Monday, Sept. 9, 2013
Siena to Fiesole

Cool, crisp air and a fabulous view for miles of Tuscany.  What more can you want?  Ah, Siena.  I forgot to mention that last night, when we arrived hungry at 9:00 or so, the man at the hotel (he was "1/2 English and 1/2 Italian") suggested a restaurant "only a one minute walk from here".  It was fabulous -- wine and all -- but it wasn't one minute. It was a very hairy 5 or 6 minutes with no sidewalk and a road just wide enough for two cars -- buildings on either side -- at night.  OK, fabulous, melt-in-your-mouth dinner, and a wide-awake walk back to the hotel.

After a lovely breakfast (again)--room and breakfast for 55 Euros each-- we walked uphill for 15 minutes, through the gates, and into the center of Siena.  (Yes, there was a lot of the color sienna, but with only one "n".)  Walking through narrow streets to the Campo, we were surprised they allowed so many vehicles in the old town.  Buses stopped just inside the gates, but taxis and motorcycles were allowed and we were constantly having to watch so as not to get run over (at least we felt that way).  We stopped in a lovely little shop selling hand painted Tuscan ceramics and talked to Max (Masimo) for a while.  We had to go up steep steps to get to the Campo, a HUGE piazza, actually round rather than square.  The Campo was originally outside the city walls, but the city expanded to include it and the walls were moved.  Now, every summer, there is some kind of horse race in the Campo.  I can't imagine hoofs on that beautiful brick!  Vendors sell all kinds of schlock all around the Campo and people lie down on the slightly sloped sides to rest in the sun.  Interesting that if you want a snack, you go to a coffee bar (throughout our whole trip so far) and either stand up or possibly sit at tables inside or outside, but you can't sit and eat in the piazzas.  You have to walk and eat (but people don't do that).  There are often public benches around the piazzas, but often they won't let you sit on the cathedral steps.  If you go to a restaurante, you get a fancier meal with a cover charge and 10% tip already added.

Surprise!  A short walk to the duomo (main cathedral with dome, bapistry, and bell tower in the center of the old town) revealed a black and white striped marble church, inside and out!  That really surprised me and I thought it was beautiful. 

Disclaimer:  I took some pictures with my camera and then the battery ran out of juice.  Of course, I forgot to bring the charger, so I'm using my cell phone.  Those pictures I can name, but the camera ones I haven't learned how to name yet, so I'll do the best I can with those.

Sandy and I both loved Siena and would have liked to stay there longer, but we were worn out and headed back the way we came, stopping in again to see Max.  He spoke very good English and had visited (of all places) Arkansas and Memphis, giving lectures on stained glass making.  He and his brother are artisans who work mostly on commission and on bigger projects.  They had a couple of small things in the shop.  Ginny, I liked what you did better!  Theirs was commercial, for the shop only I guess.  He said they are the ONLY stained glass artists left in Siena.  They studied with the masters of the craft and have tried to keep it going in Siena when everyone else was leaving for Germany where their art was more appreciated.  They almost did that too, but his brother is 63 and ready to retire so they decided to give it a go some more in their home town and open a shop with some internet business.  He was lamenting the fact that Italy is not appreciating its artists and everything is done for money's sake.  Sound familiar? (Of course, Italy is in quite a bind monetarily now and its hard on everyone, like in the USA.).

We were tired of walking (especially me) uphill, downhill, up steps, down steps.....I am starting to do what Mama Respess did -- count steps to get myself going, especially on all the stairs!  I haven't let it stop me yet, but we did decide to take a taxi (very cheap) down the hill to the hotel.  Down is harder than up for me.  Sandy is very patient and I think I'm keeping up with her OK in spite of the fact my knee hurts me a lot.  There's too much to see and do, so I take ibuprophen and suck it up.

Off to Fiesole and another entirely different experience.  I'm driving today.  The drive through Tuscany was lovely.  The drive through Florence at rush hour was not so pleasant, but we got through OK, thanks to the navigation system.  That 100mb of data I bought was well worth it -- again!  Oh, yes, and how!  Up, up, up, wind around, turn, up, wind around, gorgeous view of all of Florence from way up on the mountain!  Whoops, wrong turn!  Can't go back -- no place to turn around.  Road is just big enough for 1-1/2 cars.  Another car coming -- what to do? -- think thin, pull over into the slight bulge in the road, wait for the other car and pray he doesn't hit us.  Whew!  This is fun!  I love it and it's beautiful.  We found our way through the winding road of the town of Fiesole.  IF there is a sidewalk, it's about 1-1/2 feet wide at most.  People come right out of their doors onto the road!  There are mirrors around the corners to let you know a car is careening toward you.  They drive fast here.  I don't mind the little cars, but the trucks........!  All pretty small too fortunately.

Hotel Dei Bosconi is past the town about 2 miles.  We have a room facing the pool with a beautiful view of the Tuscan hillsides for about 65 Euros a night each of our three nights here.  We are sleeping with the window open again -- ah, nice and cool.  A good change from the sweating I've been doing lately.  Love the mattress here too -- it's like the one we had in Cremona.  Maybe like a Temperpedic, but not hot.  Firm but not stiff -- good sleeping -- ah..........I'll have to look i n t o  i t.....zzzz.