San Gimignano and Siena

A whirlwind trip today - left Florence early to take the bus to San Gimignano, a small medieval village (UNESCO World Heritage listed) on a hill between Florence and Siena. Walked to the top of the tallest tower - the views of the Tuscan countryside (see video below) are amazing. When I arrived in the town, the village square was packed with a market selling clothing, belts, etc. I wandered around the town quite a bit taking in the old granduer of it all. By the time I arrived back at the square an hour later, all visible signs of the market were gone - the vendors must have packed up and left en mass - there was noone there.



Siena was next - although the promised 2:15pm bus never did arrive, and it was 4pm by the time I finally made it to Siena. (The bus to depart Siena is in a different area from the drop off point near the entrance to the village - just head across the small park to the bus stop on the other side). Siena (another UNESCO site) is home to the infamous Palio - the horse race around a square - the Piazza de Campo. The Duomo is magnificent - slabs of black and white marble contrast the exterior making for a striking image.