Sunday had us heading to Siena and
the Tuscan hillside. On the drive we passed more sculpted trees and
bushes- spirals, Pom-poms, plants of all kinds. This area must be known
as the headquarters for all landscaping. Siena is about an hour and a
half away from Montecatini so it was back to the rental car today and
more tunnels. The weather is still quite cool, in the 30s and only
supposed to reach 41 in Siena but we are dressed for it. Since it's
Sunday we couldn't visit El Duomo until 1:30 when Masses were over so
we'll took in the other sites first. Our visit to Siena had us climbing
stairs again in this hilly Tuscan village. We started our tour in the
Duomo Museum viewing once again beautiful statues and religious
paintings. From the Museum we were also treated to a view of the
historic city and the picturesque countryside. From there we went to the
Cathedral as Mass was over for the day. Great pillars and stained glass
adorned this Duomo. Finished our tour of the city with a visit to the
Piazza del Campo.
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| Siena from a distance |
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| Love the narrow streets and hills |
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| Approach to El Duomo |
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| Stained glass in the Museum |
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| The apostles by the school of Pisano |
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| The chapel of San Nicola |
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| Views from the City Tower |
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| Views of El Duomo |
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| Views of the city and Tuscan countryside |
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| Interior of El Duomo |
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| The Last Supper in El Duomo |
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| Beautiful Ceiling |
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| Facade of El Duomo |
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| Piazza del Campo |
It was off then to San Gimignano. I must say we did
pretty well with the GPS - only off track a few times - but I also want
to add that I hate traffic circles - a staple of Tuscan roads. Ron did a
great job of maneuvering on the Autostrada though. San Gimignano was a
sleepy historic town. Again what I think of when I conjure images of
Italian towns. It was 4:00 when we arrived and Sunday so not everything
was open. We enjoyed just wandering the streets, soaking up the
atmosphere and of course we stopped for some hot chocolate and treats.
The hot chocolate was divine. Wound our way back to Montecatini after
purchasing a couple bottles of wine and some cheese. Made it back to the hotel in time for our last happy hour and enjoyed some Chianti with our purchased cheese. Decided since we weren't super hungry to go to a nearby pizzeria to try the Italian pizza. It was definitely thinner crust but very tasty. Tomorrow we head back to Milan.
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| Views of countryside just outside San Gimignano |
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| More picturesque views |
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| The streets of San Gimignano |
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| A small courtyard |
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| Typical home in San Gimignano |
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