We're back again.....

Posted Sunday, July 12, 2009.

After a respite, we're back with news of our weekend escapades (don't worry, we didn't do anything to embarrass ourselves - or the U.S. as a whole).

We reluctantly left the beautiful Cinque Terre region early yesteday a.m. (Saturday) and caught a train to Pisa where we rented a car. Then the fun began! Luckily, other travelers had advised that we rent a portable GPS. Had we not done so, we might still be driving in circles around Pisa.(We did a lot of that, even with a GPS.)

It took three of us to drive the car; one driver, one road sign reader and one GPS interpreter! "Margaret", the name we dubbed the GPS, did a remarkable job in spite of the fact that we sometimes ignored her and followed road signs.

We stopped at the Field of Miracles (Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Duomo and Baptistry) in Pisa before continuing to our final destination of Siena.

Margaret would have directed us to the AutoStrada (comparable to our Interstate), but we somehow managed to coerce her into leading us through mountainous, hairpin curvey backroads. At this point, there were several backseat drivers advising that the family member steering the car keep his eyes on the road. What magnificient views - fields of sunflowers, wheat fields, vineyard upon vineyard all with lush mountains as the backdrop.

The Camollia B&B is very nice and appears to be recently remodeled. We're again pleased to have plush "real" towels, but they're only replaced every three days. The card key that opens the door must be inserted into a card reader in the room, in order to have lights or power.

We've decided that we'd like to combine the best features of all the different B&Bs - what a great place it would be. The major complaints are probably that the beds are hard, pillows very flat and showers extremely small. Are we spoiled???

We toured Siena yesterday afternoon and most of today, and then Margaret took us on a sidetrip to San Gimignano, a medieval hilltop town in the wine country, surrounded by a city wall. The town is famous for it's towers - 14 remain of the almost 70 that were once in the village during the Guelph-Ghibelline conflict.

Tomorrow, we're back on the road still touring the hill towns of the Tuscany region. We'll try to catch up and post all the wonderful photos that we took over the weekend.

For now, as they say in Italy .....Ciao!!

Sarah