Siena and ATM Troubles

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Today, map in hand, we drove to Siena, one of the larger hill towns in southern Tuscany.

We arrived to find that Siena was hosting a classic car rally. Restored cars raced around the streets outside of the huge brick wall that encircles the historic city center.

After watching the cars a bit, we entered one of the big gates to the historic city center. We walked the narrow winding streets of Siena until we came upon the Pizza de Campo, the location of the world famous “Palio.” The Palio is an absolutely insane horse race held in the Piazza twice a year. We urge you to watch one of the many YouTube videos of the Palio.

We had some beer and wine in the Piazza de Campo and then made our way to the Duomo (cathedral) in a nearby square.

At one point Fuzzy and Jeanne needed some cash. After some initial skepticism (“Jeff are you telling me that ATMs work exactly the same as they work in Monona?” “Yes, that is what I am telling you”), the Femrite’s have embraced the use of cash machines for in Europe. That is why it was so disappointing when they could not manage to get cash out of any ATM in Siena.

Was there some sort of problem?

Nope! As it turns out the only problem was that Fuzzy and Jeanne were attempting to withdraw funds with their credit card instead of their ATM card. Once they inserted the correct card, the cash was dispensed.

Our time is growing short, which makes us sad.

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