Today was Day 7 of our 12 day trip. First we went to Castello di Verrazzano (Verrazzano Castle) which is a vineyard. The man for whom the Verrazzano bridge in NY is named was born in this castle. The family that bought the vineyard has made many improvements but all the cool undergraound storage areas for the wine to age was built hundreds of years ago. The castle even has its own 'wild boar' (though domesticated now) from which they make their own proscuitto hams. The wine tasting lesson was fascinating and we learned why grape vines must grow on hills rather than on flat ground. Apparently hardening the vines and not giving them much water makes them produce better grapes. When it rains the water does not get a chance to soak in to the ground but rather drain away. I think I need to try this with my tomatoes!!!! After a magnificent lunch of crostini, various hams and awesome salamis we were driven to San Gimignano about 45 minutes away. This little city is 700 years old! I still cannot believe that we walked on original cobblestones adn the building still look on the outside as they did 700 years ago. We had dinner at the hotel..but many of us declined since they were serving a typical Tuscan dish of rabbit... yes, bunnies! Actually Jim and I could not eat any more after the huge lunch at the catle earlier.
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