We arrived in Siena last Thursday, and spent the evening walking around the medieval Tuscan town. Siena was first occupied by the Etruscans around two and a half millennia ago. In its heyday as the Republic of Siena from the 1000s to 1555, its population swelled and many of its iconic buildings were constructed. After Siena fell to the Duchy of Florence in 1555, it remained under the control of other city-states until the modern nation of Italy was formed in 1861. We stayed in a beautiful Airbnb apartment from the 1200s that had a roof deck with an amazing view, so we went to the market to get fruit, espresso, wine, and cheeses to enjoy during sunset. We ate dinner at Osteria Permalico, a casual outdoor spot serving cacio e pepe with pici pasta (the local noodles are made of just flour and water and are reminiscent of Japanese udon), spinach in olive oil and garlic, local meats and cheeses, and ravioli with sage butter. The next day, we rented a large van and drove around Tuscany, stopping at Greve-in-Chianti to taste some local wines, salumi, cheeses, and truffles. We had a delicious lunch with lots of fresh white truffles at Enoteca Ristorante Gallo Nero, then drove to Castello di Verrazzano, a winery, to learn about San Geovese grapes and the process of Tuscan winemaking. The vineyard has since been sold to another family, but was operated for generations by the Verazzanos. The most famous Verazzono, Giovanni, was an explorer who arrived in New York and charted a lot of the northeastern American coastline. Unfortunately, Giovanni then sailed to the Caribbean, where he was allegedly eaten by cannibals. We drove back to Siena in the evening, and Robert and I went out for a casual outdoor dinner with Michael and my dad at Osteria Il Grattacielo, where we had the house appetizer board and three types of pici pasta. Saturday was Robert’s birthday, so the two of us went out for a nice lunch, then spent the afternoon walking around Siena. Because we couldn’t get a reservation at the place where we wanted to celebrate, we decided to go the next night. We went back to the delicious Osteria Permalkico with the whole family. On our final day in Siena, we went to the Duomo with my parents, then walked all over with my dad. We went out for Robert’s birthday dinner at Ristorante Tar-Tufo, a very nice restaurant overlooking the city, which specializes in Tuscan truffles. The next morning, we took the train to Cinque Terre.
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