Tuscany's Siena
We had a couple stops before arriving in Siena. First stop was the Florence American Cemetery. The American flag was flying as we pulled into the complex. There are 4,402 headstones and 1,409 names of missing service men and women. We walked in silence to the memorial. It’s very sobering to look across the two fields at rows and rows of white Crosses and Stars of David. It’s overwhelming to read the names of the American military who lost their lives while serving their country. It was raining pretty hard which I thought was fitting. It was as if the Heavens were crying. Right before getting on the bus there was a huge roar of thunder echoing across the sky.
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San Gimignano was our second stop en-route to Siena. It is one of Tuscany’s walled medieval hill towns. Even in the pouring rain it was super quaint and cute. It was like a maze of colorful umbrellas as we walked to the center of the village. Even being used to the rain in Seattle, I broke down and bought an umbrella. Guess my coat was “water resistant” and not “water proof”. Since it was lunch, Liz and I found a great 2nd floor restaurant in one of the hotels. The views were amazing and I took a few shots. Luckily, we were inside when the bolts of lightning appears and the skies rumbled with loud claps of thunder. To top off a great meal we had the most delicious glass of Limoncello. Oh, how I love thee, Limoncello.
Later in the afternoon we made it to our hotel in Siena. Patricia arranged to have a local guide show us Siena. I love that Rick Steves tours have local guides because you get first-hand information on what it’s like living in these cities/villages. Local guides have a tremendous sense of pride as they take us through their hometowns. Siena is home to Il Palio which is an annual horse race around the center’s plaza - Il Campo. The town is split into 17 sections or Contrade, each named after an animal. We visited the Boar Contrade which happened to be home to this year’s winning horse. We went to the church where on race day the horse is lead in to be blessed and receives Holy Water. The question on everyone’s mind was ‘what happens if the horse needs to poo’ while in the church. It’s actually a sign of good luck if a horse does indeed poo inside the church. Go figure. The horse is the most important thing in Il Palio and the jockey takes a backseat. He/she doesn’t receive any church blessing and doesn’t even need to be on the horse in order for the horse to win. We enjoyed a wonderful meal at the community center of the Boar Contrade. Afterwards we watched a video of Il Palio from a couple years ago. It’s amazing how many thousands and thousands of people crowd into Il Campo to get a glimpse of the horse race.
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Our second day in Siena I skipped the group tour and grabbed my camera for my own photo tour. It was fun wandering aimlessly through the back streets. Once again, I was reminded of Gamla Stan in Stockholm as I walked. I think it’s the quiet narrow cobblestone alleyways, the colorfully painted buildings and architecture. You never know the experiences you’ll encounter while traveling. At one point I got lost and pulled out my iPhone to look at City Maps 2Go to figure out how to get to Il Campo. I heard a voice from across the street, of course, all in Italian. I looked up and an older gentleman motioned for me to cross the street. In English, yeah like what other language was I going to speak LOL, I said ‘I don’t speak Italian’. Evidently, that didn’t matter as he continued speaking to me in Italian. The building was a hospital or nursing home. He showed me the courtyard full of colorful potted plants. Then we continued down the corridor to the bar/café and director’s office. A couple nurses passed us and smiled. The last stop on this impromptu tour was a little chapel with beautifully painted ceiling and walls. All the time, he was talking non-stop Italian and I had absolutely no idea what he was saying. I simply nodded and randomly said ‘Si’ and ‘Bellissimo’. Eventually we got to the exit and I extended my hand and said ‘Grazie’. I took a picture of him. Continuing on my mini photo excursion I found a cute little restaurant for lunch off the beaten track. After I made my way back to Il Campo, I ran into Lynn, Connie and Mary. We grabbed gelato and sat down on the bricks of the piazza. Dinner was on our own. Liz and I walked to a restaurant near our hotel. The golden light of Siena is like no other city. As the sun began to set, a glorious light covered the town. Words can’t describe the beauty.