Siena

Well after my botched bike trip to Siena a couple weeks ago I decided yesterday to take a day trip to Siena and acutlly see the town. I went with two other friends from SAIS, and the traveling was not all smooth sailing this time around either. This was due to the fact that it was May 1st yesterday, which is a big holiday here in Europe. So being oblivious Americans we had not really thought about this and had to deal with some strange train schedules, canceled buses, and closed shops. Still despite all this we managed to make it to Siena and have a great time.

We left Bologna for Florence at 6:45 (cheap trains leave early!), but when we got into Florence we found out that none of the buses that normally go inbetween Florence and Siena were not going due to it being a holiday. Not dettered we checked the train schedule and while it was reduced we still managed to get a train to Siena later in the day. We ended up having several hours though in Florence (what a rough thing to have happen to someone) and wandered the streets checking out some of the more famous churches, sculptures, and bridges. Finally when it was time to go we ended up on a train that was literally overflowing with people, which made for a less than comfortable journey to Siena.

Me in front of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence

Once in Siena we made our way to the main square Piazza del Campo, which is probably what the city is best known for. The square is a huge open space with really cool buildings all around it. Twice a year they actually turn the square into a horse racing arena and race horses around the square! If you have seen the newest James Bond film (Quantum of Solace), this is the square where James Bond early in the movie was chasing the bad guys through a tourist filled square where there was a horse race going on. So needless to say it was a really cool square! Thus we decided to eat lunch at a restaurant right on the square and enjoy some of the local food and wine (Chianti!), both of which were very good. After lunch we did as the locals (or maybe just all the tourists) and lounged in the square soaking up all the sun (we had a beautiful day). The rest of the day we spent wandering the town (which is all still medieval looking) and admiring the different buildings and the rolling hills of Tuscany all around the city. We also ran into several other SAIS students as a good number of students made their way down to Siena or were in Tuscany for the weekend as well.

Piazza del Campo in Siena

Duomo

Medieval Streets (you can see the tower from the main square in the picture too)

Another cool building in Siena with an assortment of different medieval flags

Tuscan Country side

Finally around eight in the evening we boarded the train and made our way back to Bologna. All in all it proved to be a great trip, both to Florence and particularity Siena.