In the afternoon we set off for Sienna. We both had high hopes for this town based on Rick’s glowing review that Sienna was Italy’s best medieval town and the main square, Il Campo, is Italy’s best square.
Our disappointment of Sienna really started at lunch. We figured Sienna would be a good town to have our “splurge” meal. Rick recommended Antica Osteria Da Divo for lunch. The cheesy Italian ballads playing in the background should have been our first sign. The other bad sign should have been that there were only other tourists in the restaurant. We did get some free vin santo after our meal because we had a Rick Steve’s book. I of course couldn’t drink it so Jim had both of them, which after a ½ bottle of wine gave him quite a buzz.
Our first stop in Sienna was the Duomo (Cathedral) and was definitely the highlight of the day. The church was incredibly ornate with large striped columns throughout the interior. Every square inch of the church was decorated, from the gigantic religious works of art on the walls, inlayed marble floors and the Michelangelo statues. Of all the churches I have seen in the last year, the Duomo of Sienna tops my list.
After the Duomo, we headed to the main square. Il Campo was a very large square with oddly no focal point. The middle of the square is slanted like an amphitheater down to a drain giving the square a barren look. The most interesting building along the square was the City Hall and its 330 ft. tower.
Jim was feeling the need for a rest and some coffee after the copious amount of wine he consumed at lunch so I climbed the tower while he rested at a coffee shop lining the square. The views from the tower were well worth the climb up the very narrow stairwell.
After rallying Jim, we wandered the streets of Sienna searching for some quaint little streets. We didn’t find any but did find some gritty, dirty streets thick with the scent of burning clutch and brakes.
We decided to head back to the car and stop for a gelato. Jim didn’t like the look of the gelato place I picked out because there were too many people and it was nicely decorated so he assumed it was expensive. He wanted a more authentic hole in the wall gelato shop. We found our hole in the wall spot and got some disappointingly icy gelatos that were the same price as the first shop. Sometimes it helps to remember that the busy spots are busy for a reason.
On the way home, our GPS took us a different back roads route that had incredibly curvy steep roads which Jim couldn't wait to ride up the next day. What is fun according to Jim is very different from most people's definition of fun. When I think of climbing steep steep roads in the hot sun, I think of pain and discomfort not "Oh that will be lots of fun".
Back at home, we cooked another dinner in. I mean, I cooked another dinner in while Jim enjoyed a glass of wine on the terrace. We had stopped at the Coop in Bucine on the way home and picked up some fresh pear gorgonzola ravioli which I paired with some caramelized onions, toasted walnuts, olive oil and parmesan cheese. Unfortunately the ravioli were pretty flavorless so it was a bit disappointing.
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