Ahhh Tuscany...

Theresa writes
Day 39

We have rented a villa in the Chianti hills and its perfect.  The house is the quintessential Tuscan farmhouse;  very old with terracotta tiles, wooden beams and tiled floors.    The pool is beautiful and warm and we look out over the green hills to farmland and hill top towns.  After three full days of sightseeing everyone is keen for a relaxing day so we opt to spend the afternoon in the pool. 

For the morning’s excursion we head to Sienna.  A walled city with a beautiful cathedral and a famed town square.  By chance it is the day of Il Palio – a horserace that takes place twice a year in the city.  So the town square is a no go – it’s been cordoned off and a temporary racetrack and stadium seating is installed.  The race takes place tonight at 7:30.  If you want to see it you have to join the thousands in the middle of the racetrack , be there 3 hours before and wait with no toilets available.  It doesn’t sound feasible with children so we opt to watch it live on the Tuscan tourist website instead.

We explore the city by foot including a walk along the fort walls offering a wonderful view back to the city and the cathedral.  The town is packed with locals.  The race is contested between the 17 neighbourhoods of Sienna and each has a scarf with their colours and their symbol.  The girls both want a scarf to join in with the locals, Emma opting for the caterpillar and the rose (?) and Holly for the unicorn (unicorno?). 

Once we have finished exploring we head to the local supermarket to pick up groceries and it is packed. Due to Il Palio the supermarket closes at 1:30 and everybody has turned up at the same time as us to shop… Scott buys antipasto and fresh sausages for tea waiting about 25 minutes for his turn at the counter whilst I pop around doing much of the remaining shopping.  Its chaos and I am dreading the checkout queues.  But every lane is open and that is the easiest part of the day.

Back home for lunch followed by an afternoon in the pool for the children with us relaxing in the sun on the loungers, taking the occasional dip to cool off.  It’s a fabulous way to spend the afternoon.