Siena - my new favourite (this happens all the time!)

I don,t want to tell you this because I want to keep it to myself, but Siena is AMAZING. I love it! It is a gorgeous mix of antique and new, of hot sun and cool breezes, gelato and pasta, pigeons and people, tourists during the day and locals at night. The piazza is the largest in Italy and it is an experience in itself. Leanne and I arrived in the evening from Roma, and after much negotiation (the streets are in concentric circles coming out from the piazza, with a few spokes thrown in to mix up the tourists!) We went directly to the square after dropping our bags and got some gelato (full body sweat was starting to happen, gelato to the rescue!) -- fragola (strawberry) and anguria (watermelon) for me. Ok, now this you must believe. Watermelon gelato should be a part of every meal. It is refreshing and sweet without being too sugary. It goes down so easily that I believe it must be good for me! I have had it 4 times in the last 3 days... I can,t help myself.

We ate our gelato in the piazza and took it all in. Siena in the evening is like the best of everything. We sat on the bricks in the square (no benches, as Leanne noticed!) -- bricks the colour of sienna pressed together like chevrons sliding down the hill to end together at the tower - the largest tower in Italy (not connected to a church). We kept grinning and looking around at all the other grinning people looking around. The sky was navy blue and the bricks were still warm. When I finished my gelato I laid on the bricks and could see the entire square without moving my head, the tops of the buildings forming something recognizable. Something I can,t quite place. I take it in for a moment. Ah, yes... it is like a picture frame. The tops of the buildings create a frame in the sky, and I realize that I am part of the picture. I feel secretly thrilled -- I am part of the picture of Italy.

Our room was fantastic. We lucked out and got the only balcony. It was big enough for two tables (and all our laundry!) We were 3 floors up, so didn,t have much company up there. Several thrilling things happened in Siena. The room was one of them. That night we had seen the signs for a concert in the Piazza Duomo (cathedral) and went to hear it. We sat on the warm marble steps beside the baptistry with about 20 other people... all silent once the concert started -- Ludovico Einaudi. It was beautiful musica instrumentale (Leanne looked that up!) People stood at the gate without tickets just to get a glimpse, and the rest of us sat alone in thought. I loved looking around at everyone and seeing their faces. Sometimes we would catch each other,s eyes and smile a lazy, thoughtful smile. A couple across from me smokes cigarettes and grins at me through the smoke. There is a baby playing and he becomes lulled by the music, falling asleep on his father,s shoulder. From the window of a nearby apartment two women lean out and listen. The apartment is dark and I can only see the outlines of their bodies. Leanne is caught in thought between writing Italian phrases on a cheat sheet. She shares some of the funny ones and I try to say them. The sky is dark, the stars are out, the street lights reflect off the marble of the baptistry. Some people almost trip leaving down the stairs in front of everyone, I take off my sandals (oh yes, new Italian ones) and the marble is warm like water on my feet.

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