Ahhhhh...Siena

Sept. 27 – Siena gets four thumbs up. We both love this city. We had planned to do some driving through wine country, but instead we opted to spend the whole day in Siena. We bought a museum pass which gave us entry to a whole lot of sites. Our first stop, while our legs were fresh, was the climb to the top of the Mangia Tower. This ancient bell tower is part of the complex overlooking the main square and gives spectacular views for miles around. The entry point is the same courtyard where the previous night we happened on a string quartet playing Pachelbel’s Canon. The 300 steps to the top are very narrow and you have to check everything except a camera at the ticket booth. Passing people making their way in the opposite direction makes for an interesting experience of juggling bodies. A couple of the old bells no longer move, but at the top we were suddenly startled as the big bell began to chime the hour. Soon after, bells from church tops all around began to echo the chimes.

Next visit was to the very beautiful Duomo including the Cripta and after an excellent lunch we went through the Baptistery and the Duomo Museum which took us to another panoramic view of the City and its square. In some ways all of the amazing art is beginning to blur but we received a pretty good education all round on the Renaissance artists and their influence. We joined in the celebrations as the Palio contradas displayed their colours and were lauded with speeches which of course we couldn’t understand, but we could feel the excitement and applauded along with the supporters of the winning group.

Then we actually took some time out to relax at the hotel patio with a glass of wine while I did a bit of catch on the blog – but I am way out of date. This section is being completed 4 days later in Rome.

We took a Rick Steve’s guide book restaurant recommendation as being a hangout of locals, but I think his promotion of it has turned it into something of a tourist mecca. The meal was fine, but nothing special, although we have become somewhat spoilt with the excellent Italian cuisine. Wines are always good.