Those we love don’t go away. They walk beside us every day. Unseen, unheard, but always near. Still loved, still missed, and very dear.”

Alex MacLean

Week 6 my tour group ventured to Bagno Vignoni, a very small historic hamlet about two hours south of Florence for our final three nights. Bagno Vignoni is known for its thermal baths. The main piazza, Piazza delle Sorgenti, or Square of the Springs, is a thermal baths, but no bathing is allowed. The water flows down to the other end of town to Parco del Mulini, and there you can dip your toes in the water.

For me, although nice, without a car I would not spend more than a night or two there. There is no train and the buses from San Quirico d’Orcia are infrequent. There are less than 35 full-time inhabitants, and you can walk the full circle around the village in five minutes, ten if you stop to take pictures. Although if you love to hike, the famed Via Francigena, a historic 3,200km route from Canterbury, England to Rome, Italy passes through so you can go on some nice long hikes if you like.

I would not recommend the hotel we stayed at, Albergo Le Terme. It was okay, clean, but the terme facilities were lacking, the pools were not great, and it only had a small garden space to lounge. The included breakfast was just “okay”, and ordering coffee was difficult. Most times I walked up to hostess station to order one, but I never knew if it would show up. It was noisy in the evenings even with your windows closed due to the hotel bar patio being open. Just down the road was the La Posta Hotel & Thermal Spa. It’s off the main road in a quieter location, the spa facilities that a few women in my group paid to use were beautiful, and when we went for aperitivos in their bar, the service and the drinks were excellent. You’ll pay more, but it’s probably worth it.

The best meal I ate in Bagno Vignoni was at Bistrot Languorino. It is a very small restaurant with about eight tables for two indoors, although they can push them together for a larger group, and weather permitting they have a large outdoor space. I recommend a reservation, and if your full party isn’t going to show up, be courteous, and either cancel or call to change your reservation so they can accept other guests. They turned away many on the phone the evening we were there.

We ventured to Pitigliano, about 65km south for a day trip. I recommend visiting here. It is known to be one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, carved into a volcanic ridge about 300 meters above sea level. There are hiking trails around the town below and where you’ll come across caves and more trails. The town is also known for its Jewish Ghetto, or “Little Jerusalem”. At one time there was a large Jewish presence in the city, escaping persecution from Rome with the help of the citizens of the city. Today you can visit the synagogue and the ancient Jewish quarter from the 15-century. At the Musei di Maremma, you will see the synagogue, and below carved into the stones are the quarters that housed the ritual baths, wine cellar, kosher butcher, and matzah bakery.

When the tour ended, four of us continued on to San Gimignano, the hometown of my maternal grandmother. I’m fortunate to have family in the area that have a beautiful hotel and Michelin recommended restaurant just outside the walls, Hotel Sovestro and the restaurant Da Pode. The hotel has multiple pools, lounge areas, and a new Tenuta for wine tasting. At the restaurant you will have a delicious breakfast, and Lucia and her staff prepare the most delicious meals for lunch and dinner. When the weather is nice, they also have an outdoor dining area . The hotel offers van service up to San Gimignano a few times daily, but honestly, the 2km walk on the back road is easy, and you get some of the most beautiful views of the historic town. At the end of the hotel driveway is a bus stop. You can reach the hotel by bus from the Poggibonsi train station, and from the train station you can head to Florence or a quick 20-minute ride to Siena.

When I entered through Porta San Giovanni into the historic town memories of when I was there with my parents came back. Although now it is much more crowded. In the spring, given the sun sets well after 7pm, I recommend you go there in the early morning or later in the day when most of the tour buses are leaving. San Gimignano is a UNESCO World Heritage site due to it’s architecture. It is known as the “Manhattan of the Middle Ages” due to the medieval towers that families built to show their wealth. If you make your way through the town, you can climb to a viewpoint to see the remaining towers above the other buildings.

The highlight of my visit was to be in Piazza Della Cisterna. This is where my grandmother used to hang out with her girlfriends when she was younger. My nonna has been gone for many years, but she is always in my heart, and it made me a bit teary to walk the streets she did as a young girl until my grandfather swept her off her feet, married her, and brought her to the United States. In the piazza you will see long lines at Gelateria Dondoli due to Instagram fame. I bought my gelato from Gelateria Dell’Olmo, and I think my lavender and pistachio gelatos were delicious and there was no line.

The next day three of us ventured to Siena for a few hours, using the bus and train. When you exit the train station in Siena you head into the large brick building across the road and take a series of escalators and people movers to the top. This puts you at the street level of the historic center. It was great, although I can only imagine the crowds during the summer.

Once we entered the town walls for the historic center, we headed straight to Piazza del Campo where the Palio di Siena is held twice a year, July 2 and August 16. It’s a dramatic bareback, ten horse race, and it is over in 90 seconds, but the atmosphere is electric. There is no big prize money for the winner, they compete for town pride and a Palio, a painted banner of the Virgin Mary. The days leading up to the race are filled with celebration and festivities. If you want to see a video of this event, go on YouTube, Rick Steves has a great video. Attending this race is a bucket list item of mine.

After we walked around the Piazza, we headed to Duomo di Siena. You may think how many churches can you visit in Italy? The answer is a lot, but this one spectacular inside and out. The line for tickets was short, and they only allow one person from your party to enter to purchase the tickets, so you need to decide ahead of time what you want to do and see. We wanted to climb to the top for which you need a reservation. We were lucky to only wait 45-minutes for the climb, that gave us time to explore inside the Duomo. When you walk in, it is busy, but it is amazing. I highly recommend visiting, and you need at least an hour inside, plus our ticket gave us entry to 4 or 5 additional exhibits. I think if you want to fully take advantage of your ticket, plan on 3-4 hours. Every where you look in the Duomo is a work of art, the floors, the ceilings, the walls, and the side chapels. The walk up to the top is not bad, and worth doing. You don’t realize when you are in the Duomo that people are looking down at you from above. The views are beautiful, and then you venture outside and see the city skyline.

Once we finished at the Duomo, we headed back to the Piazza for a spritz. It’s touristy, and we probably paid more to drink there, but life is short. Buy the spritz, be a tourist, and enjoy the views.

The next day we had a driver bring us to Santa Maria Novella Stazione in Florence and we took a 30-minute high speed train ride on the Italo to Bologna Centrale. Don’t worry about a window seat, much of the ride is in tunnels, so you don’t see much. I was only in Bologna for 24-hours, so I didn’t do much on this visit. I need to do a separate post from my trip in October 2025, I was there for 3-nights on my own.

Next up, I’m back being solo for my final 4-weeks.

Arrivederci! 413 Girl 💕