Monday, May 28, 2012

This is the view we left behind this morning as we bravely set out to go where thousands have gone before – and we made out just fine!

From our travels with the group we knew how the train station worked and we had no trouble getting aboard the right train. Pat had reserved the seats but when we got on the train the seats we’d been assigned weren’t window seats. We have learned that the configuration of each train is different so you never really know where you are sitting until you get on board. Since the car was empty we picked the window seats closest to where we were supposed to sit. The train wasn’t crowded so we never had to give them up.

We arrived in Florence and headed out of the train station and around the corner to the bus station. We just missed an express bus, but the regular bus trip took only half an hour longer so we took that one instead. We had a little issue with another couple – apparently we joined a line and didn’t realize we weren’t joining it at the end. We held our ground though, and they took the express bus so our paths didn’t have to cross again!

The countryside on the trip to Siena was lovely – lots of trees but also lots of spots where the view opened up and we could see the hill towns. We passed through and stopped in many of the towns and we saw some lovely estates up on the hills.

Siena is a lovely town and our hotel is great. We look out over the rooftops of nearby buildings and we can see both the Duomo (cathedral) and the tower in Piazza del Campo.

We spent the afternoon wandering the streets – all of them either up or down hills. Along the way we found places to stop, sit and enjoy the view and the atmosphere.

We sat out on the small balcony of our room before dinner and watched (and heard) about a hundred swallows out feeding. I guess there must be bugs of some sort out there but they weren’t noticeable to us.

We had a nice dinner just up the hill and around the corner from the hotel. I think we are going to like it here.

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