Alberto Guadagnini owns a small winery and several restaurants, two of which are in the U.S. We take a short tour of the winery which produces five red and two white varieties of wine.
It is a strikingly warm day, but we take shade on a covered patio for our lunch, prepared in the kitchen where Italian cooking classes are taught.
A typical Italian lunch is served, along with six of their wines topped off with grappa. Such a relaxed atmosphere, we could stay parked all day but.......
Siena calls. We visit firstly the Duomo, built from the end of the eleventh century through to thirteenth in the most recognizable black and white marble. We are in for a treat because the floors are uncovered - we get to see the grafitti - the sculpted designs depicting old testament stories, some of which are inlaid marble edged with black stucco, and one of which is designed in mosaic. The whole interior is stunning. We stare, mouths open, at the intricacies of the sculptures, the stonework, the marble and the stained glass windows.
We must move on. We take a quick peak into Il Campo where the famed Il Palio horse race is run twice a year.
A coffee shop calls some, others go off shopping, while the men prefer to girl watch!
We leave for our dinner at six p.m. Excitement en route - our coach breaks down so here we sit.
A van from the hotel picks up six of us after a half, the rest we leave for a bigger van coming from Siena.
Our farewell dinner in the hotel is to be when we all finally gather - we decide not to change clothes but to "come as we are"!
What a day - but thank goodness the breakdown did not occur on the way to Rome tomorrow, especially for those going to the airport.
Arrivederci Toscana e buon viaggio tutti - alla prossima.
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