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| The famous 'leaning tower'. |
The hot springs of Bagno Vignoni were a real highlight on a very hot day. Built by the Medici the little village is well worth a visit as it is in stark contrast to the larger sights in the area such as Siena and Pienza.
Lucca is set within thick city walls, that are ideal for a stroll or a bike ride. So thick are these walls that the walkway on top is a tree-lined avenue. The Duomo is well worth a lingering look, very intricate and blindingly bright white. I liked the fact that Lucca is a working town and the bustle in the centre is part tourism and part ordinary Italians going about their business. The famous 'round' square is well worth a visit too, but the best thing for me is that whenever you felt things were getting too busy you could escape onto the tranquility of the city walls.
However, the Duomo in Siena is one of the finest buildings in Tuscany. The city is a sheer delight, easy to walk round and full of wonderful architecture. From the little district symbols to the mighty Duomo, Siena is crammed with interest. We visited on a Sunday, parked beside the football stadium, and simply strolled from sight to sight. The Campo, numerous lovely churches, hidden piazza's, looming towers. Great stuff and a place I'm keen to revisit. It can be fairly hilly but that said you wouldn't get the series of excellent views if it weren't for the ups and downs of this beautiful town. If posted many more images for Siena and the other hill-top Tuscan towns and villages on my flickr site at http://www.flickr.com/photos/41471288@N02/sets/72157631236408470/
Volterra was our nearest hill-top village and is rightly very popular. Perhaps not quite as dramatic as San Gimignano it is nevertheless a wonderful setting. There is a calming park at the top of the village which is ideal for picnicking and some stunning Tuscan views. Look out for the roman remains too, they are well worth a visit and quite relaxing in what can be a busy village. At the top of the village (near the underground carpark) is a vista that draws many visitors and with a broad wall to sit on you can linger here and drinki in the Tuscan scenery.
Our accomodation was interesting. A converted steading that houses around half a dozen holiday lets with a swimming pool and great views, and all at the end of what the Italian's term 'a white road'. White road don't have tarmac and are in essence dirt tracks but often wtih a good layer of gravel. This proved interesting for us as our accomodation was at the foot of a fairly steep hill, and beyond our complex was a further farmhouse that was undergoing substantial renovations. Now that posed a problem because the heavy vehicles that brought supplies to the building works quickly trashed the road and as we slithered down to our apartment on day one we both thought .... Mmmm, going to be interesting driving back up this in a mini. Well, it was and it took me seven goes to get up what was a cratered and shifting surface. For the next few days we left our car at the top of this steep hill and simply walked to and from the car at the start and end of each day. That doesn't sound too bad but when the temperature is in the high 70s and low 80s and you are laden with heavy drinks and food (for we were self catering) it became quite a challenge each day.
But the benefit of being at the end of this road were the wildlife and quiet evenings. We had cattle egrets, deer, boar, foxes, birds of prey and hosts of lizards to watch. Insect wise there was good and bad news. As darkness fell encountered the dreaded mosquitoes, but during the day and at meal times the Olianders drew in those magnificent big black bumblebees that bounce around with a soundtrack to match their impressive size. I can never make up my mind about Scops Owls. The sound they make (so like a submarine beeping in a movie) is like no other wildlife sound I've heard, but they do go on a bit and if they select a nearby tree you can write off sleeping for a while.
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