Siena!

Well, I mustered up some more bus travel courage this morning and went to Siena! I met two very nice ladies from the UK going to San Gimignano on the bus. We chatted on the way to Poggibonsi…it was really nice to chat in English with somebody! I easily hopped my transfer bus to Siena and settled in for the hour-plus bus ride. The bus dropped us off not far from the main piazza. The traffic was horrible and needless to say, Siena was packed with tourists.

I wandered with crowd to the Piazza del Campo and I could see something was going on. The entire perimeter of the piazza, and it is a VERY large one, was covered in dirt. It was the horse race track. The Sienese Palio is set for this Saturday! I couldn’t believe my luck. I think I will go back and witness this ancient tradition of a bareback horserace around the piazza. It started in the 1200’s so I think this could be really something. My tour book says that there are 17 jockeys, each representing the 17 districts. The horses are chosen by the drawing of straws and are then blessed by the local churches. There is a parade and a lot of betting on who will win. The winner gets a banner...that’s it. All this for a 90 second race!

Apparently, the festivities start early. I was getting a gelato this afternoon near the piazza and I heard singing. I looked out the shop and there was the huge crowd of men chanting what sounded like a university chant. They were wearing colors of their district and waiving flags and just being frat boys! The crowd was so thick that I turned and went up a clear street and got a little lost. It was really muggy today so it was nice to get lost in the shadows of some lesser traveled streets in Siena.

I found a fabulous art shop with a ton of artist supplies (Mom..you would have like this shop). I wandered inside this one pottery shop and the shop kept going and going until I was in like a cave, underground I think because it was cool inside. The walls were lined with all sorts of pottery and the ground and walls were solid rock. It was like a huge, domed cavern. Totally unexpected!

On my way back to the bus stop I actually found the shop where I had purchased a handbag two years ago. I went inside and way in the back was a green purse…just like Michele had eyed when we were here together and regrets to this day having not purchased it. Well, Michele…I got it for you! Can you believe it? A photo of the Michele bag is in this posting. (No Giovanni..he has been on vacation and I don't think he is back until Aug 30th!)

I think I will go to Volterra tomorrow. I found that the transfer in Colle Val Delsa is on the way to Siena so I think I can tackle this one! More to come…Ciao for now.