This is an HDR composite of 5 shots from -4 to +4 exposure which turned out pretty well, I think. It doesn't really have that plastic surgery look that some HDRs have.

As you know (or you may not, if this is the first shot you're looking at here), we stayed in a Tuscan village called Casole d'Elsa.

Except we didn't. We never saw the place. Our hotel, the very pleasant little Relax Hotel Aquaviva, was in fact about 5km out of town. There was a bus service which as far as I can tell runs about once per day, but you'd still be up for a fair hike anyway. We had been walking all over Italia in 30 degree heat. I for one had to hit the farmacia in Pisa and ask for some skin rash cream from my trousers rubbing my inner thighs. Even had we known how to get there (and for the first couple of days we had no phones) an hour's walk there and an hour's walk back just would not cut it.

You see in the centre of the image? That thing sticking up just over the hill? That's the bell tower of Chiesa Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta, in the centre of town.

That's as close as we got.

Sigh.

To clarify, though... I was in no way disappointed with our hotel or its location. I think we were better off experiencing the Tuscan countryside than being in town. It's just a pity that we never got the chance to see the town as well, as it seems to be a charming classic Tuscan village.