Sunday, we knew we wanted to go to Siena, but had a hard time getting there efficiently way, by bus because of it being a Sunday. We got on the next train headed to Siena and during the hour and a half ride, I spent some quality time with Rick Steves, educating myself on our destination. Upon arrival, we got bus tickets to go to the center of town, and again had to wait a bit for the bus to come. Traveling on Sundays is definitely a lot more relaxed because many people aren't out, but you definitely can't be in a rush to get anywhere with public transportation on the day of rest.
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| City Hall & Civic Museum in Il Campo |
We navigated our way to Il Campo, the main square of Siena, which is pedestrian only and filled with people sunbathing and picnicking at all hours. In this heart of the town, we could see the city hall and tower, the Fountain of Joy, and the Civic Museum. We split up into smaller groups for lunch and we ate at a cute little pub overlooking the square, where I got a sandwich with sausage, hot sauce, artichokes, and tomatoes, and a beer (didn't feel like I was in Italy, but it was delicious)!
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| Fountain of Joy |
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| gelato time in Il Campo |
We got gelato at the infamous Grom and sat in Il Campo while we enjoyed the atmosphere of the preserved town. We then headed up to the Sanctuary of Saint Catherine where we got to go into her old home, which has been turned into beautiful chapels, and go down to see her bedroom cell behind bars. It was very neat to picture it back in the day. Our next and final stop was the Church of San Domenico where we got to see St. Catherine's actual thumb in a case and head atop the altar in the chapel. We almost didn't get to go in because we had bare knees and shoulders, but then wrapped up in a scarf to get a peak.
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| Church of San Domenico |
We didn't have time to see the Duomo, Baptistry, or Santa Maria della Scala, so I would definitely love to go back to Siena and spend the night in the medieval town. There are many beautiful Tuscan towns just south of Siena as well that would definitely be worth visiting. It's no doubt Siena is Italy's best-preserved medieval town, as the first European city to eliminate automobile traffic from its main square in 1966.
On the way back to Florence, we attempted to stop in Monteriggione for dinner, but upon getting off the train, the town was about 2 miles away, and on a dangerous street with no sidewalk. We turned around and picked one of the only two places anywhere in sight, had a glass of wine from a hand-written label (that had a question mark at the end)? We took our pizza on the train, and it actually may have been the best pizza I've had so far in Italy! They spoke no English in the town, so we got a few stares from all the locals who were probably wondering what in the world we were doing there, knowing that it would be impossible to walk to the town. I guess that's why the town was suggested to us as a place to stop for dinner on the 'drive' back from Siena, not train. Oh well, at least we can say we went to a new place in Italy!
Ciao,
Tarra
Sunday, we knew we wanted to go to Siena, but had a hard time getting there efficiently way, by bus because of it being a Sunday. We got on the next train headed to Siena and during the hour and a half ride, I spent some quality time with Rick Steves, educating myself on our destination. Upon arrival, we got bus tickets to go to the center of town, and again had to wait a bit for the bus to come. Traveling on Sundays is definitely a lot more relaxed because many people aren't out, but you definitely can't be in a rush to get anywhere with public transportation on the day of rest.
On the way back to Florence, we attempted to stop in Monteriggione for dinner, but upon getting off the train, the town was about 2 miles away, and on a dangerous street with no sidewalk. We turned around and picked one of the only two places anywhere in sight, had a glass of wine from a hand-written label (that had a question mark at the end)? We took our pizza on the train, and it actually may have been the best pizza I've had so far in Italy! They spoke no English in the town, so we got a few stares from all the locals who were probably wondering what in the world we were doing there, knowing that it would be impossible to walk to the town. I guess that's why the town was suggested to us as a place to stop for dinner on the 'drive' back from Siena, not train. Oh well, at least we can say we went to a new place in Italy!
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