End Of Season Sale And Our Italy Trip Part Two
Last week in part one I showed you Florence and then described how we drove from Florence to Cortona and stayed there one night on Saturday. Well after our wonderful “Al Fresco” breakfast on the Sunday morning and a leisurely swim in what seemed to be our own pool, we slowly started our journey by car from Cortona up to Siena which is approx. 73 kilometers away and about an hour by car.
Siena is a MUST see place and is listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO. Siena is one of the most famous Italian cities in the Tuscany region and known for its beautiful narrow streets flanked by brick buildings. It is also famous for its Palio ( an 800 year old horse race) that takes place in the main town palazzo between the local “Contrade” (Local town districts)
The Palio is the most important event in Siena and it takes place twice a year on July 2nd and August 16th (my birthday). We were lucky enough to be there on August 12th and witness not the actual Palio but some of the parades that happen during the whole week before the actual race.
In the Palio the various Sienese “Contrades” in which the city is divided into, challenge each other in a passionate horse race in the heart of the city in the Piazza Del Campo. We had dinner there on the Sunday night and watched one of the “Contrades” practice runs and it was super fun and I am so glad we got to experience it. We had one day in Siena and tried our best to see as much as possible. Here are the some of the highlights to see in Siena:
- Piazza Del Campo
- Torre Del Magnia
- The Cathedral and the Baptistery
- Santa Maria Della Scala
- Church of San Domenico
- Palazzo Pubblico
We stayed over night in Siena and the next day after breakfast drove to San Gimignano, which I can say was one of my favorite cities we visited on our trip. It is a small walled town up in the hills of Tuscany, famous for its medieval architecture and towers that rise above. (it was known as the “town of fine towers” or the Manhattan of Tuscany) and also Saffron, a world famous gelateria and a white wine called Vernaccia Di San Gimignano – which was really good!
These towers offer an unforgettable skyline and they tower above all of the other buildings offering beautiful views of the city and the surrounding valley. This town is also another UNESCO world heritage site. It is quite small so you can easily see it in a day. We did enjoy a leisurely lunch in the main “Piazza Della Cisterna” that was highlighted by a pop up thunder storm that sent everyone running for cover!
Here are the some of the highlights of San Gimignano:
- Duomo Di San Gimignano
- Piazza Della Cristerna
- Historic center and walking areas
- Torre Grossa Tower – The tallest at 177ft – My Husband climbed for the photos you see below
- Piazza Del Duomo
- Church of Sant’Agostino
- Gelateria Dondoli – supposedly the worlds best Gelato – I had the Pink Grapefruit and Vernaccia Spumante Champagne – My husband the “Michelle” Saffron, Honey, Bitter Orange Peel – both Amazing!
Below you can see a small selection of our photos from both of these beautiful cities and a few outfit photos of what I wore as well. We were in each city for one day or less so I didn’t have a lot of outfit changes. The Jacket Society items I wore are listed below and are part of our End of Season Sale.
Have you been to either one of these cities and how did you like them?
The Line For “Dondoli” Gelato