Under the Tuscan Sun

A quick breakfast before we run out of the hotel. We have to be on the corner in front of Burger King to catch the tour. We met our tour guide Brandon and go on the bus. We decided not to go to Pisa first because there were numerous tours going there, instead we started in Sienna. In Sienna we walked to the main square which is actually shaped like a shell. Sienna is famous for a horse race it has around the square twice a year. They say there are 17 neighborhoods and 10 riders in each race in July and August that race 2 times around the square in 1 minute and 15 seconds riding bareback. They put dirt around the outside of the square for the race and the winner gets a banner and the pride of victory. Claudia is our guide around Sienna and she walks us up the hill to their church. It was suppose to be bigger than the Duomo in Florence until the black plague killed 2/3 of their town and they were unable to continue so you can see in the pictures the unfinished out walls. Inside they have marble floor murals, a Michael Angelo carving, a library with Frescos and an amazing altar area. They’re also suppose to have the right arm of John the Baptist, they call religious artifacts relics, but they only display it on the altar once a year. After the tour we wandered back to the square where we met our group and headed back to the bus. Off to the wine tasting and lunch. The wine was okay and the lunch too. We met several people from the tour and had a good time. I picked up some wines and we go to see vistas of wine country in Tuscanny. It was breathtaking. We got back on the bus and took it to San Gigimignano. It is a town of tours in wine country. We were offered a brisk walk to the top of the town but deferred for some shopping. There were wonderful views and a relaxed atmosphere. We got back

on the bus and headed to Pisa. In Pisa we were too late to get into the buildings but we were able to walk around. We posed for the usual photos and then wandered around a bit. In Pisa the baptistery is the largest building because they wanted to celebrate life. There is a main sanctuary, the cemetery and the tower that leans. We walked around some more but by this time of the day we were too pooped to party and so we waited for the group in Burger King. We learned of course about the Romans and Truscans and pilgrims road which ran through this area. We learned about the Medici family and Romulous and Remos. We took wonderful pictures and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Then we headed back to the hotel. My feet hurt so bad I din’t want to do any more walking and we didn’t get back until 7:30pm. I think my blisters now have blisters and I’m not sure if it’s the 463 steps from the day before or just a weak mind but I don’t think I moved for the rest of the night. The next day we were to travel to Rome. It will be our last city in Italy and our last destination. We are weary, or I should say I am weary of traveling. I think my mom is not tired. We pinch ourselves everyday to be in such incredible places and to see such incredible things. The world is so old here.