Siena Day Trip and Weekend

           

 On Friday at 6:00 am I got on the bus to go to Siena.  The bus was ride was three hours and most people just slept.  Siena is just 35 miles south of Florence and located in Tuscany.  When we got off the bus we were immediately greeted by our tour guide who took us around the city and showed us all of the main sights.  Siena’s main square is called the II Campo and it is the heart of the city.  Some people say this is the best square in Italy.  Along the side there are a bunch of restaurants, gelato shops, and the town square.  Siena has red brick lanes that cascade in every direction with little shops all around the city.  Many courtyards, sport flower-dead wells, alleys dead-end at roof-top views.  In the city bathrooms are extremely scarce.  In order to go to the bathroom it costs 1 euro and they are extremely old fashioned.  You have to push this weird button to flush and to wash your hands you push your foot on a pedal on the floor for more water.  A main attraction is the Duemo which is an art-packed cathedral with mosaic floors and statues by Michael Angelo and Bernini.  The cathedral is stripped in white and dark green and it sits on Sienna highest point.  The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and inside the ceilings were extremely tall with colorful art inside and out, decorated marble on the floor and stained glass windows.  For two centuries over 40 artist paved the intricate floor with scenes from the Old Testament, allegories, and intricate patterns.  Next to the cathedral there was a museum and on the top called the Panorama del Facciatone we walked up around 10 stories in a tiny tiny circular stairwell and you could seethe entire view of Siena.

            The first church we visited was the sanctuary of Saint Catherine.  St Catherine is the patron Saint of Siena.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside.  She is the youngest of 25 kids and most known for her charm sincerity, and reputation for holiness, she helped convince Pope Gregory XVI to return to the papacy to the city of Rome.  She was then made a Saint 10 years later and her  body parts were distributed to churches all around Italy.  In this particular church was just her head and one finger!  It was kind of gross her head was like detoriating.  Siena’s main drag is Via Branchi di Sopra and it is a bunch of fancy shops.  Siena is most famous for its dessert called panforte a rich, chewy concoction of nuts, honey, and candied fruits and they claim to impress even fruitcake haters

            For lunch we had the best meal I have had yet.  The restaurant was called Galmore.  We had a group of about 50 people so the food had already been ordered for us.  We were escorted to the bottom wine cellar of the restaurant.  It smelt musty at the bottom but the smell went away quickly.  We were first served bread and wine.  The first course was a thick  but soft and chewy spaghetti with a mushroom and beef sauce a toped with parmassian cheese and pepper.  The next course was apple crisped fall off the bone chicken with perfectly buttered and cooked potatoes.  Finally the desert was a fresh selection of fruit soaked in champagne.  Bon Appetite! We got back to the bus around 5 and got back to rome at 9 at night.  Everyone was exhausted and went to bed.

            On Saturday, my roommate was sick so I decided to get out of the house.  I went for a run to my friends apartment across town who I will be going to Ireland with.  We decided to take the tram downtown to explore a little more.  We went through some of the shops and ended at the Trevi fountain.  The fountain was packed with people being a Saturday.  I still threw a coin in but I plan to go back on a weekday and it wil hopefully be a little less crowded.  That night a few of my roommates and I went to a nightclub on the river called La Macion.  The club was right on the river below Castle San Anigo.  There was some grand gala event going on inside the castle because it was lit up purple with candles all around it and there was a red carpet.  I went up to the guard to ask him what was going on but he just kept saying that is was nothing special and to come back to the castle tomorrow to go inside.  Clearly there was something very special going on he just did not want to tell me what was going on! It was gorgeous and at 1:00 am fireworks went off from the middle of the river.  They were the prettiest fireworks I have ever seen.  It was like a 20 minute long grand finale.

            On Sunday I just had a relaxing day and walked through Travestre.  On our way there we walked through Saint Petersburg square and saw two weddings.  As we were leaving we heard a huge amount of cheering and the pope went on the big screens outside.  He was inside at the Vatican but it was being broadcasted live on the outside screens.  I went to lunch with my roommate Tara at a cute little restaurant.  Since we still don’t have internet there was not much to do so I started a book that my roommates recommended called the Anthem by Ayn Rand.  It is a short book and I am already about half way through and it is really good!