Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Siena Post #2

Hi Everyone,

Ryan here, sitting on the train from Firenze to Roma! Kristina is next to me taking advantage of the ~4 hour train ride by taking a nap, so I thought I'd try to catch everyone up on the blog a bit. Below, you'll see a few more of my favorite pictures from the Tuscan town of Siena. Enjoy!



This is our bus, with its route "Siena Rapida" clearly displayed. The bus system in Italy, at least in Florence, is just as easy and convenient as the trains, and it was nice to get to see some more of the countryside without having to worry about where we were going.


We got into Siena without a map, nor any clue what to look for or where to go, so the first thing we did was try to memorize our surroundings so we could find our way back to the bus station! Then, with rain already threatening, we set off at a brisk pace. The first site we encountered was the Basilica Cateriniana di San Domenico in the Piazza Madre Teresa di Calcutta. This massive church had some impressive stained glass (sorry, couldn't take pictures inside...) and an even more impressive vantage point of the old town of Siena, which you can see Kristina standing in front of here.


The old town of Siena is completely composed of little stone alleyways, often quite steep, navigating the three hills that the city sits at the intersection of and the valleys in between. The combination makes for beautiful sites around every corner! Here I am standing in one such alley. I should note also, Siena was much CLEANER than any of the other places we have been to on our trip so far, ie zero grafitti, trash in the streets, etc. One thing we've learned is that a city is a city no matter where one is in the world, and the signs of so many people living on top of one another cannot be escaped until you venture to some place a bit smaller, like Siena.



And lastly, we were able to get someone to take a picture of the two of us overlooking one of the valleys of Siena. The church you see in the background is the same one that Kristina is standing at in the photo above, the Basilicia Cateriniana di San Domenico. Pretty cool to have both views!

Hope you enjoyed our pictures from this little day excursion. Siena probably is at the top of my list so far of places that I'd like to return to. We're told that it is much neater in the evenings, once the day trippers (like us) have cleared out and returned to wherever they were visiting from. Perhaps another trip some day! Who wants to join us? :)

Love Always, and as they say here in Italia, Salve!

Ryan

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