A (Long) Day Out in San Gimignano

Summary

The author recounts a lengthy and eventful day trip from Riomaggiore to San Gimignano and Siena, filled with travel by train, bus, and on foot, and shares experiences of sightseeing, cultural encounters, and dining.

Abstract

The narrative begins with the author and Stacey embarking on a multi-leg journey involving several trains and a bus to reach San Gimignano, a medieval town known for its tower-houses. Despite the town's beauty and historical significance, they encounter large crowds of tourists, which slightly dampens their experience. The author humorously notes a mix-up about the village with painted doors, which led them to San Gimignano instead of Valloria. They then proceed to Siena, where they enjoy a more relaxed exploration of its many churches, including the impressive Duomo. The day concludes with a disappointing dining experience at La Lampara Restaurant, prompting them to consider alternative dining options in the future.

Opinions

The author expresses a dislike for overcrowded tourist spots, specifically mentioning the throngs of tourists in San Gimignano.
There is a sense of disappointment in not being able to visit the tallest tower in San Gimignano due to it being closed.
The author shows a keen interest in learning Italian and appreciates the beauty of the Italian language.
The author has a positive view of Italian TV as a tool for language immersion.
There is a clear preference for Greece over Italy as a travel destination, as indicated by the desire to return to Greece.
The author values free access to historical and religious sites, as evidenced by their appreciation of San Domenica's church in Siena for not charging an entry fee.
The author is critical of having to pay to enter churches, particularly the 10 euro charge for Siena's Duomo, and chooses not to enter.
The dining experience at La Lampara Restaurant is deemed unsatisfactory due to the excessive saltiness of the risotto marinara and the long wait for the meal.
The author's overall opinion of the day is a mix of appreciation for the sights seen and experiences had, tempered by some disappointments and a resolve to make better-informed choices in the future.

…and Siena

Yep! I did it again, accompanied by Stacey who was energized from her rest day yesterday. Into La Spezia on the local Cinque Terre train, and then caught the Rome Eurostar hopping off at Pisa. About half the time of the trip yesterday, but were questioned by the conductor as you are supposed to book a seat (and pay a reservation fee) for this train, but since we were getting off at Pisa, he let us be.

Our third train then took us to Empoli where we had a connection to Poggibonsi with a bus connection to San Gimignano. Four trains and a bus to get there! It had better be good!

First stop San Gimignano

And it was — except that everyone and his dog thought so too as it was overrun by busloads of American and Japanese tourists — my pet hate — not the Japanese tourists: the crowds!

There were originally 72 tower-houses — some as high as 50 m — but only 14 have survived. San Gimignano has retained its atmosphere and appearance, and so is a popular place on the tourist trail. Disappointingly, the tallest tower was closed so we had to be content to scale the smaller tower which still gave a panoramic view of the beautiful Tuscan countryside.

Stacey even managed to find a Christmas present for Max — an apron embroidered with Ristoranti da Max: a perfect gift since Max is the chef.

Stacey paid 4 euro each for us to go into the museum which would explain the existence of San Gimignano in English, but this was not the case. It did not explain the history very well, but Stacey and I together managed to read the Italian descriptions of what was being shown.

Pity I can’t understand the spoken word as well, although I am trying to immerse myself in Italian TV to improve my grasp of the language. I think of all the languages I’ve heard so far, Italian is the one I would most like to learn although Greece is the country I’d most like to return to.

The search for the village with the painted doors

After walking around the entire village without finding a single painted door, I asked at the Tourist Information Office where were the painted doors. After much confusion, and googling, the clerk found that the village I was looking for was Valloria in Liguria, almost 400 km away! The main reason I picked San Gimignano to visit was I thought it was the village with the painted doors! Just goes to show I do stuff up occasionally! I still haven’t been to see that village with the painted doors. It’s been on my itinerary twice since then, but has been skipped by my drivers both times for very good reasons I might add.

Valloria has more than 150 hand-painted doors, each by a different artist. Photo by www.italymagazine.com

Next stop Siena

After San Gimignano, we decided to head on to Siena. We had a kebab for lunch, and headed off to explore the very hilly town of Siena which seemed to have almost as many churches as houses! Stacey and I ventured into San Domenica’s for a look, which had beautiful stained glass windows and wasn’t overrun by tourists and was free! Then we headed up to Siena’s Duomo- Saint Catherine’s I think it was called. They wanted 10 euro to enter! I refuse to pay to enter a church so sat outside with the pigeons while Stacey did the full tourist thing — the church, the wall, the museum and the baptistery all within an hour! The pigeons gave me two gifts — a disgusting one and then to make amends, a beautiful feather which I stuck in my hat!

We raced back to the bus stop grabbing a gelati on the way. Amid a slight amount of confusion, we managed to get onto a bus without paying and arrived back at the train station for the long trip home. We couldn’t seem to get good connections and didn’t arrive back in Riomaggiore until after 8 pm where we met Lorelle and Kiryn just finishing their dinner at La Lampara Restaurant.

A disappointing dinner

Stacey ordered the whole sea bass and I ordered the risotto marinara which I couldn’t eat! All I could taste was salt — surely you don’t have to add salt to a marinara dish? Stacey tasted it and confirmed it was inedible. And this was after waiting over an hour for our meal to be served! Stacey and I had finished a whole bottle of wine well before our meals arrived. I returned the risotto but still had to pay for it. We won’t be coming back here again. It’s no wonder the next village has been recommended for eating out!