Florence - Day 3

Martin had planned Thursday to be the day we visited the hilltop town of San Gimignano, and hour and a half from Florence. It was certainly the most glorious day and as we drove through the Tuscan hills we pointed out olive trees and cypresses to James. He was very interested in the olive trees and looked in earnest for ripe olives to eat. San Gimignano has long been a dream of ours, and we had visions of sitting on a wall overlooking all of Tuscany eating salami and cheese! Well, it came true, although the wall was replaced by an olive tree in a ruined fort at the top of the highest hill. I lay under the tree (James was in it) and listened to the birds singing and it was just a perfect few minutes. We climbed the Torre Grosse, one of only 13 towers left out of an original 72. The view from the top was breathtaking, as was the climb up! We had lunch at a restaurant 'Il Quattro Gatti', overlooking a sun-bathed, flower-filled courtyard and feasting on Tuscan deliciousness, and yet again looking for cats, but none were to be found. We wandered up and down the incredibly steep streets of the town in the warming sunshine until about 5pm then caught the bus back to Florence. It was truly a perfect day.

Photos are here.