Tuscany finale

Greetings, blog followers! Welcome back. Today I'll be reporting on yet another Italian city (I promise this is the last one): San Gimignano. It's pronounced "San Jimanyano", in case you were wondering.

The main attraction here was the museum detailing ancient history, but exploring around town was interesting as well. I'll start the slideshow.

The gate to enter the city.

The museum had a Google Glass-esque device that gave information on the murals when you looked at them. According to the information I was given, the painting in this photo was created to show San Gimignano's superiority to Florence. (Apparently having a rivalry with Florence was a trend back then- remember Siena?)

A view from the top of the tallest tower. The city used to have 70 towers, but only around fifteen remain.

On our way through the city, we discovered a fierce guard cat protecting this house.

A view from the trail just outside the town walls.

San Gimignano is a small city, so I don't have much to report. However, this is the calm before the storm, because in two days, we will have arrived in Paris! Hope you can wait that long. Until then, Arrivederci! (goodbye, until we meet again!)

Aidan's Greek Myths

Episode 5: The Olympians

Twelve major gods currently rule Olympus, at least according to the Greeks. These are:

Zeus- ruler of all, lord of the sky

Poseidon- ruler of the sea, god of earthquakes and storms

Hades- ruler of the underworld, god of the dead and precious metals/jewels

Hera- queen of Olympus, wife of Zeus, goddess of marriage

Aphrodite- goddess of love, beauty, and peace

Apollo- son of Zeus, god of light, music, medicine, and reason

Artemis- daughter of Zeus, twin sister of Apollo, goddess of the hunt

Dionysus- son of Zeus, god of wine and parties

Athena- daughter of Zeus, goddess of wisdom

Ares- god of war

Hephaestus- son of Zeus, god of the forge

Hermes- son of Zeus, messenger of Olympus, god of travelers, thieves, messengers, and all who live by their wits

Hestia, goddess of the hearth, does not have a throne, but she still resides on Olympus to tend to the fire in the middle of the palace.