Torre

Another good sleep then we headed to the bus station to catch our bus to San Gimignano. No dramas this time, we managed to hop on the right one, tasty coffee in hand, straight away. Despite another potentially mixed forecast it was a beautiful warm sunny day (and stayed that way!) so we enjoyed the journey through the lovely Tuscan countryside, with the vines, cypress and stone pine trees, and hilltop golden stone villages.
We arrived in very warm weather straight into a packed crowd walking up into town…good grief it’s only May so I dread to think what it’ll be like in proper summer! We made our way up into the main square by the cathedral where there was a market going on and as I turned the corner into it I got a jolt of recognition looking at the steps as I had a really strong memory of corralling children with dripping ice creams up there too many years ago!
We went into the cathedral and were bowled over by the frescoes whose original 14th century colours were still so vibrant. Enjoyed working out the stories and noticing aspects of them that linked to other paintings we’ve seen here and read about in the book I finished yesterday.
Afterwards, LE decided to climb the tower and I waited for her on the cathedral steps. I managed to take a photo of her waving from the top, and she of me down below.
We wandered down some back lanes (glad to be free of the crowds) to find somewhere for lunch and got some very tasty pasta in one little place, then wandered further to find the city walls which she’d seen from the top of the tower. Lovely walk through olive groves, and amazing views from the top of the wall. We explored a miniature model of the city as it had been at its peak before the Black Death in 1348, with all 72 towers still intact.
We enjoyed getting lost wandering down more very quiet lanes, passing some interesting art shops amongst the houses and churches.
We decided to have a gelato but weren’t going to queue right across the square in the blazing sun to get to (one of!) the ‘award winning world’s best ice cream’ shops but instead got one from a different one nearby that was lovely…I had a tiramisu and a raspberry scoop.
Slowly walked back down to catch the 3.40pm bus and dozed on it on our way home, then we popped into the farmer’s coop shop that Angela Hartnett recommended to buy some tasty things for supper tonight…focaccia, porchetta, anchovies, salad leaves, beef tomatoes, a creamy cheese like burrata but tastier and recommended by the person on the counter.
Looked round some bookshops before heading to Il Campo to sit in the sun with a drink to round off the day. A phoned and we chatted about her upcoming interview and I showed her where we are and let her see how beautiful the town is.
Started to get chilly when the wind picked up and the sun went behind a cloud so we took yet another way home through the winding streets and lanes, then made our supper and watched another Grey’s Anatomy episode on LE’s laptop before bed.