day 3 :

tuesday, 16 may

Tuscany's popularity is well-earned — the lush, quaint roads wind through picturesque vine-covered slopes and valleys as you make your way between the ancient towns — but this popularity has a price: tourists, and lots of them. Ok, so we were tourists, too — who are we to say anything? But, in what seemed unique in all of our travels so far, many tourists we encountered in Tuscany seemed to share a pronounced self-righteous attitude: they seemed to expect Italian culture to conform to them, instead of vice versa, and many didn't bother to try using even a few Italian words, like grazie (thank you). Fortunately, a number of other people we met had a genuine interest in experiencing and exploring the culture.

With that aside, we set off this morning to tour the countryside. Along the road to Radda in Chianti, we discovered the beautiful pottery creations of Ceramiche Rampini. They had many different, intensely-colored patterns displayed on a wide range of plates, bowls, vases, and cups. You can buy pieces “ready-to-go” and walk out the store with them, or place an order and they'll ship your custom-made items to you in a month or two. Eric is now eagerly awaiting a set of espresso cups!

We journeyed on to Castellina in Chianti, a cute little town with the ubiquitous church and piazza in the heart of town. We had lunch off of the main piazza and enjoyed a “light” meal — only two courses each! Food at most Italian restaurants is portioned to be eaten as part of a multi-course meal — antipasti, primi, secondi, insalata or formaggi, and dolci — so it's quite easy to eat two courses and not feel overly full at the end. We wandered around for a few minutes, looking for the highly-recommended La Gelateria Delizia for some dessert, and finally asked some locals where it was. Unfortunately, it was closed today, so we vowed we'd come to try the gelato another day.

From there, we drove southwest to San Gimignano delle Belle Torri (San Gimignano of the beautiful towers). The town's towers were constructed between the 11th and 13th centuries, and 14 of the original 72 towers are still standing. For the families that built the towers, the tower was both a sign of prosperity (the taller the tower, the greater your status — some things never change!), as well as a stronghold during times of feuding. San Gimignano still has a distinct medieval feel, but we were overwhelmed by the multitudes of tourists that overran the city. We could imagine the city being much more appealing to walk around in the evening, once the tour buses have left and the city returns to a saner state. So, rather than fighting with the crowds, we grabbed a couple of cones of limone gelato and drove a bit further south to Siena.

Siena was wonderful — its medieval roots were evident all around us, and yet the city felt modern and lively — a place where people really work and live. We headed for the famous Piazza del Campo, and decided to climb the many stairs to the top of the Torre del Mangia (334 feet high). Even though the tower ticket-takers made us check our daypack and even our water bottle before we could head up, the view from the top was definitely worth the climb. We could clearly see the nine-segmented red-brick piazza from above, and the throngs of people sprawled out enjoying the afternoon sun. Twice a year, the piazza is filled with dirt for Il Palio — a mere three lap, minute-and-a-half horse race that dates back to the year 1238, where each contrada (neighborhood) competes for the glory. Since we weren't fortunate enough to be in town for the race, we wandered over to the Duomo di Siena, which turned out to be closed and under construction. However, we liked the giant billboard on the cathedral façade — a life-size, photo-realistic depiction of what the duomo will look like when it's restored.