Our plane landed in Florence, Italy, in the late morning. There was a light rain.
The captain announced over the speakers, “Ladies and gentlemen, there will be a slight delay. It would appear that the airport did not know we were coming.” Strange to hear for a International airport. I bet
After disembarking, we headed to the airport car rental agency. (I won’t mention them by name, but if you scraped your knee, you might say it hurts.) They accommodated us with a four-door Alfa Romeo, which has a top speed of 260 kph. That’s 160 mph to us, and no, I did not get near this speed, although others on the road appeared to.
Driving in the city of Florence in the numerous “roundabouts” reminded me of the break on a pool table, or the animation of splitting the atom: high-speed random vehicles oblivious to the laws of physics, and never colliding. As in Rome, all the cars were intact, no signs of crashes, which indicated that this was the norm and everyone was used to it.
The famous PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) traveler and author Rick Steves paved our way to Tuscany. Using his invaluable travel guide, we booked our rooms in places he had suggested and went to sites he thought noteworthy. All in all, his recommendations were right on the euro.
We arrived at San Gimignano in the late afternoon. Parking was imposing, as no vehicles are allowed behind the walls in the town proper, unless you are a local and then only for a very short time.
San Gimignano is a small, walled, medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, in north-central Italy. Known as the Town of Fine Towers, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of its tower houses.
Our hostess, Vanna, picked us up in her vehicle, and dropped us off in front of our hotel (palazzoaltorrione.com), which I would bet good money (euro) that we, on our own, would never have found. At this point it was a godsend, as I believe my wife had packed her collection of bricks for the trip, and I was growing weak dragging around the luggage.
That evening, with darkness falling, the town seemed like an infinite labyrinth of small streets that led to who knows where. The next day it had shrunk to a normal medieval town, now that we knew the layout.
A small restaurant, Trattoria Chiribiri, was a stone’s throw from our hotel. As the food was splendid, we frequented it for our stay. They tried to serve one customer a 5-kilogram steak, bringing it out uncooked on a platter the size of a 1960 Cadillac’s hubcap for his inspection. Although the steak looked fantastic, it was turned down, as the man had never eaten an entire cow in one meal.
Another special place was Pasticceria Armando e Marcella.
The owner, Marcella Giunti, who has lived in San Gimignano all of her life, was very friendly, and served us breakfast on both days we were there. The coffee, cappuccino, fresh blood orange juice (which was red, but tasted like great orange juice), and panino sandwiches were a great start to our mornings. The shop had almost anything you could want to eat or drink (except full meals) and yes, lots of local wine! The wall was ordained with signed posters of championship ballroom dancing. It turned out to be Marcella’s daughter.
Another place we totally enjoyed was Il Pozzo Oegli Etruschi Restorante in nearby Volterra (ilpozzodeglietruschi.com). It is a warm, friendly restaurant. The owner had a cute photo poster of a young boy with a soccer ball on the wall. The kind of photo you would get at a mall. It was his adult son, our waiter! We marveled at the change. Kids do grow up too quickly.
We toured the Tuscan countryside, enjoyed the sights, took lots of photos, and enjoyed the food, wine, and especially the hospitality of the locals. We shall return!