Today, after breakfast, Jim and Rod picked us up and we drove for maybe an hour to San Gimignano, known the City of Towers. In the Middle ages and beyond rich merchants tried to outdo each other by building towers, each bigger than his rival. At one point there were at least seventy towers. Now there are 14 left. we drove through idyllic Tuscany landscapes to get to this medieval town.

The town is quite small and was jammed with tourists and tour groups. First we stopped just outside the walls and had a great lunch at Ristorante La Sosta Sulla. We had a typical Tuscan dish of cinghiale (wild boar) stew with polenta. Delicious! Here are Jim and Rod enjoying a very relaxing extended lunch.

We then walked through the town, enjoying the towers. Jim and Rod who have been here many times waited for us at a caffe.

After walking around and having a coffee, we headed home. Dinner was the leftovers from the hotel’s cocktail buffet. Tomorrow we four are driving about three hours to Cremona in Lombardy where the Stradivarius violin museum is. Alan is thrilled to be able to see this.