Wednesday, October 19, started out damp & dreary but after getting tickets booked on a steam engine excursion on Sunday, the sun started peeking out and we embarked on an outing to San Gimignano, the town of 14 towers!
 This is the key to 'our' house...

Here is our front door this morning!

We once again tried a new route to the autostrada due to the usual route being very inconvenient thanks to a week-long festival in Impruneta.

Fall colors in the vineyards.

We are getting more familiar with how the road signs, etc., work so easily made it to San Gimignano and a parking spot in a paying lot!! I took the elevator up to walled area while Sarah & Phoebe did the stairs:

Walking into a walled city is such an enchanting feeling...we had several people tell us to just basically drive by to see the towers. We are so glad we stopped! We basically spent 5 hours here just ambling along with some shopping, church visiting, eating pizza on church steps, taking photos of the tiny streets, eating gelato, people watching and meeting people from Singapore, Kentucky, Germany, California, Colorado, etc.!! A wonderful way to spend a beautiful fall day in Tuscany! Here are various photos of our day:

Very Black gelato

View from lookout point

We didn't figure out all 14 towers - our count was 10! Once again, I waited with bags while Sarah & Phoebe retraced their steps (mostly uphill!) to retrieve the car. Once off the Autostrada, Google Maps took us home a completely different way over very narrow, twisting lanes but Sarah once again came through with flying colors!! Here are some photos of that adventure:

Finally a street sign that matched up with Google Maps' directions!!

After a simple supper here at house and plotting tomorrow's activity, we are off to bed! We have an early day tomorrow with tickets to see Michaelangelo's David. Our first endeavor to drive into Florence proper!! And first timed commitment...And I only had one visitor tonight!