Siena

SATURDAY

I took the 1.5 hour train from Florence to Siena mid-morning. The train station is located outside the city center, but there are escalators that bring you to the top of the hill. Once you get off the escalators, it is about a 15 minute walk to the main attractions. I bought my OPA SI ticket (gets you into the Duomo, Museo della Opera, Panorama dal Facciatone, Crypt, and Battistero) online the night before. I had to pick up my ticket at the ticket booth (which was located in a building next to the Duomo). I was surprised by the lack of crowds for a Saturday afternoon. The only line I had to wait in was to go up the Panorama because they only let about 20 people in at a time.

My first stop was to the Duomo di Siena. It was beautiful inside and I highly suggest going in and walking around it. I then stopped in at The Panorama dal Facciatone. It gave you a nice view of Siena and the Tuscany hills surrounding the city. Next stop was the Torre del Mangia. This gave you a different view of the city. It was 400+ steps (very narrow and steep. Some places EVEN I had to duck to get through an archway. That is saying something). Like many towers in Europe, you go up the way you go down, which is not very efficient. The last attraction that I went to was the Piazza del Campo. It located in the main square where the Torre del Mangia is located too. I sat for thirty minutes and just people watched . Mostly I just wandered around the streets. I saw some little boys and teenagers drumming and throwing flags in the air.

I did not expect Siena to be so hilly. If I were to do this trip over, I probably would have just got my tickets on site, and would only do the Duomo and the Panorama. The other sites were interesting, but not my favorite. It was overall a good first solo day trip.

Next week, Sarah, Maggie and I are headed to Switzerland for four days.