Siena, Italy Travel Blogs

"The Wall"
Jun 10, 2007 (12 photos)

... Catherine, who came to Catholic prominence as an 8 year old, received the stigmata, was subsequently canonised and is Siena's patron saint. The church was an interesting mix of building styles - plain pre-Reformation, elaborate gothic post-Reformation and ...

"Imagine"
Jun 9, 2007 (7 photos)

... , streets and alleys with surprises around every corner and the whole thing ringed by a mediaeval wall. We had that today in Siena, with sunshine and coffee added for good measure. We walked from one end to the other to find a gate in the wall, ...

Gorgeous goreous gorgeous Siena
Apr 9, 2006 (41 photos)

... I spent the afternoon wandering among the streets, and watched the sun go down in a little cafe with lovely views over Siena. On Sunday I visited the church of Santa Croce in Florence, which contains the tombs of Gallileo Gallilee (the Franciscans who ...

Short stop in Siena
Aug 1, 2008

Siena, known as Italy's Gothic gem, was another short stop which we unfortunately did not have enough time to explore in-depth and would have to come back to, when we return to do a tour of the Italian wine lands (hopefully in a few years time).

"Wish You Were Here III"
Jun 8, 2007 (17 photos)

... stage to buy one, sit for a while and watch the world go by. We paid the small admission to visit the imposing Siena Duomo - the Catholic cathedral built from the 11th to the 13th centuries in predominantly white and black marble. It has a nave still ...

Rainy Italia
Mar 2, 2007 (4 photos)

... amazing floor. And we didn't break up after this particular day trip. And I still like the crayon name "burnt siena." Miracles abound! (C) You are right on re Venice.  What seemed so magical to me on my first visit in college, ...

AN ENDLESS SEARCH FOR GELATO
Jun 10, 2003

... , and we enjoyed watching other people being attacked by killer pigeons in the Piazza. An interesting parallel between Hong Kong and Italy: fake Louis Vuitton and Gucci purses are everywhere - often sold directly in front of the real stores (and probably ...

"Recurring Dream"
Jun 7, 2007 (3 photos)

... came through this time and everything worked. The trip was initially backtracking through Liguria, but the Empoli to Siena sector travelled into Tuscany and the landscape changed markedly... less market gardening, more fields of hay and crops. And ...

. . . and then Italy!
Oct 3, 2003 (13 photos)

... We were really glad to have taken the time off because we absolutely loved Rome. St. Peter's Basilica was particularly moving. Between Italy and France we feel like we have taken an art history course. In fact, that has been the best part about Western ...

Under the Tuscan Clouds
May 13, 2004 (25 photos)

... on me while others are suffering in the world. (sigh) I went to Siena to see the city and some of the Tuscan countryside. Siena had several bad things going for it from the start (rain, buses, people at tourist office, accomodation). I won't go into ...

The horse race of Siena
Aug 17, 1998

... closed, hence the outside sleeping. Perugia was good but we had driven to this area as we wanted to see Il Palio in Siena. The twice annual horse race around the town square. We had arrived five days earlier and run into the Aussie couple John and Janelle ...

Spring in Siena
May 12, 2008

... we were able to taste some reserva Cab Sav and Vin Nobile (70%) Sangiovese. Yummy!!!!! So much for drying out in Italy!!! The enoteca here in Siena is a palce where you can taste up to 300 wines and every week they have something different. It has been ...

Motorinos!
Oct 15, 2007 (5 photos)

... scooters are a great way to see it. I think we ended up doing about a 100km loop then cruised around the outskirts of Siena for a while. Eventually I lost Neill somehow so I headed for the bike shop to return the bike, it was almost dark anyway. ...

Pictures of my apartment! (Finally)
Mar 14, 2007 (7 photos)

... to the city.  Walking in the other direction for about 7 minutes leads straight to Piazza del Campo, the main piazza of Siena.  It's a great location, with 3 pizza places within 30 seconds, one of which sells anything for 1 euro after 10pm.  ...

Day Trip to Siena
Nov 2, 2005 (1 photos)

A quick day trip to Siena proves disappointing as it rains hard all day...

Return to Siena
Jan 21, 2007

Return

Siena and San Gimignano
Oct 9, 2005

... plaques and decorations, it was pretty fun. Then we went to San Gimignano, its one of the most well preserved mideavel towns in Italy. It was so surreal. This iddy biddy little city that looks like it hasnt changed at all in the last 100 years. It's ...

Day Trip to Siena
Jun 17, 2007

Hey Eveyone!     So the nice part about free internet is that I can write and check my e-mail whenever I want. The downside is that it is more fun to only check it once in a while because then you have lots of mail and feel really loved. ...

Single Signora
Mar 19, 2008

I have now moved in to my own apartment just outside one of the gates leading into Siena "Porta Camollia" which is in the N|W section of the city. I would have preferred to be in the older section of the city and they don't understand why I frefer old to ...

Siena
Oct 14, 2007 (4 photos)

... defence and gothic architecture, very impressive. Somehow we stumbled on a castle and wandered inside to find the annual chefs of Siena meeting. We gatecrashed the party by slipping through the gates and there was just about every type of Tuscan food you ...

More photos!
Sep 22, 2009 (92 photos)

I know that I should really be embedding these into where I reference them on the blog, but I am in Italy and would rather not spend the time doing that. I hope you can forgive me and just enjoying looking at them out of order. Prego. teheehee. Also, I am ...

Weekend Travels
Feb 23, 2008 (9 photos)

... surrounding city we visited the basilica of St. Domenici. We learned that there is a difference between churches, cathedrals and basilicas in Italy and the defining element of a basilica is the relic that "belongs" to it. I use belong loosely because it's ...

First and Seconds
Nov 6, 2006

... a half due to language barrier and stupidity. Finally bought running shoes today but I had to go to the mens sale aisle because Italy does not carry size 10 women's shoes. Trying to explain that I needed running shoes that were on sale in a mens size 8 ...

Sempre per sempre Siena...
Aug 6, 2007

... , the vast majority are hiding somewhere behind a dingy grocery store or a clothesline of damp linens.     Take Siena. A tourist attraction now more than anything else, the Piazza del Campo charges for the view (they do live in a picture ...

Siena
Sep 7, 2006

... italian road rules. This doesnt get any better when the hostel is 3km from the centre of town. The best part of Siena, was definetly hiring scooters and heading out to the Tuscan countryside for some wine tasting! Everywhere you look is a photo opportunity ...

Sights, smells and tastes of Tuscany
May 31, 2006 (11 photos)

... think he probably said this eating his first Cannoli. Although it may fall short of an egregious crime against humanity, a trip to Italy without copious sampling of gelato, wine, cheeses, fresh pasta, cured meats, coffee and gelato (hey, didn't I already ...

Siena
Jan 29, 2007

    

Sunflower Siena n San Gmignano
Jul 15, 2009 (4 photos)

It's the Final Countdown
Dec 10, 2008 (1 photos)

... , trees, everything. It probably has something to do with the fact that 90% of the population is Catholic... just a hunch. Siena didn't have too much going on other than a little outdoor market selling handmade things and clothing which was cool... there ...

Return to Siena
Feb 6, 2007

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