May 18 and 19 May 20 May 21 May 22 May 23 May 24 May 25 May 26 May 27 May 28 May 29 May 30 May 31 June 1 June 2 June 3	Friday 5/24/02 I got up early, as usual. Couldn’t sleep. So I grabbed my camera and went for a walk, mostly up, then down the road in front of the Villa, then up the hill behind the main building a ways. Bill tells me there’s a road further up that leads to another small village. Didn’t go that far... I took the photos above while on the walk. The photo on the left is a “mile” marker. On these older stretches of road, there’s one every kilometer. This one was sitting on the wall at the side of the road. The center photo is of the pool at Villa Rosa. The photo on the right is a rose growing against the outside stairs at the back of the Villa. I went back to the room about 7:20 to find Michelle waking up. Breakfast was at 8. Breakfast was similar to the breakfast we had in Florence, but, instead of rolls and croissants, we got a whole wheat croissant filled with some jam. They’re much heavier than a regular croissant. Ursula and the van showed up about 8:30. We were ready. First stop was Monteriggioni, which is a small town which has kept its medieval town wall intact. We played there for about an hour, then back into the van. The photos above were taken in Monteriggioni. The photo on the left shows our guide, Ursula, talking on her cell phone while sitting on a bench waiting for us to finish wandering. The other two photos show the view looking out one of the town gates. Nice brickwork in the street. The three photos above were also taken in Monteriggioni and show scenes from this town. The photo on the left shows the front of a restaurant. The center photo shows an ivy covered doorway (and most of a house!). The photo on the right shows a window with a lace curtain and its shutter with a pink geranium on the windowsill. The photo on the left was also taken in Monteriggioni and shows a window with a planter box under it. the photo on the right shows a typical street in Monteriggioni. Next stop was Siena, which is a large town. In days gone by, Siena and Florence fought for domination of this region. Florence won, mostly because of the Black Death. As punishment, Siena wasn’t allowed to build new buildings. As a result, it is a town stuck in time - still a lot like it was in the middle ages. It’s a prime tourist destination, also, so the crowds here were quite thick. . Once we arrived at the Piazza del Campo, the main town piazza, we discovered that a film crew was working on the far side. They were filming “La Brutta Copia” (the wrong turn). The photo on the left above shows how close we were (or weren’t) to the action. The other two photos above shows the streets of Siena from the edge of a roadway and emphasizes the fact that Siena is built on a hill. We watched them film a segment that must involve the Siena Palio, which is an annual horse race run in the Piazza del Campo. The Piazza is about the size of a football field. The horses race around the edges. Each entrant represents one of the 17 sections of the city. Each has its own colors and heralds. Most of the horses are lead into the local church the day before the race (held July 2 and August 16) to be blessed. And a horse can win the race even if the rider falls off - the riders ride bareback.... So we watched the procession a couple of times. As part of the festivities, a large hawk or eagle owl was brought out. It was huge! We had lunch here (I had insalada riso, rice salad - definitely different, but good), then split off to go our separate directions. The cathedral in Siena is quite lovely. Even if they never did get around to finishing it... Way back when, the Sienese wanted to build the largest church in Christendom. They planned to use the original cathedral nave as the transept for the new church. They completed one of the outside walls and the far end when the plague hit. That put an end to the construction. They finally roofed over the one side aisle and turned it into a museum. The remaining end wall is still standing, but connects with nothing. They never finished it, yet they never tore it down either. The three photos above shows portions of Siena's main cathedral. The photo on the left shows some of the intricately carved columns that grace the cathedral. The center photo shows the partially completed end of the “new” cathedral. This would have been the interior... the photo on the right shows a window that should have been part of the new cathedral. It's exposed to the open air on both sides. Towards the end of our time here, I found a gelateria and treated myself to a nice cone. Besides, it was hot and the gelato (cherry vanilla) sure tasted good! Ursula grabbed my point and shoot and got a picture of me (left).... We also spotted this hog in glasses (right) outside a butcher shop that specializes in wild boar meat. From here, we drove to Castellina in Chianti. Their defensive wall isn’t complete, but they have maintained a good section of the covered defense road that follows the inside base of the wall. It allowed the defenders to move quickly around the perimeter without exposing themselves to shots from above. Several of the towns we visited had preserved this feature, but Castellina’s is the most extensive. The three photos above were taken in Castellina in Chianti. The photo on the left shows a woman tending the flowers on her windowsill. The center photo shows the many pots surrounding a doorway. And the photo on the right shows a pair of windows, one with the shutters open and the other has its shutters shut. The wineries in Chianti that qualify for Chianti Classico status get to display a black rooster as a trademark. Castellina had this topiary (left) in one of their public parks. Looks just like the official rooster! The café at right is displaying the real thing. This café is in San Sano, which we will visit shortly. After shooting there for a while, we returned to the Villa (about 4:30) for showers and a rest. I also got some laundry done. I wound up washing a shirt each day, alternating between the two short sleeved shirts I had brought with me. I can wash them about 4 pm and they’re dry enough to put away by morning. I love them! It was a mostly overcast day, so that made it difficult to shoot any of the towers and turrets we were seeing. And it sprinkled some in Castellina. We had another excellent dinner, much quieter than yesterday - the large table of people had decided to eat in Florence instead of the Villa for this evening. The main dish tonight was rabbit. Next...