Day tripping Florence, Siena and San Gimignano

Today we were to meet in the breakfast room at 8 for a leisurely breakfast and be ready for our driver by 9am.......things were going according to plan with 5 of us enjoying eggs, prosciutto, juice, crossiants, fruit and coffee as only the Italians can do!!!!! We thought Joanie and Judy must have gone for an early breakfast and then a walk as they had mentioned the possibility yesterday......not so, they had slept in!!!! Only 15 minutes behind schedule we piled into the van with a very friendly Jack driving us to a high point in Florence to San Miniato Al Monte.  It was a magnificent sight and I think if we could we would all move to Florence! From the  lookout we could see the Arno River which winds in a serpentine pattern far below. To one side we could see the portion of the old city wall which is still standing, and used to encircle the whole of Florence. The scene was very pretty with Cypress trees and old stone and brick houses, with tiled roofs and vineyards on the hillsides.
We entered the church and there were many young black frocked monks looking quite busy at their chores. In the grounds outside there was a graveyard set on the hill, graveyards being a favourite of mine.
Leaving Florence we drove about an hour to Siena. Jack dropped us off at the duomo San Dominico. We bought tickets to view the Museum, the Babistry, Library, Tower and Crypt. The tower was a very old brick structure that seemed to go on for ever, winding up narrow stone steps. There were 132 steps in all. Up at the top the views of the surrounding countryside were so amazing we were speechless.
In the crypt there were frescos depicting scenes of the bible.:
In the first Jesus was washing Peters feet, next it was Judas betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, the crucifixion where Christ is secured to the cross by 3 nails, then the deposition of Jesus' body where Nicodemus removes the nails from his feet and passes his body into the loving arms of his mother Mary and Two other Mary's and they mourned the son of God. Finally Jesus descends to hell to save the righteous of the Old Testament. It was very moving.
We left the dumo and walked down to the restaurant  PorriOne (which has been Michelin rated for several years) we had reserved for lunch in the main piazza.
The restaurant had no other guests, tables were set with white tablecloths, the room was exquisitely decorated with fine art, beautiful vases with fresh flowers, wine glasses on the table chimed like bells when we lifted them in salute..... . The menu was divine!!!!!we were first given a complimentary soup, (which we asked for the recipe), it was a puréed Jerusalem artichoke , pecorino cheese, topped with a garnish of dark chocolate and olive oil.   All of us agreed it was the best meal so far and will quite likely remain at the top of the list for the whole trip.....a very memorable meal, which we lingered at for almost 2 hours. And finished with complimentary sweets.
Leaving the restaurant we met up with our driver again and drove to San Gimignano. We were dropped at the city gate high on the hill, where we walked up to the church, this was very dark as the windows were few and small, so viewing anything was difficult. We spent a little time and walked out and found a gelato shop that professed to be the best in the world. We all had a small dish to test! Compliments of Joanie.
Strolling back down through the town we stopped in several shops that sold leather goods, purses, jackets,  shoes etc...... a couple of purchases were made!
As we drove back to Florence it was getting dark and the plan was to meet in the " party room "  which is just the biggest of our 3 hotel rooms, for wine and  Prosecco before heading out for a slice of pizza ......which would be our dinner.
Tonight was a relatively early night, although it was back to the "party room" to finish off the wine.
Tomorrow will be another amazing day, which we will spend in Florence.