Siena, San Gimignano

Today we took a day trip to Siena and San Gimignano with Bus2Alps, a student travel agency that plans day, weekend, and week long trips around Europe. Siena used to be a rival city to Florence and is home to medieval and renaissance architecture. We started with a walking tour of the city and saw the Siena Cathedral and Duomo and then walked to Piazza del Campo in the center of Siena. Twice every year, the piazza is completely transformed to host the Pailo di Siena, an incredibly dangerous horse race for both jockeys and horses. The piazza is packed full of people and everyone is dead quiet at the start of the race. I had to watch this video to actually believe it.

Piazza del Campo

From Siena we drove to Tenuta Torciano, a winery and vineyard in San Gimignano. We got the VIP treatment there, 8 different wines to sample, a plate of bread, cheeses, and salamis to try with the wines, and a plate of lasagna with truffle oil drizzled over it. The owner of the vineyard, Pierluigi, was the typical Italian wine drinker. He said wine isn't just a drink, its "passion and love." My friend Nikki had quite the encounter with the owner's nephew (video below). We all had a great time throwing back glass after glass and could have spent hours there.

My friend Kristen and I at the vineyard

Don't worry, he didn't feed or kiss me after the video stopped...

Loaded up with lots of wine, we went to the walled medieval town of San Gimignano for gelato and time to explore the city. We didn't last there very long and everyone passed out on the bus ride home.

View from overlook at San Gimignano