seemed appropriate. Evan had told us they had the best gelato, and we thought we found the place he had suggested, but alas we had not. It was still pretty darn good!
Saturday September 7 - Today was laundry day. After another fabulous breakfast on the terrace Blaine and Jeri headed to the laundromat. It took us some time to figure out what we were doing, but after getting some change at the neighborhood store, we were able to get out clothes washed and dried. We did end up washing our clothes twice though as we mistook one of the washing machines in the back for a dryer!
Bill and Karen joined us at the laundromat when we were about half done. It’s a good thing we did decide to wash today instead of waiting until Sunday, as the laundromat was closed on Sunday. Today was all about relaxation. Blaine did have to find a newspaper store, as he has promised one of his pickleball friends a current La Gazzetta Dello Sport newspaper. We did find a fabulous store that was handing out samples of chocolate and other candies. Wow, really delicious!!!
We stopped for an early dinner at Vivace Ristorante. We had dined there earlier in the week. They have a really nice terrace overlooking the city. After dinner, we strolled down to a celebration in the Contrada close to our hotel. It was really fun watching all of the activity and soaking in the atmosphere.
