Siena

We wake up today feeling tired. I guess the countless hours and kilometers of walking and touring we did in Florence have finally caught up to us. So we decide to take it easy for the first part of the day. We explore around the B&B then go out to the garden and sit in one of the covered patio areas. Steve reads on his IPhone. I do some reading as well then......I call Cullin to see how his trip is going. He has been in London with Zbyszek and Linda for a few days now. He says that he is having a great time but also reports that he misses his family and friends. I talk to him and try to be supportive and understanding. Cullin is leaving London tomorrow and heading to Poland. He will get there before us and spend time with Piotr and Agnieszka (my brother and sister-in-law) for a week before we arrive. We discuss his trip to Poland and the schedule. We both worry a bit as Piotr and Agnieszka are having sinus surgeries done within days of each other and right at the time of our arrivals there. We talk about the possibility of Cullin going to Krakow to spend time with my friend Malwina if for some reason Piotr and Agnieszka need more time to recover. I finish by telling him that he will see us soon. I miss him too!

Some more picture from our B&B

 

 

We don't know what this device is but it lookes like a vise. It is used as a decoration right now.

The outside.....we spent the first part of the day here :)

 

We finally decide to get going BUT not sure WHERE! So many choices so little time! Lol

After looking at the map and different possibilities we settle on Siena. It is now 3:30pm and the drive will take us an hour.....according to the GPS. Of course it takes longer and then once we get there we can't find parking. We quickly find that having a car in Italy (especially in the cities) is a liability. Italians have too many cars and not enough parking. It is also a challenge to figure out WHERE we are allowed to park. All the signs are in ITALIAN!!! After circling the downtown area of Siena for what seamed like EVER we are ready to give up and head some place else. But at the last moment we do find a parking spot. I stop a local lady who happens to be walking by and ask her in "sign language" if it's ok to park there. She gives me the thumbs up :)

 

Siena.....the way we see it when we arrive.

 

We park the car and walk to downtown historic Siena. The city is built on a hill with steep streets that go up and down like in San Francisco. We are getting our exercise again! But what a wonderful city it is! We wonder into a church that looks like it was built before the gothic arches became popular. The ceiling is very high but only slightly arched. You have the feeling of this huge open space. We then head to the main square. We ask for directions at a local restaurant. The waiter is out serving people sitting outside and I ask him if he speaks English. He laughs and says "I'm English"!!! He points us to the square.

 

The first church we visit (inside)

And the outside

The streets are very steep!

 

Siena is famous for it's horse races. We learned that the city is divided into many neighborhoods that compete against each other in these races. The horses race on a track around the main square. The winner is treated like a celebrity. There are no races when we visit.....thank goodness as there are enough people here already!!

 

The famous square where they do the races

 

 

People snoozing in the square! lol

We walk around the square for a bit and then start the hike up to the cathedral. When we first arrived in Siena we saw the cathedral from the road. It is such a prominent part of the city that you can't miss it. And it's absolutely breathtaking from the outside. An intriguing combination of dark and white stripes and marble lace work. It's even more amazing when you get close to it. You walk down this narrow street and then it just opens up in front of you......so large and imposing that it's seams almost unreal!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just by accident we found a side room which turned out to be a library with these incredably beautiful frescos inside!

 

 

The Siena cathedral is run by the state (or the city) as a museum. Therefore it is still open when we get there around 7pm (most churches close around 5:30pm). We buy tickets for the inside of the cathedral and for the crypt which Steve is VERY interested in seeing. The crypt is 700 years old!!! It was buried in old rubble and forgotten for centuries. It was discovered only recently. Inside there are beautiful old frescos.....it is amazing that they survived all this time!

 

After visiting the church we go out to eat and then to get some gelato!! This is becoming a tradition!! :)

We wonder the streets of Siena until it's very late. We happily realize that Italians don't like to go to bed early!! In fact, it seams that their day begins around 5pm! A nation after our own hearts!! :) We see people out and about eating, walking, even with kids way past midnight. We just can't figure out when they work? Crazy, beautiful Italy :)

Siena at sunset :)

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy