I woke up to birdsong and a disgruntled donkey in a canopied bed in tuscany! We have the most incredible view from the dining room of the countryside and we are going to make breakfasts at the house - this morning cereal with a fresh peach, boiled egg and toast.

There are so many beautiful Tuscan villages to explore so we decided to start with San gimignano, famous for lots of tall medieval towers and it's pristine condition. There were people everywhere, a beautiful piazza and an antique market with interesting things more than good buys. We had a simple panini lunch and a cafe freddo (iced strong sweet black coffee, perfect for a hot day). The view from the fortress wall was astounding, as was the burn in my legs from walking up all the steps.

We were close to volterra so decided to continue on to see another hill town. Volterra is an etruscan town, a little shabbier and not as touristy or crowded as San gimi, but it attracts twihards as it is the location of the Italian vampire aristocracy, as well as the film location of full moon (of the twilight series).

Time to cook dinner in our farmhouse - tonight pasta with tomato salumi and chilli with rocket, cheese and peach salad. Italian pasta di mandola biscuits for dessert. The countryside glows with a golden light just before sunset, then turns a deep saphire blue before submitting to darkness.