After last night’s freebie and being pleasantly surprised by the reasonable tourist costs in Rome, we are jolted back down by our purse strings in Siena.
Caught off guard you might say. We’re touring in “Low Season”. Didn’t expect to be charged almost double per night to what we’re used to. It didn’t stop there. Almost every “site” that nestles around the exquisite Piazza del Campo is “No Fee? then No See!”
Short trip today. We arrive early enough to book in, get set up and walk into town. Decided to stretch our legs. A very hilly and windy (as in wine+d) 2.5K. Could have taken Scoot. Maybe it’s just as well we didn’t. Looks like parking places may be at a premium.
Coffee and cake time. We duly treat ourselves. As we do, the street-alleys erupt and echo. Multi-coloured Renaissance dressed drummer boys, drumming. Snares rat-a-tatting. Masses of hypnotised children being Pied Pipered behind. No dues due though. Piazza del Campo, host to the famous Palio, is filling up. Families, friends and us eagerly await the grand entrance. It’s the children’s Flag Throwing Competition. Seventeen competing Contrade. All very serious. But a wonderful atmosphere.
Following morning it’s another very hilly and windy (as in wine+d) 2.5K. We’re back in town. Cough up our Euros. Keep coughing. We’re only going to be here once. Aren’t we?
We go high and get a “God’s Eye” view of Siena. Unlike Him, we climb more than four hundred steep steps up the Torre del Mangia . The human fascination with seeing from above propels us.
Moving on from Lazio into Tuscany we expected rolling greens of typical Tuscan scenes with dotted cypress trees. Surprised with this.
Nearest to our mind’s eye was this.
