Raj: This blog picture is not very interesting; however I thought I'd show and mention the last episode of the day - Vikki's "water slide". Having rained (surprisingly) late afternoon the steps to our apartment got rather slippery, as Vikki found out when she slid from the top all the way to the bottom (some 20 steps). She's bruised and sore on one side but otherwise ok we think - the morning will probably bring out the worst with stiffness . I thought 6 months away from indoor soccer, netball and touch rugby would mean an end to her usual spate of injuries, but no, this happens. So tomorrow's plans are on ice (as is Vikki's body) and we'll reassess our last two days in Tuscany, not a bad place to hang out if we have to stay put.
Earlier in the day we visited two medieval hilltop villages all within about an hours drive - Volterra and San Gimignano. Both were similar - cobblestoned paths, beautiful architecture, and spectacular views of the countryside below. Driving and finding a park required concentration and there were loads of tourists. In Volterra we visited a torture museum. I wasn't sure about this but the kids seemed to enjoy it even though the devices and descriptions of how they were used were quite gruesome. By the time we got to San Gimignano the markets were closing up but we sat on the side eating a late lunch and watched them pack up (which we actually all found quite interesting - all had large vans which were parked to inch perfection and automated awnings which folded away on top of the roof - guess you had to be there). Vikki bought a small piece of art as a souvenir and we all enjoyed a gelato at the end of another very hot and sunny day. We were thankful for the rain on the drive home which cooled things down a lot, apart from Vikki's mishap.