Tuesday, Apr 14: Finish the day in Siena

We drove on to Siena, Rick Steves' favorite Medieval Italian town. (Will I get paid for these endorsements, Rick?) Medieval = No Parking. We drove as close as we could get to the Rick Steves recommended hotel and dropped off our luggage. Todd babysat the car while Deb, Allen and I checked in. The nice hotel lady offered us a room with a bathroom (for the price of none) and a room with a view. Todd and I choose the room with the view, which had 3 beds. (Good thing, too, because one bed was as hard as the floor.) I ran back to the car and parked with Todd near the Fortress. I know nothing about the Fortress except there is free parking and it is VERY BIG when you have to walk all the way around it.

Our first touring item was San Domenico Church. The church was large and sparse. So large that I only have a picture of part of it, this one is courtesy of TripAdvisor. Instead of frescoes, there were framed paintings on the walls. Thanks, Flickr person, for illegally taking an inside photo. St. Catherine of Siena's head and finger were on display. We visited the gift shop.


Next on the agenda was the Sanctuary of St. Catherine, the convent where she lived and had visions. One vision was when Mary appeared and asked her to hold Christ as a baby. How neat! St. Catherine lived on communion alone for the last 7 years of her life. The Sanctuary had picturesque arches and a well. We watched an Italian family take photos by the well. The cameraman said, "Uno, due, tre, CHEESE!" I guess "Fromaggio" is too hard to say while smiling.


We marched onward and upward to Il Campo, the main town square. Unlike other towns that had a town center near a church, this was surrounding city hall. The opposing arc is filled with restaurants. In August the square is packed with people while horses race around the outer ring. In April the square is filed with cigarette butts and people sunning. It was that time again, when we had to decide on a restaurant. We had an hour or more before they opened, so Todd and I trudged uphill to the Duomo.

It was another zebra church, dark green and white striped with carvings and pink and gold accents. I pointed out the rounded Romanesque arches topped with Gothic triangles, a style slowly trickling in from France. (Reading the guide book made me sound like a smarty-pants.) I was impressed that even the entrance steps had mosaics in them. We stepped inside to "confirm the entry fee" and got the sneak peak for free instead of the 3 euro full tour. Then it was back to Il Campo.

Deb and Allen had disobeyed our orders to choose a restaurant. Instead, they were chatting away with Jim & family from New Jersey. (Not part of the New Jerseyians from Cinque Terre, or the ones at the rental car counter, or the one I sat next to on the plane. Was there an airfare special?) I picked a Rick Steves recommended cheap restaurant by our hotel. We got there and there was no sign of a restaurant, just a locked door at the address. So we climbed back up and down more hills to a place beyond Il Campo. It was a cozy little trattoria. The neighboring table had ordered a Florentine Bistecca, a 3" T-bone. I was drooling over it. How I longed for BEEF! Sadly, it cost 31 euro, so I had another Tuscan speciality, bean and bread soup. We ordered a bottle of Chianti, Terre Delle Civette, since we were in the region. The entertaining waiter filled our glasses first with a bottle he wanted to finish off, then left us a full bottle as well. I have no recollection of the rest of the evening. :-) No, I recall dinner being really funny and an evening stroll back to the hotel. Todd and I sat on the hotel roof patio with another bottle of Chianti, eavesdropping on the American family chatting there.