Italy - Day 5 - May 4, 2019

We woke after sleeping in a little bit to get breakfast here at the hotel. The jet lag carries and we have been walking so much, sleep is so needed! After we got ready, we start walking to our wine tasting lunch at Palagetto Winery. 

  

It was about a half hour walk. When we arrived, we got a small tour and the woman working told us about some of the different grapes they grow and the varieties of wines and oils they produce. She even shared that they have the only olive press in the area so many of the other olive producers in the area bring their olives to Palagetto to have them pressed. 

She then sat us for lunch near all the wooden barrels of wine. There were many tables set up but we were alone in the room for much of the lunch which was nice. She told us they get the oak casks from the United States and France as they are best for storing the wine. Our lunch was yummy! They started us with a plate of various meats and cheeses which is pretty common here. There was a small bowl of honey on our plate, which I decided to ask about. She explained that cheese is often paired with honey. Steve and I decided to pair our gorgonzola with the honey and it was both unique and wonderful. They brought us Vernaccia wine to pair with it. Vernaccia is my new favorite white wine! She then brought out bread with two different kids of olive spread. The green olives were yummy, but the black olives were to olive-y, meaning the olive taste was quite intense. Next she brought us a wild boar ragu and noodles with two different red wines to try. We both enjoyed the Chianti the best. When the wines were presented to us, she explained that Chianti Classico is when the wine comes straight from the Chianti region. You cannot call it Chianti Classico if it is not from the Chianti region, and it often easy to spot because there will be a rooster somewhere on the label. Our dessert was a crunchy almond bread paired with a dessert wine. It was very strong and almost reminded me of honey mead. She then brought us the owners “experimental” wine. It was a variety of red grapes together and some dark chocolate which was super good. 

When our lunch was over, we walked the second half hour to town. We walked around for a while and I took a lot of pictures. San Gimignano is very beautiful and so relaxing. We also walked into some stores, but mostly refrained from buying too much... for now! We climbed to an upper open area to where there summed to have been an old lookout. The city is surrounded by walls and is elevated from the street. The views were stunning. We walked around some more and decided to have our daily gelato. The gelateria we chose was different than the day before and i was looking forward to it because instead of small spoons, they give you small cones to eat it with. How fun is that?! The gelato, of course, was delicious. (Insider tip: It’s always good). 

After our gelato, there was more walking! We wandered a lot today. Steve wanted coffee so we stopped in a café and got a mochachino. Which was like a cappacino, but there was also chocolate, which made it extra amazing! They were so delicious. While we enjoyed our coffee drinks, I looked up some reviews of the Duomo di San Gimignano. The church on the outside was not much to look at but all the reviews boasted how beautiful it was on the inside. So we decided that 8 euros was most likely worth it. 

Inside the walls were painted with frescos, which we learned were different scenes from biblical stories from the beginning of the Bible to the end. They were so impressive and beautiful. Steve and I had a great time trying to figure what which stories went along with some of the more obscure paintings. (Insider tip: If you find yourself here, definitely pay for the audio tour. We wished we had) When we left, it was raining so we went into some shops. We bought chocolate and an olive oil container. We then walked to dinner and had pizza from a small restaurant off the main stretch. The pizza was great and we definitely had leftovers! It was sunny by the time we left dinner so we walked and took more pictures. We went up to the city walls and took so many pictures of the Tuscan landscape which never got old looking at. 

We decided to walk outside of the city to try and find a taxi, but also leave early enough that if we couldn't find a taxi, we could walk back when it was still light out. Thankfully we found a kind man who looked like he was waiting for someone else, who agreed to take us because our hotel was close. 

Looks like tomorrow is going to be all rain, so it might be a great day to spend inside, and I'm glad we had pizza leftovers!