Siena

I wanted to explore a little bit more of the Tuscany area surrounding Florence. There are lots of little towns to explore (and I want to see them all!) but we chose to go to Siena since we had gotten some nice recommendations for it. We hopped on a bus and were there in about an hour.

The Town Hall on the Piazza del Campo. 

We climbed the clock tower later in the day for great views of the countryside.

 Each neighborhood "contrada" had its own animal mascot and decorates that area accordingly. This was the rhino contrada. These neighborhood designations come into play during the annual horse race when the contradas compete against each other.

The pigeons know the best places to get a fresh drink on a hot day.

We read in our guidebook about a little Siena wine school and headed there to see if we could get into a class later in the day. Yes, there were spots available but also told us about a Savor Siena tour starting in only 15 minutes. It would be two hours of sampling wines, cheeses, meats, gelatos, and pastries. Oh, and there would only be the two of us and one other guest. We promptly signed up!

 Maria Louisa was the local who told us all about the main crops of the area...grapes and olives.

 She took us around town to little shops to try different foods. This was definitely my kind of tour!

 We went into a local meat/cheese shop where the local people shop (no other tourists!).

 Wheels of Parmisian-Regianno cheese waiting to be chosen.

 Pecorino (sheep) cheese curing in a big urn covered by grape leaves (I think). Sampling the different ages of cheese I learned that I prefer the newer pecorino to the tangy older ones.

 David and I were joined in the tour by Jennifer, a lawyer from New Zealand.

 We each got a turn to help split the wheel of cheese.

 Once the wheel was opened we got to sample the cheese. Delicious!

Favorite pastries of the area

We had to end with a stop for gelato! This main street store had the best display of gelato, but the best flavors were at other shops on the side streets.

 The Siena Cathedral is a great example of Italian Romanesque-Gothic architecture. They originally meant for this cathedral to be the largest cathedral in the world. However, the Black Plague and money shortages in the 1300s halted these plans.

The cathedral's nave

 

Pulpit

 Large choir hymnals in the Piccolomini Library inside the church. 

Vibrant frescoes decorate the walls and ceilings telling the story of Piccolomini (a favorite son of Siena) who later became a Pope.

This room of amazingly colorful frescoes has never needed to be restored because the candle smoke that usually damages church artwork did not have direct access to this separate room inside the church.

Ceiling 

After a nice little break on the Piazza with a cool drink, we decided to climb the clock tower for a Tuscan view. Climbing things was a definite theme throughout our Italian trip!

We enjoyed our day in Siena!