1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #509 - Siena, Tuscany, Italy

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #509

- Siena, Tuscany, Italy 

 

 

(Our final stop on this Tuscany day tour is the town of Siena. Its claim to fame is the town square, regarded as the most beautiful medieval piazza in Europe, called the Piazza del Campo. Every year, it holds an annual horse race - the Palio - right in the middle of this shell-shaped square, with sharp turns causing many injuries. Siena's history is so intertwined with that of Florence, both fighting for supremacy in the old days. The Siena Cathedral here is also supposed to rival the Florence Cathedral in beauty and complexity. We stopped at the A Nannini patissieri, located along its main walkway and had a great cup of cocoa, and also wrapping up 10 pieces of its famous ricciarelli, its equivalent of macaron, to enjoy back at the hotel)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #508 - San Gimignano and Monteriggioni, Tuscany

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #508

- San Gimignano and Monteriggioni, Italy 

 

 

(We must make it out to the rolling Tuscan hills, outside of Florence this time, we said to ourselves. Sure enough, we latched on to a day-tour to San Gimignano, Monteriggioni and Siena, hoping to see all the sights that made the movie, "Under the Tuscan Sun" famous. We were in the middle of these hills in less than 2 hours  by coach. San Gimignano was a time-travelled fortress, with towers aplenty - a beautiful medieval town indeed. We stopped inside to lovely shops, one selling only lavender items, and the other, local clayworks and pottery. We had to buy some souvenirs. Monteriggioni was smaller in size, but with a drizzle turning into rain, we saw little of it, unfortunately)

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #508 - Climbing the Bell Tower, Florence Cathedral, Italy

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #508

- Climbing the Bell Tower, Florence Cathedral, Italy 

 

(On this fine sunny morning in Florence, there were queues everywhere at the Piazza del Duomo - two queues going into the huge Cathedral, one at the Baptistry and one at Giotto's Campanile, the Bell Tower. We decided to take on the tower. Nearly 90mins later, we were in - onto the first of 414 steps leading to the top of this handsome tower of marble. Several levels of the staircase were very tight, rubbing shoulders with coming down. Once up at the top, it was all worth the wait. The 360degree view of Florence on this bright morning was lovely. We were twice here before on group tours, but this time, climbing up was a must. We actually paid for the climb up the dome too, but timing didn't allow up to queue for both - next time then)

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #507 - Gianni Franzi, Vernazza, Cinque Terre

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #507

- Gianni Franzi Ristorante, Cinque Terre, Italy

 

 

(Like the fabled Hungry Caterpillar, we were on the food trail in Cinque Terre, determined to find the best seafood pasta dish in each of the 5 villages here. Afterall, they are famous here for this dish, being right beside the sea. After trying La Cambusa in Monterosso, La Lampara in Riomagiorre, Il Porticciolo in Manarola, Laconda Tinola in Corniglia, our vote goes to Gianni Franzi in Vernazza. They were so good we went for round 2, but was denied a table because it was full and too close to closing-hour. What a shame. Still, we had our fill - some of the best pasta dishes here, and coated with the goodness of the local olive oil. Our tiramisu binge was also richly rewarded, with each restaurant having its own style on our favourite dessert)