Siena.... Oh, Siena..........
How I love thee...... Let me show the ways.......
I take my little rented Fiat friend and head south towards Siena. City driving in Florence was awesome! I fit in well there... aggressive, fast thinking.... Countryside driving is easier than pie (can I just say how weird that expression sounds). Anyway, following THE sign that reads "SIENA", I make my way thru windy hills and on a whim detour to SAN GIMINGANO. Why not? Siena wasn't that far anyway, and I was thoroughly enjoying the scenery.
In San Gimingano, I parked next to this.....
I didn't stay there long. I got back on the road toward Siena. This is the beginning of a crazy lost adventure. Not so much lost, as repetitious. To explain, driving IN siena is near impossible because it is mostly a pedestrian only city. The cars that are allowed to drive and park within city walls have some kind of special access. There are many signs posting ZTL, or Limited Traffic Zones, and if you cross them a $100 fine will be mailed to your home address. So you can imagine the stress in driving slowly to make sure this doesn't happen, all on one-way roads so you can't back up if needed, and trying to find the one tiny little access way to temporary hotel parking. I pretty much looped the whole city 4 times before I could find that tiny little entrance. After I learned it was temporary parking, I then had to find the limited free parking lots and/or paid parking lots. I lucked out and drove up behind a reversing car at the right moment and pissed off a lot of other driving waiting to find a parking spot. I literally shouted in excitement to finally get out of the car and explore Siena. What an experience :)
I realized I hadn't eaten in awhile. Found a cute little store and ordered up a fresh from scratch sandwich.... picked the bread size, picked the meat for slicing, picked the cheese for slicing, and complete. Found a bench next to this beautiful ginormous old church (conveniantly a few steps from my hotel) and enjoyed a delicious lunch. Listened to my ipod. "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley was the one I remember most while looking onto a gorgeous Siena skyline. This was a memorable lunch :)
Made my way over to IL Campo in the center of the city, and
instantly fell in love. It's pedestrian only, as you can see. Lining the center are several cafes and restaurants. If you are a people-watcher (like me), you've found your haven for quality watching.... everything from groups of students, friends and travelers, to lovers, to kids racing from one end to other, to individual ponderers like myself.
I stayed till night.
Layed flat on my back in the middle of the square, looking up at the stars, listening to music and falling more in love with the city.
On this night, I got hit on by a waiter (hahaha- you had to be there), met two Germans dudes (Lars and something), two Californian lovers, got lost in pouring rain for 30 minutes with no umbrella and no coat, and then met Led who helped me find my hotel. Good Times!
I was staying at an old church turned hotel.... Hotel Alma Domus, or something.
I had an incredible view! (Not shown here haha)
I woke up with no agenda except to explore more of the Tuscan hill towns and stay where ever I ended up. Rather I decided I loved Siena so much that I didn't want to leave, and opted to stay another night. My room was available for another night. yay!
I checked out an enormous market (didn't take any pictures), did some laundry, ate some lunch, and proceeded to find my car. I was still going to explore the countryside this day. My attempt at finding some of the famous drives for scenic pictures was a frustrating one. Didn't really find what I was looking for. And the rain didn't help. Almost got stuck in mud once. Called it a day and headed back to Siena.
What do you know?! I got lost trying to get into the city again. Except this time, major lost!!!! I think the problem was I was coming in from the south versus from the north, and it totally screwed me up. Which says a lot for this good sense of direction girl. Anyway, eventually figured it out..... about an hour or so later. BUT...... I absolutely don't regret it. Little did I know that if that didn't happen, then neither would have the incredible evening I was about to have.......
So.... for those of you who don't know me, I picked up a tradition from my parents. I always make sure to pick up a magnet from every place I've traveled. My twist on the tradition is I like to match the magnet to a picture. Sometimes the magnet comes first, sometimes the picture. Anyway, I was passing thru IL Campo when I realized I hadn't taken my magnet picture yet. And the sun was setting fast. In a quick moment's notice (and I almost hesitated), I propped my camera up on a pillar and set the timer. I was getting tired of the arms stretched out pictures of myself. In another moment's notice, I struck this silly little pose. Well...... this silly pose was the start of a freaking fantastic night! People up in a balcony behind the camera started waving at me letting me know they were making fun of me. I waved back sheepishly and set my camera to take one more picture. Except this time I wasn't so enthusiastic because I was kinda embarassed. When I was finished, I packed up my camera and waved goodbye.... letting them know I appreciate the humor in it all. They invited me up. Without really thinking, I accepted their invitation. It all happened really quick.
So.... in the restaurant/bar, I was greeted by Scott, a lawyer living in London but originally from Australia. I was just happy he spoke English. He explained how he and his friends were thrilled to meet someone who can make fun of themselves and is game for meeting complete strangers on a whim. He introduced me to his long time friends and old co-workers Adam ("Tourist"), Emily and Hailey. They were all from Australia too. They opened a seat for me on the patio, THE BEST VIEW IN ALL OF SIENA, and we just started having great conversation.
We all realized how hungry we were and opted to get dinner. The girls had spotted this quaint little hole in the wall restaurant earlier that day. Well, this quaint little hole in the wall restaurant turned out to provide the best meal of my entire life. The details were all so incredibly memorable. I know this is saying a lot, that words certainly won't be able to describe, but what a meal! And what perfect company to enjoy it! This is the only picture I took to remember it, because I really just wanted to REMEMBER it.
In short, I wanted everything on the menu (which never happens). We all did! We each had our own appetizer, main course, and our own dessert. We all dipped and shared and moaned to the deliciousness of it all. The ambiance was incredible, the food presentation so beautiful, the kindness well received, the bill very affordable..... and the company- FANTASTIC!
"To old friends and new friends...." and mostly to great experiences. The kind that happen on a whim are the best kind. It still puts a smile on my face. I mean.... I wasn't even supposed to stay a second night.
Sadly it had occurred to me that this was my last real night in Italy. But what a fantastic one at that. By the way, my friends here love the word "fantastic" and it sorta stuck on me. It's where I picked it up and I say it a lot now :)
But hold on folks, the trip isn't quite over...... one more day of exploration coming soon.....
