Tuscany - June 10 -- "Too much Tuscan Sun"

Another morning of croissants for these kids!  Poor things!  How will they ever make it back at home?!?

 All of the adults went out for a run this morning.  Perfect day with a "Perth-blue" sky and a soft breeze.  Corey and I decided to try and find where some mountain bikers went off our road.  We followed a two track around up through the vineyards, and had to retrace our steps to find our way out.  There are worse places to be lost!

Once back, I enjoyed a "hot rock" massage pool side from Caden :)

The table setters

 After a few hours swimming, we made a lunch to enjoy on one of our beautiful patios.  The kids set a beautiful table where we enjoyed caprese, bruschetta, spinach ravioli in a lemon cream sauce, caccio e pepe pasta, bread, cherries, meats, and chocolate truffles from the shop yesterday.  This lunch REQUIRED naps afterwards, as it also included Tuscan wine, Prosecco the house owners left us, and nearly a full bottle of Limoncello.  Mama-Mia!

After napping and swimming, we headed into Siena for dinner.  We had reservations here, but as you can see, the swimming, day in the sun, and huge lunch had taken it's toll, and not all of were ready for another meal - me included!

On we walked.  A big plus was that we parked near an entrance with 5 escalators.  This perked everyone up.  Who doesn't love 5 escalators rides in a row?!?   We paid close attention to the instructions and made sure to stand the whole time.

 At the top, we found...duomos and quaint piazzas!  And a playground.  The evening just keeps getting better!  Especially for Uncle Troy :)

 We decided we needed a purpose for our trip to Siena.  We put in coordinates for "the best pizza", assessed the gelato shops as we walked to determine where to head after pizza, and did a Google search for "best unicorn pool floaties".  We were successful with two of the three.

Strolling through Siena you see many flags that represent the seventeen districts of Siena.  Even the light posts in the respective districts are painted like flags.  The Palio Festival, Tuscany's most famous festival which Corey and learned about when an Italian from Siena was visiting our friend Lou Romanoli back in DE years ago, is a festival that dates back to at least 1283, and involves a a horse race around the perimeter of the Piazza del Campo with jockeys from each of the 17 districts.  The horses are ridden bareback and are drawn by lots, then blessed before the race.  The race takes place on July 2 and August 2 each year.

 Thankfully Troy read the blog and reminded me before I started eating to take food pictures :)

 Goofy kids doing a "lemon challenge" 

 Maybe Uncle Troy is doing the lemon challenge too?!?

The back drop does not even look real! 

 Bucket list item #2.  This is where the 'too much Tuscan Sun' comes in.  Poor Gigi with those red cheeks and arms.  We decided to try and cool her body from the inside :)

Walking back, we happened across another beautiful piazza at the Palazzo del Campo full of activity.  We noticed that the bricks were laid out in fan-shaped sections, gradually sloping down to the main building in the square.  We later learned that this was a former Romany forum and is considered the "heart of Siena" and for many centuries was the primary market place.  The nine segments of brick represent the "Council of Nine", Siena's ruling body that commissioned the Piazza in 1923.  

 Beautiful backdrop of the Palazzo Pubblico and Torre del Mangio.  The Torre del Mangio is the bell tower that was built the Finaldo brothers between 1138 and 1148, stretching 330 feet into the syk.  We headed into the beautiful town hall building, which offers a courtyard open to the sky to admire the tower from within...and gives the pigeons a gorgeous hangout :)

  The walk back...