Well the lovely local red might be cheaper than water but it is so good. We are currently on the train with Chianti out the window – both the vineyards and the scenery. The regional trains are so reliable, quick and comfortable. We thought we would go for dinner in Siena – as you do when slumming it in Italy. I enjoyed my last trip to Siena but it was totally mad as the Paleo was on and I rather fancied a walk through the beautiful town when it wasn’t filled with thousands of mad race going fans. Out the window are beautiful hills, deer, olive groves, and whilst the vines are dormant, the scenery is again gorgeous villas on hilltops and the occasional castle in ruins. We arrived in Siena and had to figure out how to get to town. The last time I had been here was on a bus that dropped people at the town walls so this time I really had no idea. The OK stazione was the same as most in Italy, and typical of Italian treni stations, the surroundings were pretty awful. There was really no indication that lurking somewhere here is an amazingly beautiful UNESCO World heritage area. We wandered out and I asked some slightly dodgy looking Italian young men the direction to walk to centro. I could understand some of what they were saying and got the general drift that to walk would be insane and the bus was much better. I explained that I like to walk and with lots of hand gestures I got the idea that there was an escalator through the shopping centre. A bit weird, the thought of an escalator to a world heritage area, but whilst dodgy, they seemed keen to help. We headed off into a shopping centre that could have been anywhere in the world and sure enough there was escalator after escalator going up. We walked out into again a fairly rough looking street but a centro sign made us think we were headed in the right direction. We finally reached the reassuring wall and the enormous gate that thankfully was open. I find it amazing that these walled towns were built to lock up when needed. We wandered through the gates into the lovely tiny streets of Siena. Whilst the roads are really tiny the medieval buildings are so tall so there is a feeling of a closely guarded town, totally protected by the solid stone walls. In Siena the streets all radiate into the lovely piazza. As we wandered through each district their emblems told us where we were. The statue of the pig indicated somewhere there would be great Tuscan food.
The piazza today was much quieter than the day of the mad horse race and the huge crowds had been replaced by the local young lovers who were lying on the cobblestones – didn’t look terribly comfortable to me but then I know – I am old.
We sat in one of the cafes facing the centre and had a lovely dinner. More chianti of course, but fantastic charcuterie, pecorino, lovely tomatoes and great Tuscan vegetables. We picked at pizza and watched the sun go down and the town light up. We have taken to eating a cross between lunch and dinner – cause it gets dark at 5pm we are usually hungry by that time – and after pastries for breakfast we are not hungry until them. We sat for ages and of course managed to share a lovely chocolate tart. Lydia drank (or is it ate?) her hot chocolate with a spoon. I reminded her that good dark chocolate is good for you but she reminded me; one piece, not a whole block melted in a cup. Hey again it is Italy. The hills of Chianti are all dark now and at 7.46pm it feels like midnight. Our Florentine pallazo awaits and Lyds is already pondering whether pasta is required before bed – ohhhhh I don’t think I could eat for a week and am yawning like it is 1am.
Sleeping under the stars 