Baptistery of San Giovanni and Florence Cathedral in the early morning Today was our final private tour of the trip. I had booked a tour through Florence Tours by Paola Migliorini, which had been recommended by Rick Steves. Paola did not guide us, but Giuseppe, who was our driver and is a licensed guide, was terrific. This was the experience I had been hoping for on all our private tours. He taught us much about art, history and architecture! The planned stops were interesting and so was the driving time. He was quick to volunteer brief stops to let us jump out and take photos. Giuseppe picked us up at our guest house and we were soon on our way, learning more about Florence on our way out of town. The first stop of the trip was before we were even out of Florence, at Piazzale Michelangelo, a high point with a panoramic view of the city,
The first destination was Siena, which is yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site. As we came into town there were brief pauses for photos, then we stopped at a park where we could get a broad look at the city, before continuing in. Giuseppe dropped us by the Basilica Cateriniana di San Domenico, for a few minutes on our own, while locating a place to park before rejoining us. He gave us a tour of the church. teaching us about the ways the art and architecture changed as the church was built over more than a century, then led us through the old city, finally arriving at Piazza del Campo, the medieval square where the community holds the amazing Palio di Siena horse race twice each summer. Along the way, he introduced us to several of the city districts (Contrade). Each of district has their own church, a museum devoted to the contrade and a very partisan community. In the horse race, each contrade is represented by a horse selected by lot and the results of the race are as significant to community as any sporting event is to us in the United States.
We stopped for lunch at Fattoria Sant'Appiano, a four generation family farm and winery. There was a very brief tour of the winery, which includes a 14th Century wine cellar that was built out of an Etruscan tomb. The winery has an outdoor dining area with a fabulous view, where they serve a light lunch that is more about the wines served with it than the food, for 70 euros. We didn't purchase any wines after the meal, but I did purchase a bottle of 12 year old Mussini Aceto Balsamico di Modena vinegar (which is not produced in this region). This was the only place during the trip where the cashier took my credit card and did not show me the screen to push the buttons myself for acceptance. I was irritated to learn afterward that she had selected Dynamic Currency Conversion, charging me in dollars at a poor exchange rate rather than Euros. Very few places during the trip even offered the conversion option and the few that did, encouraged me to select the euro option which is better for the customer.
The third destination of the day was San Gimignano with its 13th Century towers. Again, we had a brief stop where we could photograph the city and its towers from a distance before going into the city. He gave about a 45 minutes tour, followed by as much time on our own as we wanted.
In the evening, I made a reservation at a restaurant near our guest house and we explored a little in another direction before supper. Osteria del Fiore is just a few feet from the Cathedral and is a lovely setting. It was a little cool outside, but there were blankets for each chair and a nearby patio heater. In addition to its good reviews, I selected it because they offered a bone in ribeye which was "only" 21 ounces, rather than the 31-46 ounce steaks offered at the restaurant the night before. I had the "Scottona femmina 22 mesi" which is a 22 month old heifer. It was a great meal and I was nearly able to finish the ribeye.
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Linda &
Giuseppe
