We aren't wine drinkers, but we did love all of the views of the vineyards and the picturesque VERY Tuscan scenery. There were very few cars, and we were more likely to get stuck behind cyclists on the road than anything else.
There were many little farm type shops along the route offering wine tastings, local wine, and local olive oil. We just enjoyed the leisurely morning drive in the countryside. In case you're wondering how the kids felt about this, it probably wasn't their favorite thing about this trip, but we did listen to a Harry Potter audiobook in the car and they did enjoy that.
Eventually we wound our way to the hill town of San Gimignano for lunch. This medieval town sits atop a Tuscan hill and is a pretty big destination for day-tripping tourists- like us. The main road was quite crowded as people browsed the shops: souvenirs, pottery, wine, olive oils, cured meats, gelato, and so on.
In an effort to escape the tourists, we made a left down an alley and suddenly we were completely alone. Sometimes it doesn't take much of a detour to get off the beaten path.
One more turn and we found Osteria Baccano. We sat at a quiet table outside and ordered the BEST food we ate in Italy. This was Rob's appetizer of roasted local onions with a balsamic glaze reduction.
I got homemade tortellini stuffed with ricotta and spinach that was awesome.
And Rob's pasta had some sort of creamy pesto completely smothered in pecorino cheese and truffles. I stole a bite, and it was so rich and decadent! And our kids ate pizza. (Of course.)
After our completely amazing lunch we had to walk it off a bit, so we followed the signs to the park. This took us uphill to the highest point of the walled medieval town where there were olive groves and incredible views.
This is part of the park.
And here is the view of the countryside from the top.
Looking back toward town with the towers behind us.
Originally San Gimignano had 72 towers like this! Today there are 14 still standing, which is still a lot.
We began our walk back down through the town and stopped in the central square by the well.
Then we split up; Rob, Charlotte, Toby, and Amelie went to an award winning gelato shop with a long line out the door to see what all the fuss was about. Jake and I went to a chocolate shop where I had the best chocolate chip cannoli on the planet, and Jakey had some chocolate bark that he chose.
Jake has the least sweet tooth in our whole family and it isn't unusual for him to not finish his dessert, but even I was surprised that he took a bite or two of this and then saved the rest to share with his siblings. That was good, because while Rob enjoyed the artisan gelato they got, the other kids were disappointed by the strong and strange flavors they got and were happy to eat Jake's treat. (Apparently Charlotte's mint ice cream had chopped up mint leaves in it and was too intense for her to eat.)
We headed back to the campground along the same route we had come on, and stopped at a local shop to buy some olive oil. When we got back we changed into swimsuits and hit the pool for a while. Then we ate dinner at the campground's restaurant. Their food was also very good, but we were all so tired out from several days of sun, walking, and swimming, that we headed right to bed after dinner to rest up for the next day's adventure.
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