Two days in Siena.

 We left our B&B in Rome on Monday morning, catching a bus that toook us all the way across the city to the Turbutina bus station- the main terminal for long distance buses heading north. Our route was the reverse  of the trip we took in 2017 and also on the same bus line, FlixBus. They operate mostly in Europe but have started operations in North America. Their claim to fame is a relatively comfortable ride at a relatively cheap rate. I believe we paid about 6 euro for the trip.

The route took us through a landscape of rolling hills, orchards and fields. In the distance we could see some towns which clearly dated back centuries, with most having one or more stone towers- originally serving as lookout towers as well as homes for the wealthy landowners of the time. Abandoned farms could be seen on occasion with windows and doors missing and the occasional collapsed roof. Like they “one euro” homes offered for sale in many towns, these could probably be had for next to nothing for the serious fixer upper.

 We arrived at the edge of Siena after a three hour trip and the bus continued on to Bologna and Milan ( 7 hours in total. 

A local bus brought us to the centre of the town, leaving us with a meandering route over rough cobblestones to reach our B&B.  Sadly we discovered that Google may pick the shortest routes but it has no concept of gradients so we found ourselves on a path with some steep inclines. A slightly longer route would have offered a much easier path with far smoother streets. 

 Once we settled in and unpacked we set out to refresh our memories on where everything was. I’m pretty sure there is not a straight street in the entire town and most run either uphill or down with very few flat sections.

Even the main square is neither square nor flat. It resembles an elongated half moon with a noticeable curvature- picture a shallow bowl cut 2/3 the way across.

This public space is the scene of the Palio, a crazy horse race that goes back several hundred years and is held twice a year, in July and again in August. 10 riders compete for the honour of winning the race for their subdivision or Contrada, as they are known locally. They do three laps of the course, the race lasting no more than 90 seconds. As the horses are ridden bareback, riders often fall but the ultimate winner is the horse that is first past the post, with or without a rider. During this August’s race, only 4 riders completed the full course. While the race itself lasts seconds, the pre and post parties and dinners last for several days. Drawing several thousand spectators, the town is a chaotic madhouse for 2 days before and after the race.

  It was considerably quieter when we visited this time. 

Besides the Palio, the main attractions are the massive Duomo, once planned to be the biggest Cathedral in Italy as well as well as several other very ornate churches. It also seems to be a major centre for truffles in various forms, and wild boar, natural truffle hunters, are a featured item on many restaurant menus. 

Illuminated Mediaeval Texts

Palio Flags

Duomo

Fresh Truffles

Cathedral Window

The other “main dish”is Fiorentina di Chianina- a porterhouse steak weighing in at 900-1500gm. Flame grilled over charcoal for maybe 8 minutes, flipped for another 5 and rested on its bone end for another 5 minutes or so, it is then served very rare to 2 or maybe 3 people. Tourists will often try it once, but there is a certain technique to carving this cut and many restaurants do not take the time and effort to show people. As a result people hack away at this magnificent cut of meat and often waste more than they eat. At a minimum price of 55 Euro that’s a serious culinary crime!

Here Endeth the Rant!

Other than doing nothing besides eating, we did revisit the Duomo, but we spent the rest of our time relaxing and unwinding from our hectic three days in Rome.

 We have a car rental scheduled for pickup tomorrow as we plan to go somewhat off the beaten track in the hills of SE Tuscany.