Touring Tuscany

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March 24 - Wednesday Another nice day. This time we where greeted at the break of dawn with song birds. I turned over and slept another couple hours as the bed with the duvet was the most comfortable yet. We still got an early start, with our first stop being Cortona. We walked all over town and to the top of the hill, and found none of the settings from the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun" that was supposed to take place here, but wasn't filmed here... a Hollywood fiction. We had another gelatti with two more flavors and bought some souvenirs and a gift for my wife Linda.

It was then off to Montepulciano for lunch. This is where some of the best Italian wine comes from, so we sampled several with lunch. We bought a couple bottles to enjoy at home to remember the trip. We walked around town, and then headed to Siena. We drove around the walls of Siena, but we could not find any parking, so I said "forget it" and headed to San Gimignano.

Another hilltop town, San Gimignano is known for its 13 towers. Perhaps it is the best preserved medieval town in Italy, and one of my favorites. We had reserved a room right off the main square next to the church. We walked 15 minutes from the parking lot on the outskirts of town ... not too far as the town is small. My daughter Tamara was too tired to walk around town at that point. My son Will and I spent several hours exploring every nook and cranny and got some fantastic pictures. We returned to our room to pick my Tamara for dinner. By 6 pm most of the day trippers had left so we had some peace and quiet at our outdoor cafe on the square next to the cistern. After dinner we had our traditional gelatti with two new flavors before turning in early.

The room was hot due to lack of ventilation. I finally found the switch that opened the window, but the room was still hot. Later that night I opened the door and the entrance to the residence to try to get some circulation. It helped somewhat, but this was the most uncomfortable night of the trip.

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Photos

Will starting the day with cappachino
Our first stop in Cortona was a coffee shop

Skyline of San Gimignano
This town is known for its 13 towers