Italy 2012 Part 3

From Cinque Terra, we took trains, three of them, to Siena in Tuscany. We stayed in a restored Palazzo 800 m south of the Porta Romana, the gate in the medieval city walls which leads on the road to Rome. The Palazo Valli provided us with great rooms, a nice terrace for breakfasting or relaxing with fine views of the nearby countryside. There were a garden and an olive grove on the hotel grounds. 

The 

staff were friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable, in equally large measures.

divalli.it >. Siena is a wonderful place, full of medieval buildings, curious side streets, an amazing town hall complete with 285 foot tall bell tower from 1348, and a very impressive cathedral from the same era. I strongly recommend you walk to the top of the tower ( there is no elevator) and take in the view of the town and surrounding area. The many museums are worthwhile and the cathedral is a great combination of the spiritual aspects of the gothic with the Italian flair for exuberance. 

I recommend  look at these in full screen mode if you can.

 The details and depth of the window framing really impressed me.

 The brightly colored 19th century mosaics on the west front were attractive but incongruous with the gothic style of he west front.

The town was extremely lively, full of tourists despite being October, and students mostly from the local University, because it was October. Its full of restaurants, cafes, shops. Despite being described as a pedestrian zone, it was also full of cars and scooters, which made things pretty noisy, and walking in the busier thoroughfares less than a joy. All in all I wouldn't have missed it, but I don't think I would want to spend a week there. Many of you younger guys would feel differently.

Next stop: Spoleto.