Saturday in Siena

One student was sick when we went to Siena the first time, so Ann promised to take her back before the program was over so she could see it.  That was yesterday.  Ann said that anyone who wanted to, was free to come with them so I took her up on her offer, met the others who had down at the station (I got a ride from one of the people who runs Santa Chiara because she was taking some other guests down to the station), and got on the 7:51 am train to Arezzo.  We would be taking a bus from Arezzo to Siena.  The rides were uneventful and we got to Siena around ten, grabbed a snack, and wandered off to see what we'd missed before.  I spent the day with three of my fellow students including Eric, a guy only thirteen days younger than me and the second oldest student on the trip, Maggie, and Amanda, the girl who'd missed the first trip to Siena (who is in the photo with the scarf I posted a while ago).

Essentially, we retraced our steps from the first visit but first we went into the San Domenico, the church that houses St. Catherine of Siena's head and one of her fingers, to see what I considered my chief reason for returning to Siena, to pay homage to (read gawk at) my pseudo patron saint's remains.  I also lit a candle for grandma Catherine because I thought she would have liked to if she'd been there.  After that we went to the Palazzo Publico and Piazza del Campo, which are set up for the Palio, a major horse race between the nine districts of Siena, which is always held on the 2nd of July, which is Friday.  The road around the piazza has been filled with "holy soil" and there were people working to get it very flat, steamrollering it, wetting it down, etc.  The photo below shows what I like to see as a true example of Italian work ethic.  One guy works, the others watch or "guard", a sophisticated form of watching. 

Rather than going in to the Palazzo with Ann, her sons, and Amanda, Maggie, Eric and I went to a small plaza behind the Palazzo where they have markets on certain days of the week but not, apparently on Sundays.  It's the same one the restaurant we went to on the first trip is situated on.  We enjoyed the view, took photos of the houses around us and sat down under the covered plaza to wait and chat.  A little girl and her father were playing in the plaza and I took some photos of them, including the one below.  Although she seems sleepy, she was only actually in this position with her eyes closed for a few seconds.  It wasn't the shot I was looking for but I love it.

When we got the call that Ann and Amanda were headed for the Duomo, we headed in that direction and Maggie and I bought tickets (still only 5 euro for students to get access to six different buildings) and, after Ann had bought tickets for Amanda, her boys, and herself, we went into the Duomo while Eric stayed outside to sketch.  It hadn't changed much since we were there a couple of weeks ago but they had decorated the nave with flags representing the nine areas in honor of the palio. I saw a really old guy (below) dressed all in white with shiny gold sneakers (very popular here) talking with two women while standing in an area that looked like it was getting some work done on it.  After they finished talking, he knelt down on the floor, mixed up some stuff, and started re-grouting one of the tiles on the floor of the Duomo.  After a bit, a tour guide started talking to him (in Italian) and translated to her British tourists that he was the restorer in charge of all the Duomo's floors.

Then we headed out of the Duomo and off to lunch around 12:30.  One of the RA type people we have here at Santa Chiara had come with us (as had three other girls from our group) and before separating after getting off the bus, we'd decided to meet at her favorite restaurant, and eat their famous gigantic, cheese-filled gnocchi... which were amazing.  Soft, fluffy, not gummy or heavy in an amazing sauce that I can't even begin to describe.  I also had some bruschetta covered with bright red tomatoes, salty cheese, and a liberal dousing of olive oil, and a small mixed salad.  Rather than forcing them to put together a table for eleven, we sat in three groups, Amanda, Maggie, Eric and I sat in a room away from Ann and her sons, who were seated at a table next to the other four.  Eric got a white fish in a tomato based sauce which I didn't try but smelled amazing.  Maggie got two large but thin pieces of steak that had been cooking in a sauce that tasted like heaven and had been primarily composed of Chianti.  Amanda had tiramisu and Eric and Maggie shared a panna cotta with caramel sauce, which I tried and it was delicious, the caramel not tasting at all burnt, which it so often does.  The waiters, who I'm guessing also are the owners, were very nice and the male of the two was very often flirting, winking, and teasing everyone. After we'd eaten he brought two bottles to the table, one of grappa and the other of amaretto.  Apparently we were getting a drink on the house, I had some of the amaretto, which wasn't di'Saronno but was smoother and soft, sweet, and warm.

The Sign

Menu and Hours

After taking our leave, we went back up to the Duomo museum, saw the amazing stained glass window from the Duomo again, below (the one in the Duomo is a copy), the beautiful Duccio Maesta, and, one of my favorite sculptures of the trip, a small sculpture of a boy with very curly hair lying on a large cushion, which I think is a memorial statue for someone's brother, or so my Italian would have me believe.

 Duomo Window surrounded by statues originally on the exterior of the Duomo facade.

 These two photos weren't "supposed" to be taken, as photography is not allowed in the Duomo Museum... Oh well.

Then a quick turn around the Crypt and it was nearly four... lunch was a very long event, and rightly so.  We went in search of gelato which took longer than it should have thanks to Eric's assurance that he knew where we were going when, in fact, he didn't but Maggie and I pulled out our maps, figured out where we were, and got us headed in the right direction.  I got strawberry and lemon but I nearly opted for coffee and dark chocolate... I decided I wanted something refreshing rather than heavy, though the coffee gelato is usually very good.  Maybe Cocoa Palm will have it today.

Then we headed off for the bus station, grabbed some bottled water, and climbed on the bus.  On the way back, I listened to music and took pictures of the countryside through the bus windows.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Olive Trees

The Countryside with a Castle and Silos

Agricultural Work

Sometimes a great shot was... interrupted, I suppose, by very impertinent signs, trees, and often just my inability to get ready when the bus was moving 30-50 miles per hour.  I also had issues with window glare but I think, overall, the shots came out well.

Silly Sign wants to be photographed

The bus was a bit late, so we missed our close connection for our train back to Castiglion Fiorentino, which meant we'd be late in for dinner.  Jen and the other three girls with her didn't want to wait, so they took a cab back which was supposed to cost around 30 euro.  Originally, we'd thought to take cabs, too but decided that we'd rather wait, plus there weren't any other cabs.  We got to Castiglion at 7:35 (dinner is at 7:30) and raced up the hill.  They knew we'd be late and had set a table aside for us so when we got there 18 minutes later after a walk that can easily take closer to 25 minutes at a normal pace, we still had food.  Spaghetti with pancetta in a tomato sauce followed by fried chicken, which was a bit dry), french fries, and a salad.  I had a nectarine and kiwi for "dessert".  Then I went to look at photos, video chatted with Andy on google chat, and went to watch Chicago... movie was good, but the DVD was very poor quality.  There was no color and sometimes very big pixels.  Not sure what was up with that.  Read a little... found a copy of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonsong, and went to bed around three.

I've Seen Siena

The early morning motor coach to Siena was very comfortable and relatively short, only an hour.  I spent the time listening to Abigail Washburn and reading the third book in the Nightwatch "tetralogy" or what I prefer to call a quadrilogy, Twilight Watch as I had finally managed to finish Day Watch a couple of nights ago.  Upon arrival, we walked down to San Domenico, the home of St. Catherine's head and finger (the rest of her body is in Rome).  We didn't go in at that time, and there wasn't time later in the day but I might be able to get back there later in the trip.  The image below is of San Domenico and was taken from the top of the Palazzo Publico's tower which is in the center of town, but more on that later.

We took a walk down from San Domenico towards the Palazzo in search of coffee (for some) and breakfast (for others, including myself).  I had a great little sandwich with salami and mozarella on this really great bread and ended the meal with a little doughnut, a ciambelline (below).  It was like no other, cakey and light, sweet and delicious and fresh.

After breakfast, we met at the Palazzo Publico to tour the rooms with their gorgeous frescoes, including the Effects of Good and Bad Government.  Photography was not allowed.  This tended to be the case at most of the locations we visited today.  One of the few exceptions was our next stop, the beautiful Siena Duomo... but lunch was first.  On Lawrence's suggestion, some of us went to a restaurant behind the Palazzo, which ended up being an excellent choice.  The food was delicious (I had the pici with boar sauce again, as I find it very delicious and a bit of a novelty) and the waiter was very charming and had fun flirting with Erica, our TA.

We headed for the Duomo, passing several gelaterias on the way, but stopping at none.  Ann was very excited that the complex had, apparently, changed their ticketing policy, so the five euro tickets would get us into the Duomo itself, the ospedale in front of it, the crypt, the Nuovo Duomo, (an incomplete building that houses the Duomo museum) among others.

I'm not sure why, but the Siennese have a thing for black and white stripes.  Both the interior and the exterior of the entire cathedral are completely covered with them.  The ceilings are a deep blue with stars and the dome itself is covered in squares with diagonals that pull you up towards the arc.  There's a library wing housing song books written in shape notation with large writing so the choir could read it from a distance.  The walls and ceiling of the library itself were covered with some amazingly beautiful and well-preserved frescoes depicting a variety of scenes.

Afterwards, we went into the museum (again no photos allowed) and climbed up some very narrow spiral stairs to the top of the Nuovo Duomo structure which afforded an amazing view of Siena.  That was followed by the crypt and it's collection of Relics, and the Ospedale di Santa Maria della Scala which had a stunning collection of life-sized wood carvings of Mary and Gabriel representing the annunciation.

Despite Ann's reticence and Nick's unwillingness, they, Will, and I headed back towards the Palazzo to climb the 400 steps to the top of its tower.  It was exhausting and a constant climb up, and up, and up, but I made it, and I took the first image in this entry from the top of its 87 foot platform with only the tower's bell and weather vane above me.  The view and the breeze at the top were perfect.

Dinner was at a pizza place on the piazza in front of the Palazzo and was overpriced but still good.  I had a pizza with sausage, olives (whole!), and mushrooms.  I walked around alone, exploring, and searching for the gelateria, Grom, which I'd heard had the best gelato in town. After a while, I managed to discover it and it was well worth the search.  I'd meant to get lemon and raspberry but in my excitement I ordered lemon and strawberry instead but it was still amazing.  The lemon was bright and sharp and refreshing and not very sweet, like good lemonade.  The strawberry was fruity and delicious.  I apologize for the blurriness of the image but I was very excited to try it, and didn't manage to get it properly focused.

While eating my gelato and wandering around Siena, I discovered a band called the Sciacchetrà Street Band.  They were wandering around town playing.  They made a little parade and did more than just play, they danced and moved and grooved and were really into their music, which was great.  People swarmed to them, taking photos and enjoying, or looking at them like they were nuts.  Either way, it was tons of fun.  The picture below shows them, literally "getting down".

After following them around for a bit, I decided I might have gotten a bit lost and, while getting myself un-lost, I managed to get pooed on by a bird.  Oh well.  I figured out where I was and got to the meet-up point in plenty of time to get back on the coach to Santa Chiara.  The ride home was a serenade of songs inspired by the bus driver's playing American oldie party songs like YMCA, which led to a mish-mash of oldies, 90s pop, and Disney songs sung by the group.  I opted to listen to music on my iPhone and play games.