Since this past weekend was officially my last full weekend in Europe I wanted to make sure to travel outside of Florence a bit. The first stop was San Gimignano, wine country. As we traveled out of the city into the countryside, there were rolling hills lined with grape vines and tall cypress trees. It was beautiful. Every so often we would see in the distance a huge yellow patch of land. As we got closer we could see huge fields of sunflowers. Each one perfect in size, shape and color.
San Gimignano is a small Etruscan village from 200-300 BC. I have to say that of all the different places we visited I still like the old towns the best. They hold so much history and beauty. San Gimignano has narrow streets and stone buildings. It sits up high so the views are incredible. You can see vineyards for miles.
Right outside of the town we went to Fattoria San Donato. This is a 4th generation vineyard owned by the Fenzi family. They are the most welcoming people you would every want to meet. There are 18 stone buildings on the property which house the tanks, some wood and some steel. They gave us a tour of their “farm” and the olive orchards from which they also produce olive oil. We were treated to a lunch and wine tasting in one of the stone buildings.
From there we went to Sienna. Another town I would definitely visit again. We had a guided tour and learned so much about the city. One of the interesting things is that there is a square in the middle of town. It is really more shell shaped than square and here they have horse races. Each part of town is represented by an animal, like goose or owl or snake. On July 2nd there was a race and the goose won. When this happens, that part of town displays flags to show their pride for winning this race. It felt like walking down a road in the movie Harry Potter. There are all these historical old buildings and then you see the flags hanging everywhere.
On Sunday we went to Venice. I have to say I was a little disappointed. I think it is one of those cities that you build up to be more than it is. It was beautiful with the canals and boats but very expensive. I have also found that traveling on Sunday is not the best in Europe. Most shops are closed even if it is a big tourist place. I am glad I got to see it.
Well, that make 20 cities I have visited in 6 weeks. Saturday I come home! I have loved my adventure. I have learned so much and am so grateful for being able to go but it’s time to come home.
Have a wonderful trip back! I have enjoyed “traveling” with you!!