We have had a lovely two days in Siena. But first we stopped in Montoriggioni (this blog's picture), a Sienese fortified town to defend against the Florentines. It sits a top a hill and looks very striking as you drive up. Today is houses little shops, restaurants and great views of Tuscan countryside. It is a very cute and picturesque place and a great side trip chosen by Tom.

In Siena we are not in the centre of town this time, but have stunning views of the rising city centre. It is a lovely walk to the centre, with the paths cutting not straight through, but working their way around to the middle and the top in sweeping circles. At the top is the beautiful duomo, which we visited this morning. It is a beautiful and aesthetically very different cathedral to anything we've seen before. The original parts of the cathedral were constucted in the mid-1200's and it has been expanded and adapted since then. It is so well maintained and much of it's beauty can be attributed to very talented artists and very rich supporters including many Popes (quite a number of Popes were Sienese). The work of artists such as Michaelangelo and Bernini can be seen in its structure and adornments. The statue Michaelangelo made of St Peter is in fact a self portrait! A highlight for me was the amazing mosaic floor and beautiful library with ancient books and stunningly painted walls and ceiling.

After lunch in the very busy Piazza il Campo (it is a giant curved "square" where they even hold horse races! They simple create a track using sand!) Mum, Dad and I set off to visit more of Chianti. Our hotel room looks over the stadium of soccer team A.C. Siena and they were playing the most popular team in Italy, Juventas, so Tom stayed to watch the game, much to his excitement.

Chianti is a beautiful place and we were the beneficiaries of some wonderful recommendations. The highlight was our visit to Rocca di Castagnoli, in the village of Castagnoli. They make D.O.C.G (the highest rating) Chianti Classico and many other beautiful wines that we tried and then bought thanks to a lovely host. She was very kind and allowed us to have a look around their cellars also. She even gave us a free bottle of wine to share with Tom as he missed out! Castagnoli is situated atop a ridge in the hills affording stunning Tuscan vistas and the village itelf is very cute with a lovely restaurant - we can definitely see how people could stay around here for holidays!

After getting a little lost we made our way to Castello di Meleto. The Castle used to belong to Benedictine Monks but is now owned by the winery. It too showed off the beauty of the Tuscan countryside though it was not as friendly, nor as generous or informative as the smaller winery in Castagnoli.

It was a lovely weekend and quite relaxing- especially before we hit Rome tomorrow!