Weekend Recap

Friday was our 2nd Rutgers excursion to San Gimignano and Siena in Tuscany. It started at 8:30 and we were off to San Gimignano. The ride was about an hour and a half. It is a tiny, older town famous for its towers and a few movies have been filmed there like "Tea with Mussolini". Originally there were 72 towers and now only 14 remain. Petra (a roommate from Rutgers) had warned me about how great San Gimignano was...but I didn't believe her until she I saw it! It was beautiful! I think my favorite place so far! It was just so cute and quaint with a different feel than Florence and the other cities we have been too. Although, I've heard it gets quite touristy, I did not see that side of it. We started at the bottom of the hill where we met with our tour guide and got our whispers. After walking up the hill and through the town the tour guide conviently let us have some free time in the Piazza in front of the "World's Greatest Gelato" place. Now...I can't see a sign like that and not try it! Clearly the tour guide did not know me! Granted it was 10:45 in the morning but the advneturous ones from "Team Rutgers" (As Nick refers to us as) made a b-line for the gelato place! Let me tell you...it was up there! I can't say it was the "best in the world" because I haven't tried them all yet...but it might have been my favorite so far! I got coconut and vanialla with nutella and actual hazenults inside. To die for! After our little pit stop at the gelato place we were off on our tour of the town which took us up more hills to this little park that overlooked Tuscany. It was so beautiful! And after all of Team Rutgers did the anti-rain dance..the weather held out and it was actually sunny and warm and beautiful! We got some more free time at the top where I took tons of pictures...too many I'm sure but I just couldn't pass it up. It couldn't have been a more perfect day to see Tuscany. From there it was on to lunch which consisted of chicken, french fries, pasta with meat sauce. Desert was a fruit tart and of course we had white wine which San Gimignano is famous for. It was all so good but once we were done with lunch we had to hurry off to our next stop.

It wasn't on the itinerary but Nick wanted to take us to Monterigiorni if we had time. We almost didn't make it as our bus got caught behind a line of traffic which was held up by a fire engine. The roads are very winding and Nick passed out bags in case someone wasn't feeling so good. At first we thought he was kidding until he said that it has happened more times then he would like and just wanted to be preventive! Haha! Luckily, we survived without any incidences. So Monterigiorni is a tiny town that is completely walled. It is the oldest fortress in Europe built in the 1200's and the best persevered. The town is almost just like it was hundred of years ago with the exception of cars of course. The population can't be much as it only takes 5 minutes to walk from one end to the other. Dante Alighieri mentions this town in his famous "Dante's Inferno" and myth has it that the well in the center of Monterigiorni is where Dante entered Hell. It was a neat little town and I'm glad we got to stop there.

Next was Siena! About a half hour from Monterigiorni. We again met with our tour guide and first went into Saint Catherine's Basilica. Saint Catherine is the patron saint of Siena and she is known for talking the Pope into moving the Vatican back to Rome after the fall of the Roman Empire. Heres a little fact...the difference between a church and a basilica is that a basilica has relics. So...Saint Catherine's Basilica had some interesting relics inside...including Saint Catherine's thumb and head!! It was really interesting and as weird as it was...really cool! Now...I've been to a few basilicas since I've been here and this is the first time that I've seen these relics but apparently they exist. Anyways...Siena is a really hilly city. Everyone who lives there must have great legs! We walked up and down the hills all over the city. We went to Siena's Duomo..which I must say...gives Florence's Duomo a run for its money! It is black and white marble and really pretty inside. After it was originally build they wanted to expand it so they started laying the foundation (that you can still see today) but then in the 1300's the plague hit Siena killing half of its population so construction was halted and it never resumed. It would have been massive if they finished! After seeing the inside which includes a few statues by Micheangelo and a library painted by Raphael, we went to the Piazza Del Campo which is in the center of the city. Right now it is all stone with shops all around but in July and August this piazza turns into the place were the Palio takes place. The Palio is a horse race that is the biggest event of the year for the people of Siena. Siena is divided into 17 districts and each district has a symbol (like the turtle) and they each have a horse and they race around the piazza (which they cover in some kind of sand) and whichever horse wins the Palio gets to take home the Palio, which is a flag decorated with Mary on it. We had some free time to walk around the Piazza and then it was time to head out. It was really a great excursion! I liked this one best so far! I would definitely venture back to both San Gimignano and Siena. Our next excursion is in a few weeks to Veneto.

On Saturday we went to this tiny town called Fiesole. Fiesole is located just outside Florence by bus. Its up on a hill so it overlooks all of Florence. The town itself is very cute and it doesn't see much tourist. Luckily, it was another beautiful day so we just hung out and took pictures and relaxed in the sun enjoying the beautiful view! Later when we got back we went out to a little restaurant and pub.

Sunday was homework and errands day. This week with my history class I am going to the Bargello Museum which is famous for having Donatello's "David" and the famous doors of the Florence Baptistery which are made of bronze by Ghiberti. And the Bargello is actually located on the street I live on! So I'm excited for that. On Wednesday night I am off to Dublin so visit Jacquie (one of my roommates from Rutgers)! I'm so excited to be finally making it to Ireland!

Click on the album to see my pictures!

San Gimignano and Siena March 6, 2009