Our spell of perfect weather has finally broken - it's cold and rainy, with a forecast for more of the same tomorrow. But that hasn't dampened the kids' spirits or enthusiasm.
We started with an early wakeup today (6AM) and a 2 hour coach ride to Siena for a guided tour. We had originally been scheduled to sing for mass at the Siena Duomo, but logistical difficulties resulted in a change - we still had our guided tour of Siena, but instead of the mass we scheduled an afternoon concert in San Gimignano, about a half hour north of Siena (and about an hour southwest of Florence). This also resulted in a change to the dinner schedule, from Siena to San Gimignano.
Siena is an old city, home of the first bank in the world (or so they say, local guides always claim that their city is the first/best/biggest at something). It's charming and picturesque, like all the others, and is home to an impressive cathedral (again, like many other cities). We had time for a guided tour and lunch before boarding the coach.
By the time we reached San Gimignano it was gray and starting to drizzle - it had been overcast, but the rain was finally arriving. The temperature dropped too, into the 50's. If you remembered to send your kid with warm & water repellent clothing then good for you, it sure came in handy today.
Our stay in San Gimignano was pretty brief; we arrived about 3:15 and the kids rehearsed for an hour before performing at 4:30. As we had only set up the concert a few days before, there wasn't a very large crowd (not much publicity) but we did get some locals and passing tourists - including a few from the bay area, surprised to see a Palo Alto choir singing in San Gimignano. The church (chiesa di Santo Agostino) is a medieval building with old frescoes and smooth acoustics, and the concert was a wonderful combination of acoustics and performance.
It was about 6PM when we left the church for dinner, and the rain was gently falling on our heads as we walked across town in mild drizzle to Mandoragola (Mandrake) Restaurant, where we had a great meal - salad, rice, pork & apricot pie for dessert (vegetarians had roasted potatoes with cheese & vegetables).
We were still an hour or more out of Florence, so we boarded the coach & headed back. It is very cool now - probably about 50 or so - and we expect more of the same tomorrow. Everybody is headed for bed, tired but satisfied from a long day of beautiful Italian countryside and music.
UPDATE:
The wireless at hotel Gabrielle D'Annunzio has gone out (I'm thinking possibly due to a barrage of devices suddenly connecting when our buses arrived) and I was unable to post last night. So, this morning I've once again borrowed the internet desk from the hotel staff to post. Sorry for the delay...
