D177 -- Exploring Siena

Today we headed off to Siena, which many people say is the one Tuscan city you shouldn't miss. Elva and I had been a little disappointed when we visited Siena last week, but for whatever reason this time the city really impressed us. We had a chance to wander the streets a bit more, especially in parts of the city that didn't receive the heavy vehicle traffic we recalled from our earlier visit. We stopped by the church where the head of St. Catherine is displayed so that our friends could see it, and then we spent some time in the Campo watching city workers prepare it for Il Palio di Siena, the famous annual summer horse race. We also stopped by the stunning Duomo, but alas it was closed for a special event. We ended up sitting on the steps of the Duomo chatting away, and every now and then we could hear a snippet of music coming from within the church; it was quite beautiful.

Because tonight was our last night together (Mayowa and Leslie would be leaving the next day), we decided to splurge and eat at a restaurant in San Gimignano that reportedly had the best views in town. While waiting for our table, we decided to pass the time by taking lots of photos.

The views did not disappoint, and we ended up enjoying a 3 hour meal, finally leaving around midnight.

-Tom