Blogs from Siena, Tuscany, Italy, Europe - page 24

This morning I lay around until breakfast at 9:00 with Jim and Mary and Dave and Betty from my Rome tour. Then we all walked into town. The Duomois so extraordinary as to be indescribable. It is on the highest point of the hill of Siena, of course, and is itself tall and elegant, made of white marble with a tower striped horizontally black and white. The façade soars over a relatively small plaza. The shape of the front is a triangle on top of a square and the length of the cathedral recedes away from the plaza. Another set of unfinished arched building elements extend at right angles. When the plague hit Siena, the economy and population collapsed and the money ran out. I am hoping to visit the Duomo and the museum later in ... read more

After breakfast with Cecilia, and eventually several others, I went back to Santa Maria degli Angeli and enjoyed the vaulted silence. James and Elizabeth happened to be there. We met up again an hour later to check out of the hotel. At the train station we waited about ten minutes for the track number to appear on one of those European mechanical boards, which are probably computerized behind the scenes. On the track we waited a few more minutes for the train. Magically we had waited in exactly the spot where our car came to rest. Our seats were reserved, and no one else was in our compartment. This was a modern, moderate, comfortable train (not the super train). On the way to Grosseto, the junction for Siena, we passed by the Vatican (recognizable by St. ... read more

We left Florence the next afternoon, arriving in Siena around 1:30pm. From the train station we walked into the city, it was about a 30 minute walk because we took our time. As we walked into the city comments such as "you speak good english" and responses such as "thanks I practice alot" where said from Sam to strangers. Piazza del Campo, The Siena Duomo, and the view from Piazza Caduti Delle Forze dell' Ordine were all beautiful. Siena seemed less city and more typical Tuscany stereotype. Siena is beautiful, the shopping is great, and the people are very friendly aswell. ... read more

It really does feel like it's stuck in time, Siena. Beautiful Duomo and Campo. Another great meal and good wine. A lovely bus ride from Florence seeing the Tuscan countryside.... read more

I made it! I got to Rome after 3 flights, a five hour layover at JFK in New York and getting lost in the Paris airport. Crazy French people. It was about 24 hours of traveling all together and it all but killed me. I got to the airport in Rome and threw up. I felt dizzy, and hot, and nauseous, and miserable. And then of course my baggage was lost. Luckly only one bag though so I have some things. The bus took me and the girl on my flight (who also goes to WSU) to our hotel in Rome. I felt so dizzy and weak I was barely able to take a shower before I crashed. I had a single room overlooking the busiest street in the world. There were tiny cars and mopeds ... read more