Tuscany Travel Diary - Day 5: San Gimignano

Tuscany Travel Diary - Day 5: San Gimignano

07 September 2015

Lots of towers, stormy weather and the best gelato ever. That pretty much sums up our visit to San Gimignano. Better known as the city of towers, San Gimignano is a medieval town in the hills of the Province of Siena. It's unique because San Gimignano still has 14 towers gracing its skyline, unlike most other cities in Tuscany where they have been destroyed by wars.

For anyone interested in getting to San Gimignano by public transport, it's fairly easy to get there from Florence as long as you know how. There's a bus station close to Santa Maria Novella where you can take a bus to Poggibonsi. There you can hop on a connecting bus to San Gimignano, which drops you off right in front of the city gates. It's about a two hour trip if I remember well - not that long plus you get to see wonderful landscapes on the way!

It was well worth it too. I was dazzled once we entered the city walls. The town was so authentic and seemed to be ripped right out of the pages of a historical novel. I was especially charmed by the Piazza della Cisterna, the town's most important square. It has a wishing well in the middle which somehow reminded be a bit of the fountain Belle sat on in Beauty & The Beast (I find Disney references in everything though).

On the same square you'll find people queueing at Gelateria Dondoli, which is known to have some of the best gelato in the world and has won many awards for it. So of course it couldn't miss from my 'must-try-gelaterias-list'. And there's no denying it, it was finger licking good. I tried the cinnamon flavor and my favorite was the raspberry-rosemary gelato. I'm normally more a chocolate-nutty type of gal, but this was really yum!

Anyway, gee I could fill an entire book with my love for gelato but let's move on. Our plan was to go up in one of the towers but then the weather decided otherwise. Before our trip, my neighbours had warned me that the two times they visited San Gimignano it had rained, and so it did this time. All of a sudden the blue sky turned grey and we could see lighting all around the town. For safety reasons, all towers were closed for visitors. It wasn't what we'd hoped for but the rain did somehow add to the medieval feeling and it's an experience we won't soon forget.

Hope you're still enjoying La Bella Italia! Up next is Lucca!
 Ciao ♡


1 & 2. The many towers of San Gimignano - 3. Gelato from Gelateria Dondoli - 4. The well on the Piazza della Cisterna - 5. Stormy weather taking over the city - 6. A cute street a little outside the centre - 7. View from the city

Tuscany Travel Diary - Day 3: Siena

Tuscany Travel Diary - Day 3: Siena

04 September 2015

Hey guys, sorry for the time gap between posts but August has been full of days at the library studying for my exams and I simply couldn't find the energy to sort through the enormous amount of photos we took. Here's a small selection of the beautiful day we spent in Siena. I very much looked forward to visiting this little town because I have great memories of running around on the Piazza del Campo with my class mates when I was a kid. I wanted to see if the shell-shaped piazza was as beautiful in reality as it had been in my mind (and it was!).

  After a short walk from the station, we arrived at Siena's grand city walls. Without any need for a map, the narrow streets led us straight to the city centre, the Piazza del Campo. From there we went to the Siena Cathedral, by the far the most impressive piece of architecture we've seen on our trip! The fun part was, there's now a behind the scenes tour which allows you to go up the higher floors of the cathedral. From the Museo dell'Opera we also got an amazing view over the city. It's very touristic but I think this tour is a must for anyone visiting Siena for the first time.

Afterwards we went for some gelato at La Vecchia Latteria, some of the best we had! You can find the little shop in a quiet street about 5 minutes from the cathedral. One last tip: don't forget to look at the view from the city before leaving its walls. Siena's historical center is situated quite high up the hills which gives you an amazing panorama over its countryside!

I'll try to get the rest of our trip online asap!
Happy September ❤❤❤


1. View over the Piazza del Campo and the Torre del Mangia - 2. Oh hi there! - 3. Refreshments on the Piazza del Campo - 4. Cute vespa - 5. Stairs to the crypt of the cathedral - 6. Taken during the cathedral tour  7. One of Siena's city walls - 8. View on the countryside from the city - 9. The Duomi di Siena & gelato from La Vecchia Latteria (Instagram)