San Gimignano and Monte Oliveto Maggiore

Because of the no-trains policy on the July 6th Italian holiday,our visit with my Sylvie and my brother, David, in Siena was reduced from 2 days to one. Nevertheless, it was a great day we had and very full from morning until night. We met David and Sylvie in front of the Duomo on Wednesday morning as planned and after visiting therein, we headed off in their comfortable and reliable Fiat to the 13th cenbtury town of San Gimignano, famous for its local wine called Vernaccia which Michelangelo had praised in his time. After climbing the tower, we also tried some excellent gelato from a local shop which claims to be the current world champion of gelato...it was pdg (pretty darn good). After that, David drove us to the 14th century Benedictine abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore which is renowned for its herbal medicines. Unfortunately, the herbal shop was closed by the time we arrived, but we were able to attend vespers and mass which were sung in Gregorian chant and we were also able to sample their wine before heading back to Siena. The landscapes along the Tuscan roads in this area are beuatiful. Low rolling hills covered in patchworks of golden wheat, bright yellow sunflowers, and green patches of hay, olive trees and vines. The crests of the hills are dotted with thin tree lines presumably delineating property lines. David and Sylvie were off to Venice the next day, and we had one more day to wander around Siena and use up some of David + Sylvie's "My name is Duccio" passs which allowed us entrance into the Museo dell Opera, the Baptistry, and the sanctuario de San Bernadino (the last of which we didn't see). We also had time to visit the sanctuary of Saint Catherine of Siena which was, originally, her home. Thanks David and Sylvie for the great day!

Siena

We boarded the 07:46 train for Siena (via Worgl) and said a fond farewell to beautiful Zell Am See. Stopped in Worgl in good time for a morning coffee with pastry. The sideswalk on the main street of Worgl is decorated with a time line commencing near the central church on top of the low hill with a stone plaque laid into the cobbbled stones commemorating the founding of the town in the early 13th century and stretching all the way to the train station where there is commemoration of several 21st century scientific achievements. Quite a nice touch for any town. While we strolled the street awaiting our train to Siena, there were a couple dozen young students prowling up and down the timeline with a sheet of paper which they were filling in with details from many of the plaques...looked like a great school project. Arrived Siena Tuesday evening and, after checking into the hotel and a quick shower, we headed straight into the heart of the town to revisit the bustling streets we had much admired so fondly on our wedding anniversary 4 years ago. We kept our eyes open for David and Sylvie just on case we might run into them, but we would have to wait until the next morning to meet them at the Duomo as planned.