This post should be instead titled "Do You Know The Way to San Gimignano" because that was exactly the phrase ringing in our minds (albeit with a more Spanish-American twist) as we were heading to San Gimignano by bus. Our journey started out innocently enough - we got on the public bus at Florence, and were told to change buses at Poggibonsi and look for the bus to San G "right across the road". WELL. We must have had the best luck to run into Florence's Most Perverse Bus Driver ever, who dropped us off at the side of a Poggibonsi highway in the middle of nowhere, telling us the bus to San G would come soon. It was the middle of the day, and there we were, 2 lost Asians, smack in the middle of rural Tuscan countryside without a single taxi or bus in sight. Thank God, he sent us a random stranger who "just happened to be passing by" (in the middle of whoop whoop), who walked us 1km to the Poggibonsi train station. And we made the bus, with 5 mins to spare to buy a ticket from the tabacchi at the train station.
The bus ride to San G was a beautiful one (and no, the bus did not pass by that random highway where we were agonising over what to do), and we slowly started to appreciate the scenery after we got over our anger at the earlier mentioned bus driver, and realising our rescue was pretty miraculous. The view of the city, when we got there, was even better.
Another view of the towers from one of the piazzas inside the town - about a dozen or so have been preserved, and it must have been amazing to see the city in its heyday in the 12th and 13th centuries when the entire skyline must have been dotted with towers.
Olive trees galore
Gorgeous Tuscan countryside.
Church of Sant'Agostino - featuring the life of St Augustine.
View of the towers from the Rocca, a fortress-like structure on a hilltop at one end of the town
Random side street
Sitting in the main square, Piazza della Cisterna, named for its well in the middle.
View of the towers from the square
Amazingly, the entire square was filled with people eating gelato. Being intelligent Asians, we went for the one with the longest queue.
There were too many flavours to choose from, so I decided to let the husband decide.
This had to be the BEST gelato of our entire trip. It was creamy. It was rich. It was intensely flavourful. And it was reasonably priced. I can't recall what he got, but I think there was a nocciola, tiramisu and something else.
It was so good, we went back for another round! All fruit flavours this time - mixed berry, lemon and something else. The lemon was AMAZING.
If you're ever there, you know which shop to look for. And you can say you read about it here, on the Hungry Greedy Hippo.
Just found the website of the shop! http://www.gelateriadipiazza.com/english/master-gelato-maker.html
And that's it for Italy, over and out.
Hey! I ate gelato from the same place - but I found it okaaaay only. I put it down to our guide recommending the white wine gelato, which they ran out of, so they gave me the champagne flavour, which wasn't too nice. Either way, bad choices after an alcohol-laden lunch. The saffron gelato was quite nice.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, the bus driver is perverse! Good grief. Thank God indeed for sending such a good soul along your way. We got lost in a neighbourhood in Seoul on our honeymoon - our own fault for attempting to take public transport to a ski resort because we were too cheap to pay for an organised day trip. Nobody spoke English. Until a van carrying employees of a ski rental store near the ski resort we were heading to noticed us lost souls and drove us to the resort. They kindly kitted us out for skiing, walked us to the main entrance, then dropped us off at a train station where we could board the train back to Seoul. So I totally empathise and understand how it feels to be flooded with relief at a miraculous rescue in a strange land.
Such an adventure!!
ReplyDeleteI miss Italy, I miss gelato. I need a holiday.
You had your fair share of holidays!
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