Italy 2025 - Day Nine 9/22/25

We have truly enjoyed STELLAR weather through the first eight days of the trip. Today's forecast was looking a little bleak to say the least, so we dug out our umbrellas, ponchos and raincoats and set off on the 90 minute journey from our hotel to San Gimignano. Upon arrival, we were pleasantly surprised to find comfortable temperatures and scarcely a rain drop in sight! San Gimignano is one of Italy's best preserved medieval villages known for its impressive skyline of 14 medieval towers. The town's historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The well preserved Romanesque and Gothic architecture, including churches, palaces, and the central Piazza della Cisterna were a sight to behold. Nestled close to the Piazza is Gelateria Dondoli, a world champion gelato shop that features creative award-winning flavors such as Crema di Santa Fina (saffron and pine nut). We spent a few hour exploring the sites and wonderful shopping in the town before boarding the bus for the trip back to our hotel. We were no more than 30 minutes into our drive home when the skies opened up and the rain came down. Luckily, the storm passed before we got back to the hotel!

Once back, we spent a few hours relaxing (and packing!) before meeting in the lobby to walk into town for our farewell dinner at Centrale Ristorante. After dinner, we were treated to Esther and Cindy's (in)famous traveler awards presentation and our resident statistician, Kathy Pietrasik presented the facts and figures for Tuscany 2025!

Tomorrow we leave bright and early for the airport to say "arrivederci" to Tuscany. It has been a wonderful nine days filled with friendship, laughter, sightseeing, fantastic food, world-class wine, more gelato than we care to admit, wonderful company, a few "mishaps", and the most beautiful scenery imaginable. We cannot say more about our lovely guide Lia, fearless bus driver Antonio, and fabulous faculty host Professor Allyson Sheckler. This was certainly a trip to remember...Ciao!

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Cordoba

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