We thought there might be rain in the forecast but the day dawned clear and ended up being very warm.
We decided to go north of Asciano to visit a couple of places so after a leisurely breakfast we headed out.
We made quick stop in Asciano to try to connect to the village Wifi but didn't have any luck so that will have to wait.
The road from Asciano to Siena runs along a ridge line over farm county called le Crete. It's hard to describe but in places the land falls away on both sides of the narrow road. Houses are perched on hill tops all around. Pretty.
The city of Siena is about 25 km north. It's a big place with high walls and massive gates that you pass through on the way in. There were lots people and traffic so it was a bit confusing as to where it was OK to park. After our experience in Garda I was nervous of where we left the car so we only went into the main central square to look around and then left. They have a famous festival in the square each year that we had seen on TV. Today it was covered with tourists. It's big and banked on one side which I found unusual.
We struck out further north to the town of San Gimignano. The place is another walled town known for it's many towers. There are 17 of the original 72 left. It's hard to imagine what it must have been like, as it is, it's stunning.
They also know how to handle visitors. There are clear directions to the several paid parking lots around the outside of the walls and good signage to point you into the various sights. We had lunch in a square where there was a flea market going on (a common thing for Sunday) and then walked around town. Again, lots of shops and restaurants and lots and lots of people.
Like San Marino it's obvious that San Gimignano has fully converted to appeal to visitors and while it uses its natural features to attract people, the real purpose is shopping. Nothing wrong with that.
Back to the villa and another nice supper as we watched the sun go down and the lights appear on the hills around us.
We decided to go north of Asciano to visit a couple of places so after a leisurely breakfast we headed out.
We made quick stop in Asciano to try to connect to the village Wifi but didn't have any luck so that will have to wait.
The road from Asciano to Siena runs along a ridge line over farm county called le Crete. It's hard to describe but in places the land falls away on both sides of the narrow road. Houses are perched on hill tops all around. Pretty.
The city of Siena is about 25 km north. It's a big place with high walls and massive gates that you pass through on the way in. There were lots people and traffic so it was a bit confusing as to where it was OK to park. After our experience in Garda I was nervous of where we left the car so we only went into the main central square to look around and then left. They have a famous festival in the square each year that we had seen on TV. Today it was covered with tourists. It's big and banked on one side which I found unusual.
We struck out further north to the town of San Gimignano. The place is another walled town known for it's many towers. There are 17 of the original 72 left. It's hard to imagine what it must have been like, as it is, it's stunning.
They also know how to handle visitors. There are clear directions to the several paid parking lots around the outside of the walls and good signage to point you into the various sights. We had lunch in a square where there was a flea market going on (a common thing for Sunday) and then walked around town. Again, lots of shops and restaurants and lots and lots of people.
Like San Marino it's obvious that San Gimignano has fully converted to appeal to visitors and while it uses its natural features to attract people, the real purpose is shopping. Nothing wrong with that.
Back to the villa and another nice supper as we watched the sun go down and the lights appear on the hills around us.
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