San Gimignano was my favorite city the last time we came to Italy. It was this magical Tuscan city with fields of sunflowers welcoming you with the medieval skyline of towers as the backdrop. I was so excited to take the kids to this 'off the beaten path' that we loved so much. When we arrive we were surprised to see many tour buses dropping off loads of people. We entered the walled city, walked through the streets, and climbed one of the towers and told the kids how when we were here last time we were the only ones in the streets! They couldn't believe us because it was wall to wall people and it didn't have the same magical feeling we had experienced before. It was still beautiful and a fun place to explore but a little too touristy.
Our next stop was Siena. We only wanted to stop and show the kids the Piazza del Campo in Siena. It is the town center and is unlike any other piazza in Italy. It is where the Palio horse race is held. We have pictures when we were here last time and we are standing in the middle of the piazza and there isn't a single person besides us there. It's amazing to see how some of these small towns gain traction with tourism and they just aren't the same. Yes, the piazza is still magnificent but it's just different if you've experienced it undisturbed. It was Saturday morning and it was fun to see all the locals out walking the streets visiting with each other. It was so refreshing to see genuine connections with friends and neighbors as they were mingling with each other. I really can't describe it but I wish our culture had more of that instead of the rat race I feel like we get sucked into.
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