San Gimignano is like the Italian version of Napa, but less commercialized and very rural. By train, it takes about an hour and a half to get to the nearest “city” of Poggibonsi, which happens to have the nearest hospital (not that we needed it). However, it’s another half and hour by bus to get from Poggibonsi to San Gimignano. It’s amazing what Italian bus drivers can do with a fifty something passenger bus on tiny rural highways that route in between medieval buildings.
We had debated getting some form of transportation for our stay in San Gimignano, but figured we could do it once we got there if we needed it. I almost got heat exhaustion walking up the hill from the bus stop with our luggage up to our hotel; I’m pretty sure the hotel front desk clerk was put off by us sweating and huffing when we checked in. We took some time to cool off at the pool and sit in air conditioning for the first time since we left Amsterdam.
Once we recuperated, we decided to make the 1.2 mile trek into the city to find dinner. We found a restaurant called Echoes which served bruchettas, sort of like pizzas, but really just long slices of bread, baked with a wide variety of ingredients.
The staff was super friendly and helped us find some good, local, Italian beer to try, and PLUS the restaurant was air conditioned. They do follow local tradition and close for an afternoon break- sometime around 3-4, then reopen for dinner, so we learned to check business times before assuming they were open in the afternoon.
The city was just as wonderful as we had heard from friends who had studied abroad in Florence. Situated on top of a hill, the city is known for its plethora of towers, and for the medieval streets with hundreds of years old buildings.
There are tons of shops selling local wine, cheese, dried and cured meats, as well as touristy and souvenir shops.
There’s nothing that could beat the beauty of the sunset that night over the rolling hills of the Tuscan countryside.
