Day 9

We woke up this morning early to head for our next destination, San Gimignano. The blue sky and wonderful temperatures set the tone for a perfect day. As we said our goodbyes to the hotel il Melone, we headed toward Siena where the folks from Eurocar promised, via email, to fix our cigarette lighter so our GPS will work. (ps, I think our car smells like cannabis when you get it). So we hopped on the autostrada and when we got to Siena it was a quick turn off the highway to the Eurocar. They told us to go back to the gas station down the road and they would call and let them know what to do. If the new fuse didn't work, they'd give us a new car. We pulled into the gas station (no one spoke English much) but sure enough, the repairman put in a new fuse and Ms. GPS was on full force. So we headed out leaving the repair bill for Eurocar to handle. Siena is BIG and to think that we zipped on and off the highway and got repaired all in about 20 minutes was pretty crazy fortunate! We have been to Siena before, hence why we didn't stop at such a popular spot today. :)

So we headed toward Volterra and ran into quite a bit of traffic. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but all of the towns we have been to have not been crowded at all!! Lucky us! Tripadvisor warned about busloads of people in all these locations with streets so crowded you couldn't stir 'em with a stick. So we have counted this as a definite vacation blessing. So as we headed up for Volterra, we got behind one tractor and one RV that were going sooooo slow up the steep switchback curves that with my stick shift skills, I had to pull over twice at the first chance I got and just give them time to get ahead of me. First gear was too fast, second gear was to slow. So I was better off without slowpokes in front of me. So when we reached Volterra we parked and ventured into the city. We found an info stand and got a map. They are known for their Alabaster, so I hit every shop comparing goods and price. Every place had about the same stuff at about the same price. Some places the owners were friendly and some were not. So that helped me determine where I made my purchase. Guy scouted around for a place to eat and this is the first time I did't catch the name except "Bar Pizzeria". So the food wasn't that great, so no need to document for future reference. ;) I had gnocchi sorrentina (on the search for the best gnocchi in Italy) and Guy had veal. His veal was bland and my gnocchi was good but not homemade...I can tell because I'm a gnocchi professional. As we ate lunch I filled out a few postcards and after lunch we found a nice shop with more unique alabaster items, but it was closed until 2pm. So we walked around and took some photos of the ruins, scenic overlooks and Guy found an Alabaster "factory" that gave tours. I got a few shots of the inside. I had a gelato (chocolate and walnut) and checked out a few more shops. I had to have a Volterra Tshirt. Funny because the Twilight movie was played down quite a bit here, but played up big in Montepulciano. So we went back to the nice shop that had been closed earlier because it was nearing about 2:30 by this time. The store owner was hand painting a few items for her shop. I picked up several pieces of Alabaster jewelry and she wrapped each one in its own little package, as most shops in Italy do. She was glad we came in her store today. lol. I bought quite a bit of stuff. After this we worked our way back out of the town and headed for San Gimignano.

So we had about a 15 kilometer drive and as soon as we made just a few turns down from Volterra, you could see San Gimignano on the next hilltop...you could tell right away as it has 7 very prominate towers. Most towns have one big tower... wiki says "While in other cities, such as Florence, most or all of their towers have been brought down due to wars, catastrophes, or urban renewal, San Gimignano has managed to conserve fourteen towers of varying heights, for which it is known internationally". So go to wikipedia sometime and check out the history here. Very interesting. I tried to find a place to pull over and take a picture, but by the time we found one, we were too low for a good shot. I took one, but it isn't showing all the town. So we are listening to Ms. Garmin direct us to our hotel and we followed it. Yep, followed it right into the town...I mean right in the MIDDLE of the tiny shop lined, tourist filled streets. We were unsure if we were allowed there, but we couldn't back up, so we called the hotel. The gal at the desk asked if we followed the GPS in because it leads us in the wrong way but we could only move forward. So we drove right into the piazza and parked. She said we were good for about 15 mintues before we'd get in trouble for being there. :) So we unpacked, and took the car down to parking lot 3. We had choices of parking lots, 20 euros, 15 euros or 6 euros per 24 hours. Hmmmmm....we'll do the 6 euros. So when we drove FOREVER to get to parking lot 1, suddenly 15 euros sounded cheap. So we turned back for parking lot 3. We grabbed what we needed and walked back to the hotel. About a 15 mintue walk. No big deal but thinking about dragging our bags back to the car. We'll figure it out. Our hotel (which is fabulous) is right next to one of the piazza's towers. I'll find out which one tomorrow as we explore all over the town. Our hotel, by the way, is hotel Leon Bianco. If you ever come here, book room number 12. :) We overlook the piazza. It is in the coolest spot! The room is pretty small, but the ceilings are high and painted in gorgeous Tuscan fashion. I LOVE THIS HOTEL! The town is also quite spectacular! We grabbed a gelato at a shop that said they were the local gelato champions for several years in a row. It was probably the best I've had so far. Chocolate, chocolate chip and coconut were my 3 flavors of choice in my cup. And YES, this is my second gelato of the day, but I didn't have one yesterday and it is vacation so who is counting. ;) So as we walked on a bit, we see the next gelato shop that claimed to be the best in the WORLD! We shall see tomorrow! I also got a cookie in a bakery that I thought I may faint when I took a bite. The BEST cookie I've ever had. Chocolate on the bottom with two walnuts on each side. In the middle was a soft "filling" that was amaretto flavored I'd say. Holy cow...I can't even find a word to describe it. Ok...going to scout for a place for dinner. It is already 8:30 and Guy is giving me the "fisheye" so I'll sign off for now and report back in about an hour or so.

Ok, back from dinner. I'm having such a good time...it has been a wonderful day. Dinner tonight was at a restaurant called Le Vecchie Mura. Our hotel recommended it and it got high ratings on Tripadvisor. Guy had the hotel call and we couldn't get reservations til 9, so Guy went down to talk with them earlier. They basically said the same thing, but by the time we got there, it was 9. So it worked out great. We got one of the best tables on the terrace as it was on the rail looking over the Tuscan landscape. It was still actually daylight and we took a few pictures and ordered our dinner. I had minestrone soup (since it was a bit chilly) and venison with vegetables. Guy had walnut ravioli and cod with tomato sauce. I took some pics of course. Even tho it was all delicious, Guy won best of the night with the walnut ravioli. I think it was stuffed with cheese and spinach. Not sure how to explain it besides being nutty and richly amazing. We finished our dinner and walked back to the hotel feeling stuffed and miserable (in a good way). Outside in the piazza a duo is playing guitar and singing. We just heard them sing Hotel California...lol. There is not a large crowd in the piazza but it is alive with voices and music. We have our window open to enjoy the sounds. So long as they stop playing at midnight. ha ha. I had to laugh the other day I was in a shop browsing through some clothes and was listening to Maroon 5. :) Makes you feel more comfortable when you are so far away from home, but things are quite familiar at the same time. This is a big small world. P.S. Looking forward to not driving tomorrow, sleeping in a bit and just walking around at our leisure. I'm so excited!!