Into the Tuscan Hills

Today we traveled all over Tuscany again. We were up and at it! Rise and shine 7AM! After a loud night of people over, let me just say it was a struggle. Yet we did it; and we made sure to stop at the local coffee shop for a fresh hot cappuccino on the twenty-minute walk to the train station. We then board a coach bus to take us into the Tuscan hills. Our first stop on the list was Monteriggioni.

Monteriggioni was a small fortress of only forty people. Yes I said, forty people. We got to Monteriggioni and it was like a ghost town. It was so quiet, chilly, and not one store was open. On the brightside, we walked around, had magnificent views of the land below, and enjoy this little pit stop. We then boarded the bus for Siena.

Siena was our longest stop of the day. We entered Siena though the hills of Tuscany. We saw magnificent views of the land below. Even if I could capture a picture, it would not do this sight justice. In Siena, we began with a tour of the city learning all about it. We learned about the main Piazza (square), which holds two famous horse races in July and August each year (oh shucks I am missing that). We continued the tour with going into the Cathedral of Siena. This gothic style cathedral was absolutely stunning. It had works of art from Michelangelo and Bernini. The stain glass windows were beautiful. The one pictured below is of the last supper. The dome of the church was beautifully designed for you to stand in the middle of the church, and look directly up. After the tour of the church we were off to lunch. Our lunch included a salad, bread, wine, pasta, pork, and vegetables. Lunch was delicious! Lunch was followed by free time exploring the city and shopping.

After leaving Siena we were headed off to San Gimignano “ The city of towers”. This city once had 72 towers. Now there are only 14 left, and only one of them is open to the public. This is also where we saw the beautiful Tuscan hills. The landscape is so beautiful. My pictures do not even do justice to what it actually looks like. We spend time here doing a little shopping, mostly looking at photography, and exploring the town. We found many different spots to just admire the amazing view. It was breathtaking; none of us wanted to leave.

Our last stop of the day was in Chianti. Here we did a wine tasting. We tasted three wines. None of which I was too keen on, but then again I prefer white wine to red. The best part about Chianti was not the wine or the olive oil, but it was beautiful sunset we watched from over the hills. The sky was light in pastels with a violet purple. It was magnificent. This sight is just so beautiful I can’t capture it all through photography.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip into the Tuscan hills!

The beutiful sunset in Chianti. (This photo doesn't even do it justice)

The village of Monteriggioni.

The Cathedral of Siena. (One of my favorite shots)

The last supper in the Cathedral.

The "dome" in the Cathedral.

The towers of San Gimignano.

The beautiful Tuscan hills.

Just a cool shot of the village of Monteriggioni.