Siena

We again arrived into a new location after sunset, and with new road construction it made finding our way to our hotel a little tricky. So new and redesigned, in fact, that the TomTom showed our cars position t be in grass and trees on several occasions! But with road signs and common sense, we lost little time and regained our way. Our place in Siena was right outside one of the city gates, and it was really nice especially when compared to our "Rick Steves Nightmare" in Florence. We unloaded our stuff and I squeezed the car into a tiny spot in their underground "garage" that accommodated perhaps 6 cars. After Jasmine, the international lawyer-in-training who moonlights as a front desk clerk gave us suggestions on places to eat, we headed out on the 5-10 minutes walk that would place us in the center of Siena. If you've seen "Quantum Of Solace", it's where the horse race is held. By night, Siena seemed smaller, less crowded, and cleaner then Florence. The next morning would confirm this.

It was a nice, bright morning, and the light of day enabled us to see that our hotel was in a very scenic location. We walked through the city gate and into the heart of Siena. We were told that no cars were allowed in the center, that it was a walking district. However, just like most of Italy, you have to be wary of scooters and motorcycles. Also, I guess according to the Italians, taxi's aren't cars, so you have to avoid them too! And then there are the occasional delivery trucks to dodge. Don't forget the police car too that rolls by from time to time! Yeah...not so much a traffic free zone if you ask us!!! Then there are those dangerous mothers pushing their baby strollers into you! I must've shifted my position 3 times to avoid a woman who was window shopping as she pushed her stroller. When she eventually ran into my leg, she whipped her head around, glaring at me with the iciest stare like I had bumped carelessly into her. I couldn't believe her reaction and uttered words to her that conveyed my thoughts. She continued to drill into my head with her expression, so, wanting to "fit in" and do as the locals, I gave it back to her. We visited several highlights, purchasing a card that gave us a discount at about 5 of them. We also went to a wine tasting where Radhika enjoyed herself and made a purchase to bring home. All that said, we enjoyed Siena more then we did Florence for the reasons stated earlier. It was more of a pleasure for us to walk around Siena. It was more charming, seemed friendlier, and relaxing. There's no substitute for the art in Florence, but the same can be said for everything else in Siena. We spent 2 nights there and really enjoyed ourselves. We would like a return visit here. And as usual, we got a late departure out of Siena as we were enjoying the day so much, and Cinque Terre was only 3 hours away we figured to arrive after dark again but not too late. Nice plan, but...