San Gimignano and Volterra

Another gorgeous day in Tuscany. The 5 Gs headed to some of the hill
towns nearby. When I first heard the term 'hill towns' I thought of
sweet little villages tucked in the hills and valleys. Not so. These
towns (there are actually hundreds in Tuscany including the one we are
sleeping in), are literally on TOP of the hills and ridges. Many are
walled, and it is obvious based on there locations and fortifications
that they were a midevil means of survival.
Anyway, our first stop today was San Gimignano, a hill town that still
has an impressive skyline of towers. We walked along the streets and
then climbed one of the free towers which resides within the remenents
of an old castle. Only the exterior walls of the castle remain and
the interior is now a quiet garden with olive trees, grass, rock
paths, an artist, and even a harpist! It was so peaceful and
beautiful. In the corner was the small tower that was climbable and
we had an amazing view of the town and a good chunk of Tuscany. It
was one of those moments were J and I just looked at each other and
shook our heads in amazement.

Next, we drove 45 minutes of hairpin turns in 2nd gear to Volterra.
Volterra has a serious wall around it too. It even includes a Roman
theatre that dates back to 10 BC, which was pretty incredible. We
wandered into the city park (where the pic was taken) and the kids
played on the playground while we relaxed. We were admiring the
castle/fortress (in the background) and wondered if we could visit
it. J looked it up in our guidebook and discovered that this ancient
castle is a prison. MAXIMUM SECURITY. Isn't that nuts? So, no, we
didn't visit.

We headed back (down, up, and over) to Barberino to get ready for
dinner. Our apartment has a rooftop terrace that supposedly has great
sunset veiws, but we've missed them all so far. We made tortellini,
artichokes, and bread, and snuggled on the terrace. It was amazing-
the birds flying and singing, the church bells nearby chiming, the
bells from the church across the valley ringing their tune. On top of
all that the pink and orange sky and our kids' excited voices. There
are really no words. At one point today J and I had conversation that
went something like this:
Me: Can you believe we are driving through the Tuscany with our babes?
J: No.
Me: It's surreal, huh?
J: Yeah. I think it will be one of those things, like when it's all
over it will still be unreal.
Me: I know, we'll wonder if it even really happened.

Ciao!