San Gimignano Day 6

6:30 am.  Ding  ... silence ... Ding ... someone is texting me. So I get up to see who, because no one knows my Vodafone number. It was actually Vodafone telling me I was out of data. So in just a few days I blew through my calling minutes and my 2GB of data. Hm....so I looked on my phone and I did have several things running in the background. So all of that is turned off now. Now we figure out how to refill the phone with more minutes/data.

Breakfast here is a bit sparse compared to our previous spot, but still, all you need. I had a boiled egg, a piece of bread with local preserves on it and a piece of chocolate tart. All very good. By the time I made it down, the entire family was done and already outside having fun. The kids were playing ping pong, running in the grass and trying as hard as they could to swim...but the water in the pool is frigid! The boys played soccer, Cara and Rosalie walked and I ran today. I'm not cut out for cross country running. Grass, hills, clumps of dirt make it much harder! Not a fan. Kudos to those who like that kind of thing. Cara and I agreed we'd like to come home weighing the same. Not sure I exercised enough to work off all the calories I ate today. 

I walked around the property and took a lot off photos today, just to document how absolutely beautiful this hotel is. It's the perfect location as a central home base if you wanted to take day trips to visit any of the near by towns (Volterra, Montepulciano, San Gimignano, Pisa, etc.) Highly recommend it. I talked about how good the food was here last night, but our lunch today was just as lovely. We had a variety of things, grilled ham sandwiches, fruit, salad, spaghetti, caprese salad...all delicious. After lunch we all just hung out by the pool and enjoyed the sun. It was hot in the sun but cool in the shade. One of those perfect days. There was a lovely breeze and we couldn't have asked for anything more perfect (except maybe a bit more heat in the pool for the girls).

We met in the lobby at 5pm to head toward town (San Gimignano) for dinner. The hotel made us reservations at the Restaurante Le Vecchie Mura and we were on time. We sat on the terrace outside and overlooked a stunning view of the Tuscan valley. Simply amazing. Dinner was good but none of us strayed too far away from the normal Italian dishes. Tortellini, lasagna, veal, gnocchi, cod, bruschetta (my eggplant bruschetta had been infused with some kind of garlicky marinade - will need gum for several days).

We skipped dessert because we were heading for the BEST GELATO on the planet - in the piazza at the Gelateria Dondoli. I had the trifecta of coconut, chocolate and pistachio. It is the smoothest, most delicious gelato I've ever had...and they are the local champions. The gelato shop down the way claims to be the best...but they are not. I, Beth Alongi, self-proclaimed gelato expert extraordinaire have spoken!! 

I was surprised on a Saturday night that the town's shops were closing up at 8pm. We didn't get the chance to do much shopping because gelato came first. So we window shopped and had a good time. I did actually buy something! Cara, the girls and I explored a bit before dinner and we found a Tobacco shop that refilled my Vodafone SIM card. All I know is I gave her 25 euros and the phone is now on again, however, she couldn't tell me what that got me. She said I'd have to call Vodafone. So when we got back to the hotel, and after loving on the hotel's kitty "Luna" we gathered in the lounge area for cappuccinos, hot chocolates and internet surfing. I did find a Vodafone app that would calculate my usage, so that is good, but it doesn't tell me how much I have to begin with. It's a mystery but I will solve it before the end of the trip!!

It's a short blog today, but not much to talk about as the day was set aside to re-charge and that is exactly what we did. It was an exceptional day in Tuscany and fun was had by all. Tomorrow...road trip to Pisa!