SIENA

If only I could drink coffee here every morning..:)

Our flight to Milan left at 6:45 on Friday morning. Dazed and delirious we boarded the plane to officially begin the start to our 10-day Italian adventure! A flight over the gorgeous Swiss Alps and one and a half hours later we landed in the Malpensa airport and after a couple more transportation switches we arrived to the beautiful city of Milan. Although Milan was used solely as a transportation hub for us to travel to other locations during our trip, we attempted to walk around a bit while we were there, see some sights, and enjoy some food and beer in the sun while we waited for the departure of our bus to Siena. Fast forward a couple of hours and you will find my face (once again) GLUED to the window as we made the beyond beautiful journey from Milan to Siena through the Tuscan countryside.

Contrada della Pantera--where Kathryn lived!:)

As we got closer and closer to Siena we became more and more excited with anticipation! Let me rewind for a second. Aside from being in the Tuscan region and being an all-around beautiful city, my main motive for visiting Siena was to see the place where Kathryn studied abroad!:) So beauty aside, I was just beyond happy to be able to see for myself the places that my dearest sister so proudly talked about and the daily life that she lived there just one year ago!:)

So…entering Siena…we were so excited!!:) It was surprisingly bigger than we both imagined it being, although it still had a very small-town feel to it. Our bus into town was late and caused a couple of transportation mishaps as a result, so we finally settled on taking a taxi through the teeny-tiny-puzzle-piece streets of Siena instead.

Gelato #2 in Il Campo (clearly already eaten;))

When we finally arrived to our little Bed & Breakfast (after endless flights of stair-climbing…good thing Scottie was carrying the luggage;)), our jaws literally dropped. Needless to say, the ‘jaw-dropping’ views of Siena and Tuscany that could be seen from our little terrace made every stair-climb MORE than worth the effort!! We stood there speechless until our growling stomachs couldn’t take it anymore and we eventually began the ‘decent’ back down into the streets.

Kathryn gave us some restaurant recommendations but after a long and tiring day of travel we just wanted to find ANYwhere to eat and decided to save her recommendations for the following day. We set out in search of a restaurant and approximately one minute of wandering later we stumbled by complete accident across Piazza del Campo (you really can’t miss it), the main square in Siena and where the infamous ‘Il Palio’ horse race takes place every year. And so, our glorious time in Siena begins (and what better way to kick it off than with a bottle of Chianti wine, pizza, pasta, gelato, and a view of Il Campo?!!)! Hellooooooo Siena!:)

Il Campo!:)

The following day started out relatively early with the very European-style breakfast of coffee and pastries on our terrace (I feel spoiled just SAYING that--'our terrace';)). We eventually headed down to Il Campo again to take in the sights as well as take pictures during the day. After another hour of meandering around, stopping in antique shops, checking out gelato shops, etc., we headed to Il Duomo, the cathedral in Siena and one of the prettiest in Italy (and probably the closest runner-up to St. Peter’s in Rome that I have seen to date!). We spent a good twenty minutes taking pictures and staring up at the gorgeous ceiling, the ornate detail on the walls, etc., etc.

By the time we were done we were ready for another delicious Italian meal and we took off in search of a pizza place that Kathryn had recommended that was right up the street from her old apartment. We were so excited to be in ‘La Contrada della Pantera’, or neighborhood/area of the panther, where Kathryn lived. Her description of her place was that it was a couple of doors before the plaza with the panther in it and that the door was ‘brown and kind of sketchy’. Needless to say, there was more than just one brown, kind of sketchy door near this plaza so we took pictures in front of a few just to be safe.;) We enjoyed a couple of delicious pizzas (one quattro formaggi and one diavolo;)) and glasses of wine and then headed out to explore some more.

Bliss:) Life is Good.

We winded our way further up the street, laughing and goofing around along the way per-normal, until we came to the city walls and another fabulous view of Siena. Our adventure looped us back to Il Campo where we enjoyed more gelato and the endless people-watching opportunities the plaza provides. After a while, we decided to head back to our room to relax and re-charge before dinner later that evening. We purchased a bottle of some fine Italian wine to enjoy on our terrace (i.e. more Chianti) and headed up to our room before realizing that there wasn’t a bottle opener in our little kitchenette (you would think that that is a NECESSITY, right?!;)). Consequently, we were forced to make friends with a group of Italians next door who were also visiting for the weekend (and who DID have a wine-opener in their place:)). We made small talk about where else we were going in Italy and said we loved it here (in Italy) and that it’s just beautiful! They were all beaming with pride and one of them responded ‘Thank you!’, as if we had just told him that we liked his outfit—Italians are so proud of their country...and rightfully so!:)

Soooo there we were, sitting on our little terrace and taking in gorgeous views over a bottle of Chianti. This will not be the first time I (again) ask myself ‘is this real life’? nor the first time that I assertively conclude that ‘Life is Good’ on this trip (I admit, I knew this before but nothing confirms the fact that ‘Life is Good’ more than wine, amazing company, and breathtaking views).

We <3 Siena!!!:)

We headed to dinner (at another one of Kathryn’s recommendations—Pizzeria di Nonno Mede) before sunset so we could enjoy a gorgeous panoramic view of the entire city over another fine Italian meal and (need I say it?) more wine. One last dose of gelato in Il Campo and lots of laughter later and we were ready to wrap up another perfect day/evening in Europe, although sadly our last evening in Siena. The ONLY good thing about leaving the following morning was being able to look forward to where we were headed next.

Next stop: Cinque Terre!!!:)