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As already pointed out with some fervor, in order to ensure we don’t succumb to travel fatigue we limit the amount of day trips and excursions we participate in. This is a proverbial marathon and not a sprint and it will not do to collapse due to exhaustion from visiting too many places that all start to look the same after a while. Pacing ourselves allows us to take our time and experience our destinations on a less superficial level. Plus, it saves a boat-load of Euros to not like some eager puppy jump on every opportunity to go and see a sight. Despite this preventative policy of moderation, I was starting to feel somewhat day-tripped out. Just chilling in Florence would be just fine for me.

However, we had committed to going to Siena and Wednesday being their one big weekly market day, it was the obvious time to go for us rabid market-fiends. Siena is most conveniently traveled to using the regional bus system that is both frequent and affordable. For the price of a decent bottle of local wine (Euro 7), the bus takes you safely and quickly from Florence to Siena.

Before going there, I had thought that Siena was comparable to Lucca, size-wise. Siena feels however substantially larger and livelier. The market was a boisterous and well-attended affair with mostly apparel and accessories. While there was no shortage of tourists in attendance, the market was not a novelty but rather a place of commerce for the locals. We temporarily suspended our vegetarian intentions and got from one of the vendors lunch consisting of the Italian equivalent of pulled pork and pile of fresh roast chicken. Finger-lickin’ good and we didn’t even feel that bad about it.

After lunch we were at a cross-road. Should we park at a bistro and have a glass or two of wine while people watching or do we support the more cultural part of the establishment and get a pass that will get us access to the larger attractions. I’m pleased to report that we decided on the latter and spent the afternoon climbing narrow winding staircases to be rewarded by expansive vistas of the utterly medieval and gorgeous town, we visited a crypt with mostly well-preserved biblical frescoes and we experienced the cathedral from both bottom and top at where a delightfully energetic guide pointed out that the wall that we had climbed up inside for our first panorama, was built with the intention of becoming the new entry to the cathedral some 100m away, effectively tripling its size. Apparently, higher powers thought that’d be excessive and in 1340 or so decimated the local population with a serious bout (is there any other kind?) of the black plague to the point there weren’t enough people to build it.

When Meredith asked if I could choose only one of Lucca or Siena, while Lucca is a wonderful place for a brief visit, my answer was Siena owing to its larger size, spectacular piazzas and equally interesting history.

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Keeping a fairly high activity level when walking everywhere.

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Three shots from Florence and the rest from Siena

 

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