SIENA BOUND

10/26/24

Final day of travel- LAX to Kona. We have an 1100 h flight so we should arrive in Kona sometime before 1400h. Can't wait to get home and see everyone!

10/25/24

Up at 0500 and caught the shuttle to the airport at 0600. We buzzed through ticketing, security and passport control so we have plenty of time to enjoy the ITA lounge before boarding for our 0930 flight to LAX.

The flight was uneventful, on-time and comfortable. We arrived in LA on time and were in our hotel by 1445 h.

10/24/24

We got the apartment in order and started moving our luggage to the car around 0915 this morning. Of course, it was raining! We got everything loaded and found our way out of Siena by 0930 and were on our way towards Rome. It rained very had during the first 45 minutes and the roads were not the best but after that the rain decreased significantly and the roads improved. We made it to Hotel Tiber Fumicino by 1300h so the trip took approximately 3h 20 min.

We checked in to the hotel and then Rod and I went to the airport to turn in the rental car... we had a bit of trouble getting to the correct building but we finally made it and turned in the car.

We had a nice final dinner at the hotel that night and then we got some sleep in preparation for our trip to Los Angeles.

10/23/24

Today was a road trip day to return to Siena from assisi and get our apartment and affairs in order. We drive to Rome tomorrow for one night and then back to Los Angeles or Chicago. We have had a wonderful time and we are ready to get home.

10/22/24

This morning we are off to Assisi by way of Perugia and will spend the night at a convent in Assisi.

It is 10/23/24 now and I am writing about our trip yesterday to Perugia and Assisi. We got out of the apartment and on the way about 0930 and headed toward Perugia (supposedly a hot spot for chocolates). Perugia turns out to be a pretty large city (100,000+) and we spent a good 45 minutes trying to make out way up to the old town... a little background on the "old towns". Since the roads are so narrow in these towns most of them restrict auto traffic to residents and, when you can drive on the roads, most of them are one way. Consequently, if a location is only 50 meters away, you may have to drive 4 or 5 kilometers just to get to it and, in most cases we would get lost and end up back at the location we started at. Anyhow, we finally gave up in frustration and decided to head directly to Assisi.

Here is an example of the path we took in Perugia!

We had reservations at a convent that was right across the street from the Basilica of St. Francis - again and interesting drive!

While getting to the Convent in Assisi actually worked, you can see that the path made its way through the old city on narrow streets loaded with hair-pin turns and lots of tourists in the streets.

The path we had to take to make our way to the convent where we spent the night in Assisi.

The Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi is striking and the interior is an amazing array of frescos and beautiful architecture. There is an upper church and a lower church... the upper church being built on top of the lower one. One enters the lower church and then can migrate to the upper church. If you try and enter the front of the upper church, they send you back down to the lower entrance. Note that everything in Assisi is built on fairly steep hills and there are a lot of steps.

Our rooms were right across the street from the basilica and they looked out on it. The rooms were quite spartan but comfortable... no frills here! After we got settled in our rooms we took a walk up the Via San Francesco to look at the shops and people watch. Then we decided to visit the basilica. The crowds were minimal and the interior of both churches were worth the visit.

Afterwards we sat on the corner near the church and had a beer and people watched for a while before folks went up their rooms for a rest. I took a walk up into the middle of town and then back down the other side to our "convent" for a rest.

Dinner was at the restaurant right on the corner at 1930 hours. We had roast lamb, au gratin potatoes, soup (not sure what kind), Veal cheeks, and a gorgonzola blue cheese salad. The meal was good if a bit salty and we left full and ready for a nights rest.

Our rooms are on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building.

We parked in the yard of the convent.

The view out our window of the Basilica of St. Francis.

Some view of the streets and valley below Assisi.

A view from the Porta S. Giacomo out over the valley.

Looking out over the valley below the town of Assisi.

The Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.

The interior ceiling of the lower church... photos were forbidden but I took one.

Being dog lovers, we really laughed at this one!

A respite from the hills... a little wine and beer.

Below are a couple of short video clips showing us driving out of Assisi.

10/21/24

This morning we decided to take a road trip to a couple of nearby villages... Monteriggioni and San Gimignano. Our first stop was Monteriggioni a small hilltop fortress constructed by Siena in defense against Florence in 1213-1219. The town is only 1/2 hour north of Siena and is quite small. We were able to park very close to the entry gate and we walked around the town, had a coffee and then went up and walked the wall. The countryside is beautiful and the day was sunny and clear.

Monteriggioni from the road.

The walled city of Monteriggioni.

Up on the wall of Monteriggioni.

Thirty minutes away was the hilltop town of San Gimignanao. We were able to park close to the entry gate and the walk was not too bad. We spent about 1 hour there wandering along the streets and shopping for gifts, etc. I must admit that we are getting a little "familiar" with little tuscan towns so we don't spend too much time in them any more. SG is a beautiful place, for sure, and it wasn't too terribly crowded (a lot more than Monteriggioni though).

The entry gate of San Gimignano.

Piazza Del Cisterna

Main Street entering San Gimignano.

The Collegiate church of Santa Maria Assunta, or the cathedral of San Gimignano, is the main religious building in the city. Standing in at the top of a broad flight of steps, it was probably built around 1056 and was certainly consecrated in 1148.

10/20/24

We awoke to a beautiful blue sky day here in Siena. Unfortunately one more of our party has come down with some sort of URI. However, we all headed out at 0930 h to walk to the Piazza del Campo to do some shopping and people watching. We have all agreed that the Campo is a real special spot and can't really imagine what a crazy scene it must be when the Palio is run!

We spent some time there having a Cappuccino and then headed back so Rod could rest a bit.

At 1220 I took off on a walk to try and see some of those sights that I have missed because of my "down time."

Looking at the Torre Mangia of the Palazzo Pubblico from the Via di Citta.

Panorama of the Piazza del Campo at 1030 h.

Another panorama of the Piazza del Campo in the afternoon.

The first stop on my walk was the Cathedral San Francesco. It is very large but with a very sparsly decorated in the interior.

Then I made my way "across town" to the Basilica of Santa Dominico-Santa Caterina. this basilica is another very large church with a very sparse interior. Nonetheless, it is a very sacred basilica.

Next I walked over to the Duomo to check out the crowds.. there were lots of people and the line to enter the Duomo was nearly 100 meters long!!! After taking some pictures and doing some people/dog watching, I meandered back to the Campo and to the Piazza del Mercato which is located right behind the Campo. Then it was time to head back to the apartment.

Cathedral San Francesco.

The cavernous interior of San Francesco.

Basilica of San Dominico.

Basilica of San Domenico stained glass.

Saint caterina's reliquary (her head) in the basilica of San Domenico.

Now for some shots of dogs and their people:

Then on to the Mercato where there was a flea market in session. The market is behind the Campo a short distance.

A few more shots of the Duomo... on an amzingly beautiful day.

A few more shots of the Piazza del Campo- early afternoon.

And, finally, I walked to the Campo at 2000 h to see what was happening at night:

A very active dinning scene at night in the Piazza del Campo.

The Torre Mangia and the "city hall" are lit at night. The square was busy but not crowded.

10/19/24

Pat and I spent the day recuperating and we felt well enough to go out and spend some time walking and shopping. We seem to have recovered very quickly.

The Kehls did a 9 hour wine tasting tour and had a good time. The weather wasn't optimal as it was overcast and foggy. They said the countryside was beautiful but the weather made the viewing difficult. We made a reservation at Trattoria Fonte Gusta for 1930 hours so they really had about a 14 hour day-very tiring.

Here was our reservation card for Fonte Gusta! Rice becase Wise but we still got the table.

It was a bit rainy outside so we had a nice cozy table inside. The food was very good and we thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

Our favorite little cafe (right at the end of our stree) was jumping as we came back from dinner. There are only 3 tables inside but there were lots of folks standing out in the rain having a glass of wine and talking (loudly, as is the case in Italy!)..

10/18/24

Well, there is bound to be a hickup or two during a trip... SO, Pat and I have experienced ours ... we both have contracted covid and are spending the day resting and trying to get over it. The Kehls are, so far, in good shape and don't have any symptoms.

So, for today at least, I won't have too much to say.

The Kehls had a great day hiking around the city.

Rod Shared some of his photos with us..

10/17/24

Today we have a couple of activities to participate in. First we made the drive to Montepulciano and visit the town and then we will go to a small farm to visit and have some lunch. It takes about 1 hour to drive to Montepulciano because of the narrow winding roads. The countryside is beautiful with rolling hills, vineyards, olive groves and pasture land. We enjoyed the trip because is is so picturesque. The weather held for us... it was overcast but not it didn't rain until we got back to Siena and then it rained hard with some very loud thunder and lightening.

We arrived at Montepulciano at approximately 0930. And walked up into the town. We entered through one of the old gates (Porta al Prato) and proceeded up into the town as - the town is build on a hill that slants down from north to south and it is faily steep. As you walk up the main street and look to the left the town drops off steeply and as you look to the right it rises steeply. On either side there are beautiful panoramic view over the surrounding Tuscan countryside. Pat and I walked up about 1/4 of the way and Rod and Sandy made it all the way to the main Piazza (Piazza Grande). The big deal in Montepulcian is the wine Vino Nobile de Montepulciano. Below are a few images of our trip to Montepulicano.

At 1130 or so, we walked out of the town and drove about 15 minutes to a little farm where they grow grapes, olives and raise Cinta Sinese Tuscan pigs.

When we arrived there were greeted by the owner Roberto. There were two other couples in the group (one from Italy and one from Estonia). We were shown around the farm beginning with the olives trees. The olives were turning from green to black and he said he will harvest them in about a week. He takes them to a mill where they are pressed for the oil. Next we saw his vinyards where he grows two varieties of grapes (a while and a red). They also are harvested and pressed and he makes his own wine which we tasted at lunch. The last stop before lunch was the pig pens. He only raises about 20 pigs (plus 3 breeding pigs). There are Italian laws that specify what you can feed the pigs in order for them to be classified organic or some such. So, he only feeds them garden / vegetable matter.

After visiting the pigs, we visited the "aging room" where he hangs the hams, bacon, prosciutto, pancetta, guanciale and various sausages.

Then came lunch.. bruschetta (tomato and chicken liver), a bowl of Ribolitta soup, a large board of various cured meats and one cheeses that had been aged for different time intervals. along with a sweet sauce and a hot souce. Some us liked the young cheese (very mild) while I liked the more aged cheese (sharper and more pungent). We enjoyed everything. Oh yeah, I forgot, we had a bottle of home made red and one of home made white wine and everyone thought that they were quite good. To finish off the meal, we were served cantucci with vin santo (a sweet fortified wine). It was a very good meal and we were happy that we visited the farm.

We took the darker blue track.. pretty good roads most of the way.

Looking up toward the walled city of Montepulciano.

Two visitors posing at the one of the main gates- Porta al Prato!

A view of the tuscan countryside from the Montepulciano city wall.

The views from up on the city walls really are spectacular even though it was cloudy.

A short clip of Roberto's pigs

Roberto explaining that this olive tree is 200 years old. During a drought 10-15 years ago, many of the old trees died back and have now come back with shoots/branches from the old root stalk.

A short clip of Roberto's pigs

Of course, Pat wanted to pet one of the breeding sows!

Roberto is feeding the pigs some of the grape skins from the pressing.

Roberto explains the different cuts of meat and the curing processs.

All in all, it was a very fun day.

10/16/24

Off to the food market this morning at Fortress Medicea. We purchased some Porcini mushrooms to make some pasta sometime soon. We also shopped for some socks and some presents. Back at the apartment 1100 h and we are planning a driving trip to Volterra to see some alabaster carving.

Porcini mushrooms are divided into those for mushroom steaks or pasta.

Porcini mushrooms are in season at the market.

Buying some socks at the Fortress Medicea market.

A nice little leather store on our street.

The porcupine is the symbol of the one of the 17 city wards- and is the ward our ap
Caterpillars, Dragons, Eagles, Forest, Girrafe, Goose, Owl, Panther, Porcupine, Ram, She Wolf, Sea Shell, Snail, Tortoise, Tower, Unicorn, & Wave.

The Porcupine ward.

Our Trip to Volterra.

In one of the alabaster shops in Volterra.

View of the Piazza di Priori, the main piazza in Volterra.

View of Volterra from one of the walls.

View from the walls of Volterra. The weather was overcast but the view is still spectacular.

looking down over the Roman ruins.

Old Roman baths and amphitheater in Volterra.

Alabaster lamps, etc.

Huge alabaster lamp with the old buildings reflected in the window.

Some of the alabaster.

Pat in alabaster store.

Below: Our dinner at Osteria Il Vinaio

Pasta with pumpkin and sausage... it was a huge hit with the team.

Tagliatelli with porcini mushrooms.. also very good.

We are back at our apartment and, because it is raining a bit, we are going to call it a day.

Tomorrow we go to the PIG FARM!! Intriguing, no?

10/15/24

We had a wonderful evening at Il Vinaio that is a nearby restaurant where we had a nice dinner before we retired for the night... we were tired from the long day.. must be age!

This morning we began our day, after breakfast, by hiking to the Piazza del Campo (1.4 km) and had a cappuccino at a restaurant over on the Campo. The Campo is a beautiful Piazza and is the site of the world famous Palio horse races. We spent some time there and then headed up the Via di Citta and window shopped along the way. There are beautiful shops ranging from art to Truffles and we vowed to come back to Via Citta to do some real shopping.

The Via Citta led us to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta where we had a 1400 h reservation to visit it the Duomo. The Duomo is one of the most beautiful churches on the outside (even more beautiful than the Florence Duomo) BUT, the interior of the Siena Duomo is unmatched by any cathedral I have ever seen. Of particular note are the amazing inlaid marble floors depicting a multitude of important historical and legendary events.

After visiting the Duomo we made our way to the top of the viewing wall off to the side of the Duomo and got a nice view of Siena. After that it was time to walk back to the apartment with a stop along the way for some bread, meats, tomatoes, cheese, Balsalmic and olive oil for dinner.. we decided to stay in after an 8 hour walking day AND because we have eaten rather well during the previous 8 days..

Below are a whole bunch of pictures of the day's activities:

Dinner at Osteria Il Vinaio

Dinner time last night.

Our favorite pastry shop...

It was very foggy in the morning but cleared up in the early morning.

Fonte Gaia in the Piazza del Campo.

The famous she wolf of Rome...

Having a cappuccino at the Bar di Palio.

Walking down to the Campo.

An overview of the Campo

Decoration is usually found on the walls, but why not the ceilings and floors too? That's clearly what the medieval artists and architects who built the 13th-century masterpiece, the Duomo Di Siena. Known in English as Siena Cathedral, the incredible Gothic masterpiece is richly decorated down to the dirt. Its incredible mosaic floor—largely created between 1370 and 1550 but not strictly finished until the 19th century—is only revealed twice a year, but the 56 marble inlay panels are a site to behold.(https://mymodernmet.com/duomo-di-siena-medieval-mosaic-floors/)

Legend has it that Siena was established by Senius, son of Remus and nephew of Romulus. The Roman origin accounts for the town's emblem, a she-wolf suckling the infants Romulus and Remus. According to legend, Siena was founded by Senius and Aschius, the two sons of Remus, who was in turn the brother of Romulus, after whom Rome was named. Statues and other artwork depicting a she-wolf suckling the young twins Romulus and Remus can be seen all over the city of Siena.

Interior of the Siena Duomo.

“Massacre of the Innocents” mosaic from the 1500s. (Photo: Tango7174 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

A cold beer at the end of a long day... on the street just outside of our apartment.

10/14/24

We are off to Siena today. First order of business is to secure a taxi to take us to the car rental (Sixt) at Maria Novella train station. We will pick up the car there and head out of Florence to travel to Siena on the "Chianti Road". More to come as the adventure unfolds.

We left our apartment at 0910 this morning and were able to get a taxi to pick us up at 0930. It took about 20 minutes to get to Santa Maria Novella Train station and the Sixt car rental place (taxi was 25 Euros).

We got our car and loaded it (not much room to spare) with all our luggage. We took pictures of the car and were able to get out of their by 1030. Finding our way out of Florence was pretty direct and we made it out onto the Chaianti Way (SR222). We stopped at about 1200 for lunch at an agroturismo that was very good... we had a good time time there and the place was really picturesque.

After lunch we made it to Siena by 1330 hours and had to wait for an hour as were were early and our "landlord" Enrico couldn't get to the apartment until 1430. We waited in a park that had an amazing view of the surrounding countryside. At 1430, Enrico arrived and we got settled into the apartment. The apartment is very clean and neat and we both have nice big bed rooms and big showers... !!!

Some images: