March 2: Siena and San Gimignano



There was snow in the mountains! I thought
I had left Wisconsin!



Well, last night was awful. Thank goodness I'd taken Tylenol PM before bed so I was able to fall back asleep during the constant loud interruptions...till 5am, when for whatever reason, a big group of Italians decided to throw a raucous party in the hallway. From 5-6 it was horrible. I don't know what's wrong with them, but I really hope they don't do it again. It was not fun. I got up a little after 7, though my tour didn't start till 9. After a big, juicy apple and a nutella sandwich, I went with Amanda to the station and saw her off. I went across the road from the station and hopped on my bus, which was like a mini coach bus. The tour was in English and French for the 15 or so people. The guide had a very heavy accent and limited vocab, but I could usually understand her and since her English is better than my Italian, I'm not going to complain. We were soon out of the city and in the countryside, which I really loved. I feel like this is why I came to Italy, for the olive groves and vineyards and mountains and yellow villas and hilltop castles. I was surprised at how much the forests resemble the woods at home in the springtime. There were some trees that held onto their leaves like our oaks do. I was also surprised at how much forest there actually was. I had assumed that much of it would be developed or agricultural, but there were lots of woods.

Rhinoceros Contrada

We got to Siena around 10:30, and had to walk up a hill past market stalls selling tasty-looking cheeses and meats and veggies and flowers. It was cloudy but not raining, which was good, but super cold! I was freezing in minutes. We met the local guide in the city, "Nicolette," who introduced us to Siena. I quickly learned that the most important thing to remember is: Siena and Florence HATE each other, even today. I was surprised at how strong these feelings were in the 21st century. They really know how to hold a grudge here. Everything they said was joking, but there was a hard edge to it that no one really bothered to veil. Also, Siena is divided into 17 sections, called "contrades," and each person belongs to whichever contrada their parents lived in at their time of birth. The sections are named after strange animals. Your membership never changes, even when you move or marry. For example: our guide was a Caterpillar and her mother had been too but her dad was a Ram. Her husband was an Elephant, her oldest kids were White Geese and her youngest was a Ram. Wow. The contrades become important during the twice yearly famous Sienese horse race, the Palio, which are held in the town "square"-really more a half-circle or fan shape set on a hill, maybe about a half acre or bigger. Anyway, we saw lots of painted ceramic plates separating the cantrades around town. Siena is a super old city, and no new buildings are allowed, which is pretty amazing. The oldest private palace was built in 1205, I think. The city is big into banking and always has been. The guide said 1/3 of all Sienese work for their bank and the rest either work for the University there or in tourism. Going around a little street corner, I ran into my friend Jamie and her sister, who I'd also seen in Rome on the street. It was pretty funny, since they'd booked the tour last-minute and neither of us knew the other would be there.

Siena



Siena's Duomo



We saw the Cathedral Museum, which houses the original outside statues from the church to protect them, the famous altar piece that never made it into the church, and the masterpiece stained glass rose window that was moved and hidden in pieces to protect it from WWII. The cathedral was supposed to be enormous (bigger even than St. Peter's which is a no-no), but just after they started construction, the black plague hit and killed 40,000 out of 50,000 Sienese, so they had to make it much smaller. It sort of looked like the Florentine Duomo, with stripey marble in black and white (the colors of Siena) and lots of statues outside, but unlike the Duomo, the inside is really decorated. Even the floor has lots of mosaics and marble inlays (which I loved. They're not of saints or virtues like I'd expected, but are mostly Pagan symbols for fortune and witchcraft. I guess after the plague the survivors figured they'd better cover all their bases, just in case). There are two very minor Michelangelo statues and an absolutely incredible set of frescoes by Raphael and his assistant. The guide said they're extremely famous because they are the only major fresco works that haven't been restored. I really loved the inside of the dome, which was painted blue with gold stars.

Bell Tower

Inside the Cathedral

Floor mosaic

Mosaic of Fortune's Wheel...in a Church

The town's "square"

Pigeon taking a drink

The town's office building

The guide left us around 12:30, so I found some cheap pizza and warmed up while I ate it because I was frozen. Then I roamed the streets for awhile and froze some more. The city is fun because it's so old. It's like it got stuck in time, or at least the buildings did. They still have iron hitches for horses. When I got too cold to go on, I went back to the central square. The sun had poked out and it was heavenly as long as it was shining. I sat and listened to music and watched pigeons for awhile. It was nice, but it got windy which was agony on my poor fingers. It's pretty crazy to imagine 45,000 people crammed into the square where I was sitting for the horse race.

Vineyard on the way to San Gimignano



View from San Gimignano



We finally left Sina around 2:30, just as I was turning into a popsicle, and headed to San Gimignano. I was so excited to see it, since it looked so great from the bus. But the first thing I saw getting off was my two friends Mandy and Leigh from London, who had caught a bus to the little city on a whim. Crazy! They were just leaving but recommended a gelateria up towards the church, which is on top of the hill. Basically, the place is just a tourist town on a hill, so every tiny street is full of souvenir shops. I walked straight up the main street and found the gelato shop and wow. It was seriously incredible. I had cinnamon flavor and rosemary raspberry (which Mandy had demanded I try) and it was beyond amazing. The cinnamon was creamy and delicious and the raspberry had little bits of berry in it and the rosemary gave it the perfect extra zest. As I enjoyed my gelato, I wandered around the top of the hill marvelling at the Medieval architecture. I saw only one car the entire time. Other than  the street signs, it could have been a city frozen in time. I didn't have time to go into the church, but I'd love to come back here someday. The views from the top were extraordinary and indescribably beautiful.

San Gimignano

Cinnamon and Raspberry/Rosemary Gelato...Heavenly!

Flowering mimosa

I went down a tiny deserted side street following a "scenic overlook" sign and almost came home with a cat. Like really. I was taking pictures and this yellow-eyed velvety black cat came up to me so I took a picture of him and it got closer and closer but I figured it was like every other Italian cat I'd seen and would leave soon especially if I ignored it. I was wrong. It rubbed against my legs and purred till I betted it against my better judgement. I thought it would scurry off or snap at me but the blasted thing just purred louder! When I stopped, jumped up into my arms! Eventually I just gave in and enjoyed the incredible panorama while snuggling with my new best friend. He was obviously well-fed and cared for, so I'm sure he was someone's pet. He just wanted some love! When I eventually tried to leave, he wound between my legs and followed me. This cat followed me for a very long time, all over town! I tried repeatedly to get rid of him but I guess being an Italian cat, he just didn't understand my English. Finally I really had to go, so I took him back where I'd found him and darted across the street into an alley. He turned and looked for me, then parked himself in the middle of the road like he'd wait for me, but then a loud garbage truck drove by and he got scared and ran back where he'd come from. I'll miss that cat.

My shadow

Goodbye, Kitty!

Goodbye, San Gimignano!

On my way out of the city, I picked up a Tuscan-style painted ceramic plate for Mom (Shhh, it's for her birthday! But I'm going to give it to her when she comes to London so she can take it home for me.) The ride home was pleasant and I had just started to thaw out by the time we got back. I went to the grocery store for peanut butter (less insanely expensive than in Rome), jelly, and some more blood oranges. Then I was craving protein so I got a cheeseburger from McDonald's. Don't judge me. I was cold and hungry and it was the best cheeseburger I've ever had. I went back to the hostel to eat it and an orange for dinner. My train leaves at 9:13 tomorrow, so hopefully I can get some sleep tonight.

Also: When I got back to Florence at 6:30, there was another mysterious bird flocking episode. SO much fun to watch!