siena... it feels right here.
This is the first time I've really felt like I've been "on vacation", not just travelling. Given, my wallet's taken a beating for it... all the hostels in town were filled, and after a night out on the town's extremities that took 2 hours of bus confusion to reach, we decided to 'splurge' on a one-star hotel in the town center. For a luxurious 3 nights. Originally, we were planning to head to florence for a day and a night, but, as life tends to bring up unexpected opportunities, we've decided to stay another night in Siena and splurge once again... on a Tuscan cooking class. We're crossing our fingers that it won't turn out to be a huge tourist gimick for the price of a damn good cooking class back home (Gretch assured me that cooking classes tend to run high, after my initial gawk at the price). But if it proves worth it, we will come back with some Tuscan techniques in our apron pockets! Considering this gastronomic trend seems to be working well, we figured another relaxing day in this beautiful city with an evening full of yumminess and learning would outway a stressful day-trip to Florence that would include having to search for a place to stay. Thus... saving Florence for next time... (gotta say there'll be a next time always...)
So why has Siena made such an impression? Well, sitting on top of a Tuscan hill, it it remains a walled-in city with a special pedestrian charm, as cars are very much prohibited from rolling within the city walls save for luggage drop-offs, deliveries, taxis, and occasional buses. The city's a university town (how much would i love to come study here??) and thus has a youthful vibe, not to mention a plethora of internet points. Delicious fresh pasta, 'torte rustica' - an oversized savory muffin filled with yummy ham bits and wonderfully spiced - and one of the most impressing cathedrals i've seen yet... smaller than the others, but filled with a busy, colorful, marbled interior that got through the i've-seen-too-many-cathedrals wall i'd begun to construct.
Our first day here we managed to get there in time for mass, and enjoyed a who-knows-what-they're-saying service, lead by an expressive and personality-filled priest, and accompanied by a casually dressed and youthful choir with a pair of guitars adding to the organ. As gretch later commented, it gave it a community feeling, even though we're sitting in the city's most famous cathedral. Yesterday I went back and paid the 3 euro non-mass tourist price to go back and in a really explore the cathedral, with some help from rick steves' descriptions. Not quite as cozy when it was bustling with tourists, but still 'impressionant' as the french would say.
Our first night at the out-of-town hostel helped us meet Emma, an english girl travelling italy for six weeks on her own, who've we've actually met up with a few times for meals and evening people watching on the main plaza, even though we left the hostel. It's fun to have a third person, new energy, even though I'm also quite impressed at how well Gretchen and I seem to be travelling together.
Yesterday we decided to try and take in a bit of tuscan countryside... on foot. So we picked what looked like a good route out to some castle marked on our map, and began to walk. Turned out we were side-of-the-road trekking for a good two hours, but it was still nice to get out into some of the surrounding neighborhoods, past vineyards and such. On our way back, we looped around a side route, only to meet some very jovial italian guys working on the restoration of a country house who used their limited english to explain that they were making the dump of a house into a real beauty and that we were 'beautiful girls' and what were we doing tonight, how long were we staying in siena? Of course there was the usual jaw-drop when we said we were from California. Alas, though the stereotype doesn't exactly fit us, the name still draws awes. Still not sure how i feel about that one... But it was fun to try and have a conversation.
Currently, siena is only lacking two major things on my perfect-city spectrum, the first being a large body of water nearby (even a river would be nice! i've been soo spoiled...) and the second being a nice loungable park. The main el campo is great for people watching and rendez-vouing, but the concrete just doesn't do it like some nice grass would. Otherwise, though, the city has won a place in my heart...
Off to my first italian museum this afternoon(i know, i know, i've been in italy a week and STILL haven't visited a museum??), targetted towards siennese art... and tonight, the cooking adventure begins!
tomorrow we head to cinque terre and are considering sleeping out under the stars to balance costs... but we'll see.
ciao!
So why has Siena made such an impression? Well, sitting on top of a Tuscan hill, it it remains a walled-in city with a special pedestrian charm, as cars are very much prohibited from rolling within the city walls save for luggage drop-offs, deliveries, taxis, and occasional buses. The city's a university town (how much would i love to come study here??) and thus has a youthful vibe, not to mention a plethora of internet points. Delicious fresh pasta, 'torte rustica' - an oversized savory muffin filled with yummy ham bits and wonderfully spiced - and one of the most impressing cathedrals i've seen yet... smaller than the others, but filled with a busy, colorful, marbled interior that got through the i've-seen-too-many-cathedrals wall i'd begun to construct.
Our first day here we managed to get there in time for mass, and enjoyed a who-knows-what-they're-saying service, lead by an expressive and personality-filled priest, and accompanied by a casually dressed and youthful choir with a pair of guitars adding to the organ. As gretch later commented, it gave it a community feeling, even though we're sitting in the city's most famous cathedral. Yesterday I went back and paid the 3 euro non-mass tourist price to go back and in a really explore the cathedral, with some help from rick steves' descriptions. Not quite as cozy when it was bustling with tourists, but still 'impressionant' as the french would say.
Our first night at the out-of-town hostel helped us meet Emma, an english girl travelling italy for six weeks on her own, who've we've actually met up with a few times for meals and evening people watching on the main plaza, even though we left the hostel. It's fun to have a third person, new energy, even though I'm also quite impressed at how well Gretchen and I seem to be travelling together.
Yesterday we decided to try and take in a bit of tuscan countryside... on foot. So we picked what looked like a good route out to some castle marked on our map, and began to walk. Turned out we were side-of-the-road trekking for a good two hours, but it was still nice to get out into some of the surrounding neighborhoods, past vineyards and such. On our way back, we looped around a side route, only to meet some very jovial italian guys working on the restoration of a country house who used their limited english to explain that they were making the dump of a house into a real beauty and that we were 'beautiful girls' and what were we doing tonight, how long were we staying in siena? Of course there was the usual jaw-drop when we said we were from California. Alas, though the stereotype doesn't exactly fit us, the name still draws awes. Still not sure how i feel about that one... But it was fun to try and have a conversation.
Currently, siena is only lacking two major things on my perfect-city spectrum, the first being a large body of water nearby (even a river would be nice! i've been soo spoiled...) and the second being a nice loungable park. The main el campo is great for people watching and rendez-vouing, but the concrete just doesn't do it like some nice grass would. Otherwise, though, the city has won a place in my heart...
Off to my first italian museum this afternoon(i know, i know, i've been in italy a week and STILL haven't visited a museum??), targetted towards siennese art... and tonight, the cooking adventure begins!
tomorrow we head to cinque terre and are considering sleeping out under the stars to balance costs... but we'll see.
ciao!
posted by Melia at 3:46 AM
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