Siena

The next morning, Jen and I caught the train from Florence to Siena, and then we made our way to the old city center.

Siena is a Tuscan city about an hour south of Florence (by train or car), and during the Middle Ages, Siena and Florence had an ongoing rivalry into which they would often drag smaller, less powerful Tuscan cities. The city walls still wrap around the entire old city, and the old city has been well-preserved and retains its historic character.

First, we found the main square, Piazza del Campo, and sat down next to some fellow Californians (a UC graduate and a start-up founder, respectively) for cappuccinos. Siena's town square has changed little over the past 500 years, and many call it Italy's greatest city square. The entire square is bowl-shaped and slopes down toward the Palazzo Pubblico (Town Hall) and its Torre del Mangia (the bell tower), which creates somewhat of an amphitheater effect. Throughout the day, locals and visitors like to sit down on the sloped floor to people-watch and eat their lunch or gelato. Jen and I really enjoyed the feel of Siena, and throughout the day we found ourselves drawn back to this square for a quick break in-between sites.

It was about this time that, at Jen's prodding, we bought the Rick Steves book on Italy. If you have ever watched his show, you know that he tends to have helpful tips and information, but his intonation is quite distinct. Naturally, Jen and I made a rule: we could only read passages from Rick Steves to each other if we did so while mimicking the man himself. This was hilarious, and we had a great time both reading the book aloud (as Rick Steves) and making up what our hero might have said about other things we saw and experienced in Italy. (Watch this clip to understand.)

Siena's cathedral offers a multisite ticket that allows you to access its baptistry, crypt, and museum, so we opted to do that. Our first stop with this ticket was the cathedral itself, and I have to say that it might be my favorite cathedral in Europe so far (and I am writing this after Spain and Italy, so I have seen a lot). The pillars featured alternating slabs of white and black marble, there were large displays of lit votive candles, and the front of the church was lined with black angels. In addition, the outer facade featured some amazing sculptural work and the common Sienese theme of wolves (coming from the mythical founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus, who were abandoned to die in the wild but were fed and protected by a she-wolf). If you visit Siena, do not miss the cathedral--I found it to be quite stunning.

Next, we ventured down into the cathedral's crypt, which itself sits above a medieval church (cool picture here, entire Siena album here).

By this point, we were quite hungry, so we took Rick's recommendation and found a restaurant in the square behind city hall. I had a delicious plate of pasta with duck sauce, and the square offered beautiful views of the countryside outside of Siena.

After lunch, we saw the cathedral museum and then climbed to the museum's rooftop for views of the cathedral and the city square. Then we relaxed on the square with some gelato and went to pick up our rental car for our adventure in the Tuscan countryside.

- R