Our day started with a walk in the Tuscan country side. We walked on old roads or trails through the vineyards and the forest. We hiked for about 2.5 miles in about two hours. It was a hot day, but the walk had beautiful scenery.
During the walk we went through a nearly abandoned village. After WWII, there were no jobs so the residents went to the cities to find work. There are a few residents left. Pictures of the village are below.
The abandoned village from a nearby hillside.
The Church in the village. It is no longer consecrated, but there are still occasionally weddings held in the church. It was locked so we did not see the inside.
A small shrine in a wall. The flowers in lower left are real and were fresh.
Lynn is the third person in our tour. There are flowers everywhere in the villages.
Our next stop was the house of Massimo, a famous chef who moved to the Tuscan countryside to escape the hubbub of the city. He served us lunch of salad, bread, and varieties of cheese. Of course there was wine as well. His house was full of collections of walking sticks, plates from various countries, corkscrews (on the right), and other curiosities.
Caroline on the steps to the house.
Massimo’s dining room. You can see the plate on the wall.
After a rest back at Villa le Barone, we went to San Gimignano, a medieval town. We had gelato at Gelateria Dondoli. Dondoli is a multiple world champion gelato maker. The gelato was wonderful. Our guide Luciano knows the gelato maker and had a fun conversation with him. In the picture below he was saying the “o” in gelato.
We had a guided tour of the city from Marta. She was a wonder tour guide. The city has a long history. The original gates and city was were built in about 950. The city became very rich because of the first drinkable white wine produced in Tuscany and saffron. We got so much information that it would take a whole other post to transmit it all. Plus, my notes are hard to read. A few pictures of the city will have to suffice. The picture below is of the south gate to the city. It was built in the 1300s.
San Gimignano has many towers. They were originally used for protection, but when the walls were built they became symbols of power. Rich people competed to have the tallest towers.
After our tour we had a wonder dinner at San Marino 26, an excellent restaurant. I had wild boar, a specialty in Tuscany. It was quite good. We had a visit from the chef. On the left he saying goodbye to Luciano.
A San Gimignano street at night. The laundry is hung out to dry and the city is beginning to calm down.
It was a great day in Tuscany.
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