We set off for our San Gimignano/Siena tour. On our drive out of Florence, we find out that our guide Lavinia was born in Siena and recently returned from Milan to run tours. This is our first guide in Florence that is from the area. Our first stop was San Gimignano (Medieval Manhattan) with all of its towers. The town is, as all medieval towns, on the top of a hill. We meandered up the sloping streets to the Morro (military post) and climbed a lookout for a fantastic view of the valley.
When we climbed down, we decided to use the bathroom before we got on the bus. We didn't want to pay the .50 each, so the boys ran in when the couple came out. Only the sliding metal door to the bathroom would not close, it kept sliding closed And popping open again! The boys and Helen went while we kept watch but when Helen came out we let the door close. We had to pay .50 to get the door back open but the bathroom had self cleaned before it would open its doors. The rest of us got to go in a "clean" bathroom :)
We were running out of time so we hurried down the hill to meet the bus. On our way we stopped to get pins for the girls backpacks and then we were off for the gate.
Bumpy ride on the SuperStrada was not so super for writing in your journal to Siena (so bumpy I had to stop writing and start typing). Siena was devastated in 1300's when 2/3 of their population was wiped out by the plague.
This turned out to be not such a bad thing, for without money to build there was no money to tear down old buildings and thus, their old buildings are still intact.
We went to lunch on the Campo and from there Lisa and I hit the Cathedral. It's black and white marble stripes were striking and the interior was gorgeous! There was a disturbing mosaic on the floor which depicted Herod's command to kill all male babies. The mosaic shows several dead babies in the floor and the royal guard attacking women holding their babies in their arms and crying.
There was also a baptismal font that had what a guide was telling someone that the Adam carving in it was the inspiration for Michelangelo's David (by M's own hand he wrote the sculptor and told him). I could see it in the figure, only I'm not sure she was telling the truth.
We returned to the restaurant after doing some shopping and left a short time later to get the bus.
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