Contents

  1. Preface
  2. San Francisco
  3. Amsterdam
  4. Amsterdam, Helmond
  5. Amsterdam, Zandvoort, Haarlem
  6. Amsterdam, Bruges
  7. Bruges, Brussels, Cologne, Berlin
  8. Berlin
  9. Berlin, Potsdam
  10. Berlin, Wansee
  11. Berlin, Prague
  12. Prague
  13. Prague, Karlstejn, Vienna
  14. Vienna
  15. Vienna, Salzburg, Füssen
  16. Füssen, Neuschwanstein, Munich
  17. Munich, Innsbruck
  18. Innsbruck
  19. Innsbruck, Zürich, Lauterbrunnen
  20. Lauterbrunnen, Jungfraujoch
  21. Lauterbrunnen, Schilthorn
  22. Lauterbrunnen, Spiez, Zermatt
  23. Zermatt
  24. Zermatt, Martigny, Chamonix
  25. Chamonix, Mont Blanc
  26. Chamonix, Mont Blanc, Courmayeur, Aosta, Turin
  27. Barcelona
  28. Barcelona, Sitges
  29. Barcelona
  30. Milan, Venice
  31. Venice
  32. Venice
  33. Venice, Milan, Cinque Terre
  34. Cinque Terre, La Spezia
  35. Cinque Terre, Pisa, Lucca, Florence
  36. Florence
  37. Florence
  38. Florence, Siena
  39. Siena, San Gimignano, Rome
  40. Rome
  41. Rome
  42. Rome, Sorrento
  43. Sorrento, Vesuvius, Pompeii
  44. Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello
  45. Sorrento, Capri, Naples
  46. Naples, Bari
  47. Patras, Athens, Mykonos
  48. Mykonos
  49. Mykonos
  50. Mykonos, Paros, Santorini
  51. Santorini
  52. Santorini, Athens
  53. Athens
  54. Athens, Amsterdam, San Francisco


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37. Florence, Siena

Photo Gallery

Today I wanted to get an early start, hoping to stop in San Gimignano on the way to Siena. In hindsight, I should have stayed in Florence long enough to see the Medici chapels. Walking to the train station, I came across a procession with a band and fabulous poofy colored Florentine costumes escorting someone important — a cardinal perhaps? — in through the massive golden doors of the Baptistery. The weather was chilly and rainy, so on the train we decided to head straight for Siena, where at least I could have a roof over my head, and hold out the possibility of San Gimignano for Sunday.

The weather somewhat tempered my enthusiasm for Siena, at least at first. Il Campo, the main square, is a beautiful sight, carved out of a bowl around the gigantic city tower. Siena is right up there with Amsterdam when it comes to overpriced hotels; I stayed at the Hotel Duomo (€104), where I had a nice view of the duomo and north over the town, which sits at the top of a large hill. Wild boar seems to be a common dish in Tuscany; here I had it with spaghetti. The cathedral of Siena is one of my favorites in all of Europe. We climbed up onto the top of the adjacent museum for an excellent view of the town, though this experience was somewhat marred by the wind and rain. The combination ticket here is good for five sights, all of which are in the same area except the Oratorio di San Bernardino, a hike across to the northeast side of the town. The streets in this area are filled with large colorful flags, each representing one of the ten neighborhood districts of Siena.

My Belgian friend headed back to Florence, and he really missed out! The best time to see Siena by far turned out to be that evening. As in the rest of Italy, people here stroll around on the crowded streets late into the evening, which gives a great sense of community. I managed to track down one of the Rough Guide's listings for pizza, over to the southeast of the Campo. After dinner I heard lots of noise — a party — coming from the area between the restaurant and the tower. With limited access on the narrow streets, it almost seemed like some sort of private event. I wandered in timidly, and it was fantastic! The entire neighborhood was out on the streets, celebrating in an amazing medieval sort of way, with costumes, singing, tables serving wine and slabs of meat to the masses, dancing areas, ticker tape, and elaborate decorations. I asked another American what was going on. Every summer, crowds pack the Campo to watch the Palio, a crazy horse race, with each neighborhood vying for the prize. This year, for the first time in 44 years, Torre, the district I had stumbled into, had won. And they really knew how to party! The event didn't slow down until well after midnight. Apparently they had been doing this every weekend since the Palio. If I had been unsure about Siena at first, it was now unquestionably one of the great highlights of the trip.

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