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Published: January 17th 2006
We started the day right this time. Woke up early (still only 3 hours of sleep...I think this might be a jet lag record ) and had breakfast, stopped at only one shoe store for, guess what, boots on our way to the train station to catch a late afternoon train to Siena. Siena was recommended to us by several peeps and my Loney Planet guide. It was a very short trip, but we enjoyed the scenery and took lots of pictures. We visted the Duomo of Siena and it was crazy fabulous inside. We visited the Piazza del Campo which is just a cool little square where they hold this semiannual horse race. The preserved head and part of the thumb of St. Catherine is displayed in Siena but we decided to forgo on this adventure for I thought it might give me nightmares, and I could really use some restful sleep or any sleep for that matter. We grabbed a quick bit of pizza before hussling to the train station to head home. I really wanted to catch the next train because the one following wasnt for 2 hours and I feared I might end up staring at a
Siena street
You wouldnt think that all these doors would lead to shops but they do. Most were closed, lucky for me, no boot shopping! dead Saint's head. I really enjoy the tranquillity of riding the train. The only scary part is that they dont announce the stops so you have to look for the train station name at each stop to make sure it is or isnt yours. Jenn was sleeping and I was drousy, but I made sure not to fall asleep. I just wouldnt want to end up on the other side of Italy by mistake. I am sure it has happened to many travelers. We were in desperate need of doing laundry for Jenn was running out of socks, she had been doubling up for warmth, and I was running out of clean everything. A nice lady helped us with the laundry facilities, but it wasnt until later that we realized she was helping us to profit. At first we thought she worked there and was being friendly, but this is how it went down. They have these cards you can buy that provide a 50 euro cent discount for each load in the washer and dryer, but you have to pay 5 euro for the card and it just didnt make since for us to buy it. So we gave
Thirsty?
I believe this was a well in a music school for kids, but everything was in Italian. her our money assuming we were paying the nondiscounted price and then she purchased the tokens using her card. She profitted 2 euro on our laundry trip. She had obviously helped others there doing there laundry so we didnt feel like we were the American suckers. We chatted with an Aussie in the Mat and she was here shopping with her daughter at Prada and Gucci, etc. They had just come from Milan after shopping, so they were spending quite a bit of moola, but she was doing her laundry at the Mat. I guess maybe she was trying to save a few bucks for her next Prada bag (Prada makes bags right?), she had already bought 7. We had a nice dinner at Trattoria Enzo Perio but the server was very UNhelpful. He pretty much ignored us after our food arrived. I guess it could be hard to check on your customers if they dont speak Italian, but I am not sure that we would of totally abondoned are customers if the roles were reversed. We definitely havent learned too much Italian, but I can say Hello, Goodbye, Please, Thanks, Good Morning, Good Evening, Excuse me, I dont speak
Zebra
Inside the Duomo of Siena Italian, Do you speak English, How much, a few numbers and Check please. At least we are trying. Pointing has seemed to work to indicate the things we want. This Trattoria has been are only bad experience in Italy so far, I am hoping for all positive experiences in Rome and Venice. We are off to Rome tomorrow as a last minute decision. Yet another train ride. I am looking forward to it. As we were booking our hostel for Rome we met a hostelmate from New York. She was in town designing handbags. She chatted with us quite a bit and showed us a few samples of her designs. Pretty cool. It is just interesting who you can meet.
Enjoy the pics from today. I got a little tired of the standard pose for pictures so we started goofing around.
Heather
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Yvonne
non-member comment
Wow! Sounds like you guys are living it up! I am very jealous and loving reading about all your travels. It is really like we are all on the trip with you. Thanks so much for sharing! There's plenty of shopping in Rome too, I'm sure...