Italy (8) - Siena

Day 9
I am sure there are a lot of things in Florence that we missed, but the plan for the next two days was to take day trips to Siena and Pisa. The weather forecast showed that today was going to be rainy in the whole region while tomorrow was going to be great. In order to have a better photo opportunity with the leaning tower of Pisa, we decided to go to Siena today.

Siena is better reached by bus from Florence. There were two buses leaving for Siena every hour. One was express service (1 hr 15 minutes), the other was regular service (1 hr 35 minutes). The ticket cost the same. We took the regular bus going to Siena, and took the express bus coming back. The countryside was beautiful with the tall spike looking evergreens and sharp hills covered with olive trees and grapevines. The regular bus stopped at 2 or 3 small towns along the way to pick up more passengers, so you got to see a little more than taking the express bus.

I expected to find a Tourist Information Office near the Siena bus stop, but we couldn't find any. So Dave went into a hotel and got a one page photocopied Siena map. It's almost useless because Siena got hundreds, if not thousands, of little alleys that the little map didn't mark. So if you detour from the main tourist routes for Duomo or Piazza del Campo, prepare to get lost. It was fun though.

1. We saw shop selling porchetta (roast pig sandwich) long before lunch hour, otherwise we would have tried it for lunch.


2. We had lunch at this little meat shop. The bike in front of the shop was made of bamboo.


Unlike other places we tried before who sell their sandwiches at a fixed price (normally 3 euros each), this place sells sandwich by weight. The guy put so much meat and cheese in our sandwiches that we were both struggling to finish it even though they tasted very good. And 2 sandwiches only cost 11.60 euros.

3. Walking towards Siena's Duomo.


4. Walking towards Siena's Duomo.


5. Siena's Duomo (3 euros/person) was beautiful outside and very ornate inside. The inlaid marble mosaic floor was incredible, so were the altar and all the immense and very detailed sculptures.


6. After Duomo, we went to Piazza del Campo, the large shell-shaped plaza. The weather kept most people away. It must be nice to sit here in the summer, enjoying a gelato or two. Too bad we didn't get to see that.


For dinner we went to another Antonio's recommended restaurant in Florence. We had spaghetti with meat sauce and ossobuco. They were both so good. I can't believe we totally forgot to take pictures. The couple who sat right next to us was from Houston. They said the restaurant was recommended by Rick Steves too. They had been following Rick Steves' book almost religiously, went to only sites and restaurants he recommended, and they liked his picks.

(To be continued)