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Published: April 30th 2011
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Siena - Fonte Gaia in Piazza del Campo
Built between 1409 and 1419. The source of the fountain is an aqueduct of the first half of the 14th century. The name Gaia was given in remembrance of the joyous and gay festivals that accompanied its inauguration in 1414. Monday 18th April 2011
Bologna
Head off, carrying a whole lot of postage, to catch the bus to the local town Post Office. Got there at 2pm. Bummer. They close at 1.30pm for the day, so not sure what to do. Again the postage problem. We head back to Euronics and ask the girl, who Tom has befriended there, if any post office open – yes, in town – so she rings a taxi for us and we tell him what we need to do. He takes us down the road, about 2km to the international post office – great as the guy there speaks quite good English and gives us 7 pieces of paper forms to fill out and tells us to come back to him . All goes well. We get the bus back home and start packing up more of van.
Tuesday 19th April 2011
Bologna
Finish packing up van ready to go. Tom on trainer and me to gym.
Dinner at campsite restaurant.
Wednesday 20th April 2011.
Bologna
We head out about 10am and go via the course that Tom rode his bike to the Futa Pass and to Monghidoro via the river road. Well,
4.2011 - Siena - Piazza del Campo
This is the Piazza in which 'The Palio' is held twice each year and up to 50,000 people fit into this Piazza. all I can say is that the scenery is absolutely fantastic all the way. I was also very aware of the climbing we were doing to get to the top and impressed with the effort that Tom would have put in to ride all this way. Not bad for an old fart. I was also very happy that it was not a narrow road.
We stopped at Monghidoro for a coffee and at the lookout.
Now to Florence, through the narrow streets there to get to the toll road to go to Siena. Easy driving.
We set up in the shade, dinner and bed.
Thursday 21st April 2011.
Siena
Into town to tourist information office. On the bus I was looking at the map, and Tom was saying what we were passing. I did not hear him, so we ended up out of town again, way past the stop we should have alighted at. Oops. A lady on the bus told us we should have got off where she got on. We waited for a return bus, but it was a long time coming, so we walked back into town. NOTE: Siena is at the top of a big
hill, so lots of ups and downs – so much so, that there are contour lines on the town map. This is the first time we have seen this, but if you head in a straight line you would end up a shot duck very quickly – you have to follow contours and roads.
We booked a 2 hour walking tour of the town for today at 11am and also a bus tour for Friday afternoon.
The walking tour of the city was very good and informative on the history of the town and the surrounding areas, and she took us around the back streets and into the Cathedral. After that, we did some more walking of our own and then into an Osteria for a late lunch. A couple from Adelaide who Tom had been talking to in the Cathedral, also came in for lunch and sat next to us , so we chatted to them.
Then back to campsite on the bus.
It was too noisy during the night last night, so we moved to the lower ground level next to Hugh and Joy (from UK). They moved down to this level the night before. We had met
4.2011 - Siena - Town Hall
View across the Piazza del Campo them in the campsite in Bologna. Ended up in their camper and had some nibblies and wine. Time flies and we ended up leaving at 11.30pm.
Friday 22nd April 2011.
Siena.
Into town about noon as the bus was not leaving until 2pm for the tour. It did not leave until 2.20pm as some people did not turn up and they kept waiting for them.
Our first stop was San Gimignano. A very old town and well preserved, and very touristy.
Back on bus to wine tasting at a small winery ‘Tenuta Casanova’. All products are organic – there is balsamic vinegar, wines, beauty products, essential oils, honey. Tom says the owner must have been in marketing as it was a good spiel – but it was a very good wine tasting and explanation of products and the prices were reasonable. We ended up being there for 1.5hrs.
Then back on the bus. The driver went the scenic way back to the expressway – very picturesque.
Arrive back to campsite at 8.45pm – throw our purchases through the door and off to the restaurant for a late pizza dinner.
Saturday 23rd April 2011.
Siena
Up early, but ended
up chatting to another couple, so our schedule is out the window. But all good as the Town Hall is open so in we go to have a look around. It was built between 1288 and 1310 with additions added on later. It is still in use, so it is really well restored and maintained.
Sunday 24th April 2011
Siena
Catch up with ourselves today. Tom does the washing and I get the travel blog for Bologna finished and published on the net. Tom packs up most of the outside stuff ready to leave in the morning. After dinner, we head up to the bar at campsite for a drink with Charlie. He runs the market at the campsite. He is a Sicilian from New York – quite a character.
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