Oh, Siena!

25/07 Friday, Siena

We're on the way to a, we think anyway, well-earned luxury break. It was yesterday that an angel in the form of the proprietress announced that rooms with views (some had only skylights) were still available in an old palazzo just a stone's throw away from the Campo for a mere €100 per night.

At the moment we're negotiating the 75k from Lake Trasimeno past Florence. Near Siena we were instructed to take the exit Siena South which obviously doesn't come up. We find ourselves on the outskirts of Siena, traversing roundabout after roundabout, until we finally see a sign for Porta Romana, outside of which gate we were told we could park the van. The road climbs very steeply up one of the 3 hills that encircle Siena and we're willing Vera on by uttering soothing words of encouragement and gentle pats on the dashboard. What goes up usually has to come down again though and we're sailing the last kilometre or so only to discover that the gate had been closed for refurbishment. By the time we had got our stuff from the van to the B&B in two trips in sweltering heat we're absolutely exhausted.

The rooms are in an annex to a 18th century palazzo accessible through a big atrium and the back courtyard with a low wall overlooking vast gardens that fall away into a valley. Our room is small but light with two large windows looking out onto the courtyard and garden. There is a nice bathroom with shower, a TV, a tray with complementary tea and biscuits and even a shared kitchen down the hall. We're in heaven.

After a moment or two of regaining our composure we're venturing out. Il campo, the piazza for which Siena is famous for, is only a few hundreds yards away. All of a sudden it opens up in front of our eyes through a little alleyway. It is a vast sight. The piazza was completed in 1349 bang in the middle of the three 'terze' Siena is divided into designed by the 3 hills that squeeze the city's shape into what looks like an upside-down Y. The square has a semicircular shape divided into nine segments (honouring the original council of 9 that drew up the plans). The straight bit is a good 10 metres lower than the edge of the circle, lined by tall town houses with cafes and restaurants in their basements. The layout gives the impression of focus on the gigantic Palazzo Comunale with its massive tower, that stands along the diameter.

The cafes around the square charge premiums - two espressi and Fantas for the spritely sum of €12. Just yards away in one of the side alleys you get the same for a fiver. We soak up the atmosphere. Scattered across the square are clumps of tourists and locals sitting and having picnics, and there is a constant stream of newcomers snapping away, trying to get the whole piazza into the frame (impossible with anything other than a fisheye lense). Behind the first row of terraces that line the semicircle other buildings seem to be piling up on top of each other, scrambling up the hills.

Vera is parked just outside Porta Romana and we need to feed the meter. The sign mentions a parking card, some kind of pre-pay system we assume, so we try and get hold of one. In the second tourist office we find out that the system is only available for Siena residents and change notes in a bank.

We return for the B&B; just because we can, and to have showers and relax before we go out in the evening. At about 4 I return to Vera to get a fresh ticket for the meter, and realise too late that it just counts automatically into the next day. Early start tomorrow then to return for a new ticket at 8. At least Sunday is free.

Our street, leading from the Porta Romana into the centre, has three internet cafes, a pizza place, a dingy local bar, a launderette, and a Chinese(!) take-away - an absolute first for us, and we quickly decide to have Chinese tomorrow. Freshly scrubbed and relaxed we stop for a beer at the bar which means self-service from a large drinks fridge in the corner and standing outside with a few locals. This feeling of freedom, yes freedom, you can only appreciate when you've spent 3 months on campsites with the last bus, if any, returning long before evening opening times. We had a shower, wear shoes and long trousers, are not hot and bothered for once, haven't got our rucksacks, guidebooks or cameras, and looking forward to a meal in a proper restaurant. Further up the road we had spotted a nice looking Osteria earlier and decide not to look any further. We reminiscence on our journey so far and the upcoming halfway point on July 28th over a bottle of Chianti and a meat based three courses. Finding ourselves being the last customers as we pay we're invited to a couple of glasses of Limoncello, and the jovial landlord even pushes a bottle of local house wine into our hands as we leave.

The night is young though. We'd read about a bar in one of the terze that occasionally has live music on, and over 100 beers on tap and in bottles. When we arrive they are playing Barry White videos on the big screen and there are two other customers in a back room playing chess. Of the four beers on tap two had run out. We sip our pints on a little wall outside and chuck half of it into a plant pot. Back to square one, Il Campo, where we become somewhat of a spectacle when our Vodka Tonics are delivered with blue and red glowing 'ice-cubes'. Quite drunk we escape into a quieter bar in a side street for another couple of VTs before staggering home. It's two o'clock in the morning.

26/07 Saturday, Siena

The alarm echoes in my enlarged head and I will myself out of bed for the morning ritual of meter feeding.
We take it easy today; a bit of sight seeing and window shopping. We talked about how much we like being in a proper room with four walls, a bed and our own bathroom, and decide to have a look on the internet to see what's on the market for hire. The stuff we hit on first is clearly out of our price range but all of a sudden an ad for a 2 bedroom house in Garfagnana, an area in Northern Tuscany, pops up with a UK mobile number. Amazingly the house is only £200 per week. And even more astonishing it is available. We book it there and then, waiting for the owner's email with address and directions. Meanwhile we're looking up Castelnuovo Garfagnana, where the house is supposed to be. Information is scarce but one website claims Castelnuovo's historic centre had been completely destroyed during Second World War bombing campaigns and is now just one big industrial estate. First of all, after getting directions, the house is actually in a small mountain village called Roggio and secondly, the stuff about Castelnuovo is a lie - it has a small but very nice old town, and only some industry further down in the valley by the train station. It lies in the Serchio valley that slices through the Apuan Alpes on one side and the Tuscan Appennines on the other. It's well connected by trains between Aulla in the North and Lucca in the South, where one can change for Pisa and Florence.
The house is available all August apparently but we only book a tentative week. We decide to stay another night in our B&B to drive directly to Roggio on Monday.

The rest of the day we spend shopping and sightseeing. In the evening, after the main throng of tourists has left we have a look at the Duomo. The distinctive facade is clad in alternating rows of white and black marble. To one side is an unfinished attempt to build a new nave, a familiar sight with North Italian churches. Inside the cathedral the main nave is overlooked by heads of past popes, scowling down from about 20 metres. The floor is covered with marble intarsia, depicting battle and hunting scenes, and the famous of religion and science. The black and white exterior is reflected inside on walls and columns.

We head back to order a Chinese take-away. Dumplings are called ravioli on the menu but there's thankfully nothing Italian about the food. We tuck in to roast dumplings, sweet and sour chicken, roast pork with vegetables and rice, sitting on the bed and watching Mike Leigh's High Hopes.

27/07 Sunday, Siena

Wash day. After breakfast we take our combined laundry, including towels and sheets to the little launderette. The rest of the day is spent exploring other areas of Siena. We visit the church of San Domenico and buy ingredients for a Thai curry in a little Asian shop. We watch a procession of one of Siena's 17 'contrade' parading by. Siena's biannual highlight is the Palio, a crazy bare-back horse race 3 laps round the Campo. 7 horses and riders from the 17 'contrade' are chosen by draw. Apparently you are born into a contrada which represents one of Siena's 17 'boroughs'. Every contrada has its own colours and sign - we're staying in Torre that has the symbol of a tower on top of an elephant. All this is extremely important to the Sienese, and there is even a TV channel only showing videos from past Palios and all the festivities leading up to it. We later watch on TV footage from a 2005 initiation ceremony for new arrivals, babies and older folk alike. Everyone gets a scarf with the local contrada's colours.

In the evening we opt for another Chinese, call us crazy, and watch the daunting Don't Look Now. Siena has been a revelation in more than one way.
We pack up the next morning and set sail for our mountain retreat in Roggio.