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| gonetraveling.com "I am a part of all that I have met. Yet, all experience is an arch where through gleams that untraveled world where margin fades, forever and forever when I move." |
| siena |
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| It didn’t take us long to arrive at Siena from Montalcino, but the maze of narrow streets, blocks of construction and throng of people made it almost impossible to navigate a quick route to our hotel. One wrong turn and it could be more than an hour to find your way back. We were lucky that our one wrong turn only resulted in a minor detour. A picturesque town considered the counterpart to Florence, our guidebook informed us that it was a “majestic Gothic whole that could be enjoyed without venturing into a single museum.” This idea perfectly fit our plans since we were in the midst of the sixth day of our gastronomic tour and we did not want to be deterred. After stashing the car in a lot next to our hotel (you can walk everywhere), we settled in and headed for our first taste of Sienese food. Not a city known for their restaurants, we resorted to our favorites of pizza, pasta, a meat dish and Limoncello (compliments of the house) which was then followed with a long walk around the city to try and loosen our suspiciously snug jeans. We quickly discovered that Siena is a place more for sightseeing than eating and surprisingly, shopping. |
| 2002-2003 |
| > a gastronomic tour > cinque terre > via dell'amore > marnello > spilamberto > bologna > lasagna in florence > montalcino > san gimignano |
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| > italy |
| > home |
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| Charmane and I didn’t have to make up too many excuses to venture out on our own since Steve and Fletch had plans to visit a nearby deli and oogle dried meats. So we spent the rest of the afternoon smelling Italian leather, trying on shoes and stroking the fine fabrics. We were feeling “very cute” until the European sizing charts registered our six days of indulgence. Our depression over this lead us back to the hotel where our case of wine was waiting, as well as Steve and Fletch with a shopping bag full of new salamis, cheeses, olives and bread. We kept chanting “were on vacation”. |
| We spent a second day wandering around the streets of Siena to fully absorb the beauty of its decorative cityscape and open squares. Most spectacular was the Duomo, an ornately designed church delineated by bands of black and white marble. While overrun with tourists, it is hard not to linger here all day. The sun overhead prompted us to take our last look of Siena from the Il Campo which proved to be the perfect end to our Sienese adventure. |
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