Zach and I left Venice and took a train to Siena. We arrived in the evening and took a taxi the short way to our hotel, Albergo Bernini. Our room was spacious and homey. We dropped off our bags and walked to a restaurant the girl at the front desk recommended - Antica Trattoria Papei. Siena was a nice town to walk around--nothing was too far. We were able to see Il Campo--where the Palio horse race is held. They show this race on James Bond 007 Quantum of Solace. It was beautiful at night.
At the restaurant, we had a down-home Tuscan meal. Check out the glasses!
On the way back to the hotel we window-shopped and had some gelato.
The next day, we woke up and had breakfast on the patio of our hotel. It had a spectacular view, and our complimentary breakfast was delicious.
The girl at the front desk helped arrange an afternoon tour of Tuscany, so we did laundry and walked around Siena in the morning.
We went to Il Campo again, to see it in the daylight.
We also looked in the Siena City Hall.
Next, we went to the Duomo. It was stunning!
We climbed the dome for an awesome view of Siena.
We got lunch at a kebab shop new our hotel and ate on the hotel terrace. We took a quick nap, then headed to a nearby piazza where our tour was to meet.
The tour group ended up just being Zach and I and the guide in a van. It was an amazing 6 hour tour for only 38 euro a piece.
First, we went to a local castle. So beautiful.
Next, we headed to a winery. But first we stopped to look at the countryside. I fell in love with this area.
The owner of the Casa Mona winery was a hobby winemaker, and he let us sample several wines. He also served us balsamic vinaigrette aged 30 years over chick peas and ice cream--surprisingly delicious. The best part of our tasting was his special 800 year old recipe wine. We got to tour his winery--lots of home-grown herbs!
Our next stop was the medieval town of San Gimignano. They filmed some of the Italy scenes from Eclipse here!
This is the passageway Bella ran through to get to Edward. :-)
Our last stop on the tour was Tenuta Torciano. Our tour guide Carlo was good friends with the owner. We had six types of wine, with salami, ham, cheese, bread with olive oil, lasagna with truffle oil-- you name it. We bought several bottles of wine including a brunello and a Super Tuscan. :-)
All of our tour was included in the 38 euro price, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. If you are interested in taking a tour through that company, you can go here--- might have to translate the page.
The next day, we had our breakfast on the patio and went to see the nearby church of San Domenico nearby.
We returned to the Duomo to visit the baptistry. Also beautiful!
We locked another of our locks at a cafe beside Il Campo.
We had lunch beside Il Campo at a trattoria. We had freshly made pasta right there! I'd never seen pasta like this. It was kind of like round linguine in a bolognese sauce.
We concluded our time in Siena by doing a little shopping, and then we boarded a bus for Florence. :-) Thanks for sticking with this very long post. I like my photos from Siena, so I had a hard time narrowing it down!
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