Walking up the street and out of town to the restaurant.
We began today as usual with breakfast in the hotel. After checking out, we sat in the solarium to wait for the other walkers to show up. Joanna Walsh was the first we met, and were joined by Claire Fund and Glenn Lesses from Charleston SC. Soon thereafter Marisa and Guillermo Escobar, Ana Rodriguez and Juan Jaramillo, Maria Rodriguez and Santiago (Pocho) De Angulo, all from Bogata, Columbia introduced themselves as our guides Angelica Turi and Gianni Stanghellini herded us into the garden of the hotel for the pre-tour briefing.
We walked up the hill from the hotel through a park to the Via di San Leonardo where we walked along narrow lanes, dodging the occasional car to the restaurant for lunch. The dining room was downstairs with a patio that looked over the countryside. For lunch I had a carpaccio of zucchini with shaved parmesian and olive oil, and penne with meat sauce. Chianti was served in abundance, along with water both naturale and frizzante, and Tuscan bread (which is made without salt, much to Jonathan’s approval). Jonathan and I both enjoyed the zucchini carpaccio and figure it should be fairly easy to reproduce – the zucchini should be young and firm to be successful.
Walking up the street and out of town to the restaurant.
Gianni and Joanna, with the observatory at the top of the hill.
This window, sized perfecty for wine bottles, was used to distribute wine to customers.
Angelica in the midst of the walkers.
One of many shots of poppies.
More poppies.
A thick hedge of star jasmine.
Walking through the street to the restaurant.
A bust of Galileo outside the villa where he lived the last years of his live under house arrest.
Some of the many hams hanging from the ceiling in the entry to the restaurant.
The chianti served with lunch.
Marisa, Gianni, and Jonathan share a laugh.
Pocho looking out over the coutryside from the restaurant.
Getting ready to head on out for the afternoon's walk.
Jonathan takes a snap.
Fiesole, nestled in the saddle is the Etruscan hill town that was the predecessor to Firenze (Florence).
Gianni with the skyline of Florence in the background.
Some of the country lanes we walked.
This priapic little fellow is a wheel guard on the corner of an entry way.
A caper bush - this was growing out of a stone wall.
We retraced our steps for a bit before continuing our circum-perambulation of the old fort, which also houses Chiesa di San Miniato al Monte. We took a few minutes to examine the interior of the church which has some amazing mosaics. From there we boarded the bus and headed to San Gimignano.
The trees alongside the fort.
Walking through the trees.
A cannon port gets a floral decoration.
I first thought these were grapes, but the leaves are the wrong shape - looks like a holly of some sort.
The coat of arms of the Medici family.
The façade of Chiesa di San Miniato al Monte.
The very well preserved mosaic above the main entry way.
The views from the front of the church were great.
I've had to lean on the filters to show content - in this case, this is the main altar piece.
A view from the altar back down into the nave.
A fresco with enough light to show the colors.
A dense star jasmine.
One of the non-rose flowers in the courtyard in front of the church.
Angelica descibing the church, its art, and history.
Jonathan heading down the steps to catch our bus to San Gimignano.
As one expects, the countryside is rolling hills, some industry but mostly agricultural where the land is cleared and forest otherwise. As with the plains around Ferrara and Ravenna, there was no pastureland to speak of. Angelica told me later that most of the livestock farming takes place south of Siena. The bus dropped us off at a parking lot below San Gimignano and we walked up to the hotel, while our bags were loaded on the hotel’s minivan to be brought up (and arrived before we did).
We met up at ~1900 for an aperitif at a local bar overlooking a square in town where we sampled the local white wine, Vernaccia, and an assortment of bruschetta. From there we returned to the hotel restaurant where I started off with an antipasto featuring marinated vegetables (zucchini, asparagus, and artichokes), followed by ossobucco alla Toscana con fagiolini verdi stufati (veal shank “alla Toscana” with braised green beans). There was wine a-plenty and for dessert panna cotta with strawberry sauce.
The view from San Gimignano.
A vigorous flower box.
Walking up the main drag in San Gimignano.
The square - our hotel is where the white van is unpacking our bags.
Jonathan in silhouette looking out the hotel room window.
The view out the window.
A bit further to the right, the entry into town is where the crane is located.
Vernaccia is the local white wine - very good!
Pocho has a look of concentration while he draws in pen and ink. A sample of his work is on the next page.