Today I managed to drag Hugh away from his computer and we drove to the walled town of Monteriggioni - it is maybe 10 kms north of Siena. It has 14 towers and is mentioned in Dante's Inferno. It was cute but very touristy. We had a bit of a shock as we have been relatively free from other tourists like ourselves in our small part of Tuscany. We also saw a nice church to add to my church haul. This afternoon will all be about packing and getting organised for our next 2 months in Northern Europe (mostly Sweden). Unfortunately Europe seems to be in the grip of rain for the next week so our week in Germany first may be a bit damp. Hugh is wondering why the Romans wanted to leave Italy.
Today's pictures are my last pair of castles and churches for the mission and what a nice pair, hey? The Church is a little gem and I am slowly starting to see the differences between the styles of bell tower and the arches and so on. The castle is pretty impressive too I think. I didn't put a picture of Monterigioni in today as I think an aerial photograph would be the only way to do it justice. So I have a postcard instead.
We are currently girding our loins for the drive into Florence tomorrow to return the car - these big old Italian cities with their one-way streets and Italian drivers are a test of nerve for us. I always pray (in a pagan way) for roadworks to help us out and slow everyone down. Luckily there does seem to be a lot of them around! Hugh is pouring over his google maps so as navigator I'd better attend my briefing - this is my last ciao for the trip!
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