Saint Jimmy John

Today, Nimish and I head to San Gimignano, which turns out to be my favorite. It's a good size to see everything in a day, and has a nice tower to climb.

Climbing the tower is a lot of fun - there is epic orchestral music playing the whole time, so it feels like you are really accomplishing something. Then, at the top, there is a narrow opening with signs warning you to not hit your head. Once you get through the opening, onto the roof, you stay ducked down to get out from under the bell cage.

There is also a museum in the base of the tower with some medieval art and frescos.

We spend some time getting a snack, hitting some shops and getting gelato before the church opens.

The church itself has a modesty requirement, so I got handed a plastic wrap to cover my shoulders.

We then take a walk to a fountain on the far side of town and enjoy the view before heading back to the car.

I spend the rest of the day at the pool, drinking as this is the last day that will still mean my bathing suit is dry when we leave. And several people are leaving tomorrow, so we are incentivized to clean out all the alcohol. All in all, a pretty great day.

Lean Team

Today, everyone heads to Pisa, most of us with timed entry to the tower. We only get lost a couple of times, and as we're pulling up to the parking lot, I suggest to my passengers that they just run for it so they can make their time. Nimish and I have a few minutes until ours, but somehow after a bathroom break and figuring out how to pay for parking, we still beat them. I am an absolute asshole who responds to "we missed our time, if you don't want to miss yours, you need to check your bag" with "oh, well can you just hold it?" These folks are entirely too nice.

Climbing the tower is so strange as down continues to rotate around as you go up.

Obviously next up is gelato. Then we head for the beach. I follow Atlee's directions of "head towards the restaurant and there will be parking when you get to the right road" which means we have a 30 minute walk to get to the group because we're starting at the marina. But there are cold drinks at the end of the hike. All good. And we got to see some lizards.

David is kind enough to drive me back to my rental so I can bring it back to pick up my passengers, and we head back. I'm driving with a lot more confidence now, even in this giant sedan. I see a couple of my actual car today - too bad it wouldn't fit in my carryon.

For dinner, we intend to meet a larger group at a restaurant outside Volterra, but due to some confusion over the name of the restaurant, we end up in the middle of Volterra, and decide to just stay.

A long day, but a good one.

Party Day

Today was a fairly laid back day. I went for a walk and saw a lot of butterflies. The best way to attract butterflies is apparently to turn off the camera, so no pictures.

A few of us then went to Casole d'Elsa, the crystal city. Sadly, most of the shops were closed and the glass blowing demos were running much later in the day. We did find one open crystal shop, some ceramic shops, and a museum. Also, most importantly, gelato.

The museum included the style of glassware in Bladerunner, but does not have it available in the gift shop. Probably a good thing as that seems like a challenge to pack.

This evening is the anniversary party, so we all get dressed up and chill in the garden. Karen still fits in her dress, which has been altered to cocktail length.

They also still have napkins from the original event. And the pens, which still work.

I was too busy eating to take pictures of food, but it was all great. One of the appetizers was a pea mousse with truffle oil and bacon and I may have had several of them. Dinner included multiple courses with an excellent pork. Dessert included gelato and a variety of chocolates. The cake ended up as breakfast for me as I was entirely too full by that point in the evening.