We loved Siena, Montepulciano and Montalcino. We arrived in Siena in the afternoon, and checked out some of the sights, like the town hall, the attractive stripy Renaissance cathedral, and climbed the Torre del Mangia - the big tower above the town hall. Later we had dinner in one of the nice restaurants there.

Next morning we got up early and caught a 7am bus to Montepulciano, one of the beautiful Hill Towns of Tuscany. It was a long trip but it was worth it. We got a nice picture of Jen, and when we went back there in 1998, we got one in the very same spot, with a domed church in the valley below in the background.  We bought a bottle of the local wine, Montapulciano d’Abruzzo, which we kept for quite a while back home before drinking it on a special occasion. We spent most of the day there, and then bussed it back to Siena, where we had a ‘square meal’ in the Campo.

On Thursday we got up early again and caught another bus, this time to Montalcino. We loved that hill town as well, especially the ‘Rocca’, the citadel there. Beautiful views all around.

Then it was back again to Siena, a nice dinner and then hitting the sack after a big day.