Gelato!

10 July
To start the day with gelato and end the day with gelato makes for a great day of vacation!
No... We did not throw all caution to the wind.
We started the day with a private tour of the local Snoopy Gelato place. The proprietor, Ezio, was gracious and passionate about the (unknown and underappreciated) art of gelato making. Forget the wine making, Ezio could tell us volumes about types of sugars, sugar content, and fruit versus cream protein. His chemistry knowledge would put any high school student to shame. He was also able to read his audience and keep us engaged the whole time- a mark of a good teacher.
Later in the day Iris and I expertly deciphered the local bus schedule and were able to get all 8 of us to Siena and back.


We wandered the mideval streets and did some good shopping. It was neat to see Il Campo without the track of the Palio. We even were able to Eagan early dinner where the track had been just a week before.
While eating dinner, Beckett looked up at the tower in the square and said, "I want to go up there."



So an hour later, we were climbing the tallest tower in Italy, Torre del Mangia. The stairs get really skinny and cave like in places.



Beckett saw the 300 stairs as some sort of insane workout challenge. I believe we climbed the tower in a new record time- Lightening McQueen look out!
However, the view from the top was breathtaking (literally)!



Going down was harder than going up. Think flip-flops on hundred-year-old marble steps. So we refreshed ourselves with a drink from the Fountain of Joy, a free fountain where the Sienese have filled their water jugs for 600 years.




And no full day under the Tuscan sun is complete without more gelato before heading to bed, tonight I tried chocolate- it was delicious!

Janelle

Location:Siena, Italia