SUPER TUSCANS

Had a lovely breakfast al fresco at our Volterra Inn and then set off for Siena with a small side trip to San Gimignano - the Tuscan hill town with all of the picturesque towers.  Our first clue that our plans may go awry was when we noticed over two dozen tour buses parked in a bus lot below the town.  I could not count fast enough to get the exact total. Ahead of us, as we ascended the hill to the outside parking lots, were six additional buses disgorging passengers and tour guides.  Looking at the main city gate was like looking at a stream plugged at a point and having difficulty breaking through.  At exactly the same moment, Jim and I turned to each othetr and said, "This ain't happening" and began retracing our steps to the highway heading to Siena.
I just need to rant a bit. I know that I will offend all of the people who feel that they wish to see a country on a guided tour, but I passionately, vehemently (are you getting the idea?) hate bus tours.  Walking down a narrow street in any town in any part of the world with a tour of forty people coming at you is like attempting to swim up stream against a mighty current. We have never experienced any groups in a tour who acknowledge that anyone else other than the tour lemmings may be present.  In Pisa, Jim and I were examining each of the incredible panels on the Pisano pulpit when a tour guide, with 40 lemmings in tow, stepped right in front of Jim and began lecturing. Pardon me?  Instead of viewing a historic piece of art and history we were surrounded by lemmings. Tour buses, in an attempt to show their clients the local scenery, take minor, lovely country roads that can barely take two normal cars passing each other nevertheless a bus and car.. I took a photo of three massive tour buses coming at Jim and I on such a road today.  I heard a member of a guided tour today complain about how much climbing there is in Siena (heck, she should have visited Volterra).  I wanted to lean over and ask, "Does the term hilltown not mean anything to you?" Dear tour guides, please take your swarms of lemmings and your *******sunflower or whatever else you are holding above your head and GO AWAY!!!!!  Okay, my rant is over and I feel better.
At this juncture I need to again thank Matthew for our GPS Italia card.  We never would have found our way through some of the small towns today nor found our way to our hotel inside the Siena walls without "Jeelo" -  (that's what we have named her.) Thank you again, Hon.
We decided that today would be a non-site day. No need to suffer from overload, so we did some shopping (a bit too much) and enjoyed a leisurely lunch in Il Campo. Il Campo, the giant square (or should I say round) in the centre of Siena, reminds me of the Trevi Fountain in Rome. Everyone wants to be there.  It is like a celebration.  Tomorrow, Jim and I will begin site seeing in earnest - especially the City Hall with its famous paintings and the stunning Duomo.
This afternoon we took an amazing two-hour course on Tuscan wines at The Tuscany Wine School.  During class, we learned all about Tuscan wine making history, its traditions, and what DOC's and DOCG's mean on wine labels.  Best of all, we discussed and tasted the new famous wines, the so-called Super Tuscans.  Our instructor, Mariaouisa Cesani's family owns the famous Cesani Vernaccia vineyard and winery just north of San Gimignano, she was a font of knowledge and quite entertaining.In addition to two Super Tuscans, we tasted one of Tuscany's best - Brunello di Montalcino. Needless to say we were quite the 'happy' duo when class was finished. Two hours - six wines.  Not bad, eh? I'm liking this Italy thing.
Ciao!