There’s lots to see and do today so the plan is to do two towns; Volterra and San Gimignano.
Now for the diehard Twilight fans out there, Volterra is featured in the New Moon movie.

The truth though, is filming actually took place in the nearby town of Montepulciano.
In Volterra, no vampires were sighted however, many locals in medieval attire passed us by.

With a little Italian from our daughter, we find out that there is filming actually being done here but for the Netflix series Medici: Masters of Florence. Horses and horsemen wait off camera as does the red garbed guards.

Though exciting to see, the Cathedral and bell tower are closed off to the public be of the filming.
We take a walk along the Etruscan walls of the Parco Archeologico Enrico Fiumi where lovely gardens greet you. It’s one of the highest spot in town so you can take great photos there.

In Volterra, carving alabaster is an art.

We purchase two wall sconces and pray for their safe return home through the rest of our trip!

As lunch nears, we spot a little restaurant called Enoteca Del Duca .

The building exists since the XII century and the decor inside is white linen table and heavy silver plated utensils. The food is delicious (please try the bean soup!j. What is most serendipitous is that upon paying the bill at reception we chat with Claudia who runs the restaurant for her parents.

We rave about her wines and grappa and since she had no grappa on hand to sell, Claudia directs us to her Agriturismo Marcampo nearby.

We divide and conquer. Half the group heads off to San Gimignano, and the other half makes a small detour to Claudia’s vineyard.

The scenery is like whenever you’ve ever dreamed of what an Under the Tuscan scenery would be. Rolling hills and those tall and long Italian Cypress trees.

We are greeted first by the cats and then shown downstairs to the wine cellar. So many bottles, so little time.

But we know some will be sampled with tonight’s dinner. With purchases in hand we quickly fly (I mean drive) to meet the other half of our group in San Gimignano.

San Gimignano is another hill town like Volterra except it is the busiest of the two tourist-wise. Parking is a chore though thankfully many car parks can be found nearby the entrance of the town. The 13th century walls greets you as you enter through a grand door.

In Piazza della Cisterna, we meet up and head for a much needed gelato.

San Gimignano is known as the Town of Fine Towers and we can readily see why. Everywhere you turn, a medieval tower looks down at you.

Another UNESCO World Heritage site, San Gimignano deserves its appointment with the medieval houses, towers, piazzas and churches.

The day ends with a quick trip to the nearby grocery store (5 minute walk from the main entrance) and drive back to our Tuscan country house for an Italian meal with good wine, limoncello and grappa!