Camper Travel: Lost in Tuscany

Какво е да опиташ песто с дива свиня и “панфорте”, да се разходиш по единствената изцяло запазена средновековна крепостна стена в Европа и да спиш с гледка към тоскански лозя четете в следващата част от нашето Пътуване с кемпер до Западни Балкани и Италия.

To the previous travelogue –> Day 9: With a camper around northern Italy – Pisa and Tuscany

More information about the route, costs and all travelogues of the trip can be found HERE.

 Day 10: "Lost in Tuscany"

 Overnight parking - San Gimignano - 30 km. ( 1:00 AM)

The next morning we were awakened by a machine that was passing me through this swept intercountry road and was mowing the grass that had grown along the road. Wow! Can you imagine? We saw a similar sight in several other places around Italy.

We only had 2 days in Tuscany and our plan was to see a few small picturesque towns, wineries or castles by missing out on another big cities like Florence and Siena, and literally getting lost in Tuscany. We wanted to take the time to just drive along the narrow country roads and enjoy the incredible beauty of Tuscany, the soon-mowing hills, straw bales, vineyards, olive groves, endless fields, and slender cypresses. We had several routes marked in advance with panoramic roads through which we could pass and where the attraction is the road itself and the beauty along it. So we did.

San Gimignano

We had breakfast again with a view of Tuscany and continued to our first city in Tuscany, namely San Gimignano. Before it is the city of Voltaire, which is also interesting to see and we had noted it, but at the last moment we decided to skip it. Entering San Gimignano, we were met with a rather serious traffic jam from the main road. We saw that all the parking lots are occupied and there is no room for us. Therefore, the parking lot where we stopped is located at one end of the city, in the residential new neighborhood and about 15 minutes from the old town, it is free and is located at the following coordinates:

43.462101      11.034
N 43°27'43.56″E 11°2'2.39″

San Gimignano is the first city we saw in Tuscany and said the best of them all, at least in our opinion. As soon as you enter the gates of the Old Town in San Gimignano, the atmosphere simply takes your breath away. So many tourists everywhere, but somehow the charm of the city had not been lost.

Архитектурата е изключително интересна. За разлика от Хърватия, където много голяма част от сградите по Адриатическото крайбрежие бяха с фасада от бял камък, то тук, в Тоскана, фасадите на сградите са от жълтеникаво-кафяв камък и и отново със същата завладяваща атмосфера. Калдъръмени тесни улички, тунелчета на необичани места, гледки към Тоскана, магазини за паста и магазини за сирена и кашкавали навсякъде. Оттам си напазарувахме италианска паста за над 20 евро в различни форми и цветове, както и песто с дива свиня (!). Да, точно така – песто с дива свиня. Взехме си и италианския десерт “panforte”, който е характерен за този край на Тоскана и е с мед, лещници и бадеми. Вкусът е странен в началото, но след това те завлядява и искаш още и още.

It impressed me how many galleries there are in this small town. I personally visited four galleries, some of which were traditional with paintings and others with various art installations and interesting projects. All were free.

After a 2-3 hour walk around the city, it was time to orientate to our next destination for the day - the city of Monteriggoni. It is located 30 km from San Gimignano, but we took the distance in almost 1 hour. Note that the roads in Tuscany are narrow, not very busy, but with many turns.

San Gimignano – Monteriggoni – 30 km. ( 1:00 AM)

The parking lot where we stopped in Monterigoni cost us 1-2 euros/hour and was located right at the foot of the city at the following coordinates:

43.388     11.2249
N 43°23'16.8″ E 11°13'29.64″

Monteriggioni is known for being one of the few settlements in Europe whose fortress walls are intact and completely surround the old town. The city is very small, but also very cute, beautiful. It is easy to see in 1 hour. The main attraction is the fortress walls on which you can walk. The ticket costs 3 euros, and for children under 7 it is free. The ticket also gives access to the local military museum.

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