We started out in Monteriggioni, a small fortified city on top of a hill. I said it was small: you can pretty much see all of it in this picture, taken from the top of the wall.
Stop #2 was Siena. One afternoon was not enough to see the city, and so it goes on my list of Must Return's. 
Siena is famous for hosting the palio, a horse race that takes place twice a year in the Piazza del Campo. 
Each contrada (quarter) of Siena, in addition to having its own flag, animal symbol, colors, and crest, supports a horse in these races. We stopped by the Contrada della Selva, or, of the forest. The colors are green and orange, and the animal is the rhinoceros, which was thought to be a mythical creature during the Middle Ages, when the palio first began.
We stayed overnight at a once-monastery, now-hotel, called Sant'Anna in Camprena, which is actually where some of The English Patient was filmed.
The next day we stopped by Pienza and Montalcino, both small and adorable Tuscan towns, before heading to San Gimignano, another fortified city, but on a much larger scale than Monteriggioni. It is known for its towers, which you can see below.
The best part of Tuscany, however, was the countryside. I brought homework to do on the bus, but it was hard to read when out the window you saw some of the most beautiful hills in the world!
Signed,
the Sengenblogger
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