Blogs from Siena, Tuscany, Italy, Europe - page 2

John was up in the dark and catching the sunrise over the fortress at the north end of town. Imagine the thrill of finding this defensible hilltop of tufa stone. Easy to carve out the battlements and a well deep into the hillside. What a lovely start to the day, walking the old battlements and enjoying the peacefulness. John went into one of the community gardens and a gentleman in fine business attire (and smart briefcase) looked in and asked what he was doing. When told he said how much he loved this city and its gardens. “Have a nice holiday” he said as he left. Since Orvieto is so close to Rome, it is possible he was catching the early train to the big city. And there was a small bus with Rome as its ... read more

On Tuesday Bev and I took the bus to Siena and stayed the night. I think we’ve all seen the horse race, the Palio, that occurs in the Piazza del Campo twice a year, July 2nd and August 16th. The mind boggles just thinking about it. Horses racing on the smooth cobblestones around a very tight sort of circle. Some people we met were telling us about how different areas compete before hand so their horses can race. Only a few are selected. I found the piazza bare and stark. The heat was very intense without any shade. The surrounding buildings are very beautiful and for some reason none of them have balconies So there is no relief from the flatness. The Gothic Duomo was awesome with its white, green and red marble facade with striped ... read more

Today we planned to make a day trip to Siena, an hour and a half train journey south of Florence, so we had a little lie in (9am) in the morning, got ready and walked down to the station for our lunchtime train. Obviously, we picked some seats in the one carriage of the 15 or so carriage train where the AC was broken (as later confirmed by the conductor) so it was a bit of a sweaty one. I just read my book on my lovely new Kindle and tried to keep my back away from the seat whenever possible? The train station in Siena was at the bottom of a pretty big hill, so we were pleased that it was next to a shopping centre which had a long series of escalators and travelators ... read more

Geo: 43.3185, 11.3317Walked around on Saturday seeing the sights. Elena and Valerio headed off to their second home in Livorno and left their place to us.Full-day Tuscan trip on Sunday. First San Gimignano, then the village fort of Monterigginio and then Siena. Plus a stop at a Chianti vineyard on the way home, which wasn't until after 8pm.... read more

We had a few days off the bikes in Siena and the hill town of Volterra and had planned to complete our time in Tuscany with two grueling (and scenic) hilly days (3600 and 3200 feet of climbing, respectively) to the hill towns of Montalcino and Montepulciano. The bikes were cleaned, chains oiled, olts tightened up, and we were ready. Then, on Friday night, back in Siena Kathy twisted her knee, re-aggravating an old injury. Full range of motion was impossible, so much so that further biking and even travel of any kind was out of the question. So we shifted gears, changed plane reservations, cancelled B&B and hotel reservations, and figured out how to get ourselves and the bikes to Rome and home as soon as possible so that Kathy can see her doctor there. ... read more