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Siena is a beautiful old city located in the equally beautiful Tuscany region of Italy. Traveling with my parents and sister by rental car from Rome, we drove on the Italian autopistas at speeds that wouldn’t come close to being legal in the U.S. We stayed in the old part of Siena inside of the walled city. Seeing the fortifications that surround the town and the Italian’s propensity to build their towns (at least in Tuscany) on the top of every large hill, it gives you an idea that this part of Italy wasn’t always as peaceful as it is today. In fact, Italy as a country didn’t come into existence until 1861. Before then, various city-states on the Italian peninsula fought for control against each other.Outside of Siena (which we used as a base from which to travel into the various areas of Tuscany we visited the walled cities of Monteriggioni & San Gimignano (better known as San Jimijanga according to my dad - haha) as well as the hot springs near Montepulciano. Monteriggioni was the most interesting of these three towns because it was smaller and less commercial as it was simply an outpost built by the city-state of Siena against the city-state of Florence. The views of the Tuscan countryside from Monteriggioni were amazing. Also, the natural hot springs at ____ outside of Montepulciano were a welcome surprise as we were (for once) surrounded by only Italians. The strongest memory from the two nights and three days that we spent in Tuscany was driving through the countryside. In a little Ford Focus hatchback, my dad and I navigated Italy’s very confusing road system using an Italy map given to us by Hertz. There were some windy roads and many times when we stopped to ask directions in a combination of Spanish, Italian, English & “Hand Gesture” (with the last one being the most effective). At times, I drove on the autopista at speeds of up to 180 km p/hour or about 108 mph. Even going this fast, there were BMWs and Mercedes passing us like we were standing still. The Italians in Tuscany proved to be better drivers than I had expected; the ones in Naples, however, were absolutely horrible.Having a car proved to be absolutely key. It would have been virtually impossible to have visited those different cities in Tuscany without a car. Plus, driving the roads of Tuscany was thrilling as the countryside really does look like a Hollywood movie.

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