From Siena to the Sea

We just watched a pretty stunning lunar eclipse. Early morn now…basking in the majestic glow as the moonlight ripples. It’s still. Barley any sound except some distant, chirping creature and the faint lapping of the waves, 500 meters below. We arrived in Vernazza this afternoon. Part of the Cinque Terre, five ancient towns outrageously nestled alongside the dramatic, jagged Ligurian coast in Northwest Italy. 8 days left. We’re on the latter half of the trek now.

We last left off in route to Siena. We loved Siena. Siena was spunky yet still quaint…historic, trendy and with the right balance of tourist magnet and local charm. Leaving aside the messy traffic coming in and the standard sprawl along the outskirts, Siena was a rad two-day stop. Carrie and I were both unprepared for the nip. It was cold yo. I’m talking the Italians are wearing coats and scarves kind of cold. But, we kept warm by walking, a lot, and commencing our 4-day museum blitz. Our first night we ate at a romantic little nook called Antica Osteria da Divo. Exposed stone walls, candlelight and an exceptional gnocchi. We strolled the city streets, which somehow always led you to where you needed to go. Siena was our first stop where we really noticed the fashion. The friggin’ shoes people were wearing?!! Seriously, it is absolutely impossible to walk on these cobblestone streets in high heels. Not possible.

The next day was all about history, art and architecture. We got rolling early, grabbed some eats at the next-door paneria and bought the “Opa Si Pass” (a very worthwhile purchased that got us in to several museums and sights). We started with the city panorama, with the Duomo to our backs and the seemingly haphazard and old city encircling us. The climb up was dizzying, but once atop, we had the entire city at our fingertips. It was early enough for us to take our time and take it all in.

We then hit up the city museum, which housed some of the most brilliant sculptures we’ve seen thus far. Many of which were originally affixed to the Duomo next door. A fine example of Sienese artistry. Hungry for more, we scampered straight over to the Cattedrale and Duomo. Wow! I mean, wow! The intricacy, splendor and grandeur of the artwork are truly breathtaking. We spent a good 90 minutes roaming,

with an audio guide glued to our ears taking in the history behind each piece of work, thanks to the voice of a jovial Brit colorfully exclaiming each story as quickly as possible.

Completely overwhelmed, we slowly made our way to the Battistero, Cripta and Oratorio to take in more portraits of Jesus being crucified. At some point, we asked ourselves “how many times can renaissance artists be asked to recreate Jesus being tortured?"

It becomes absolutely overwhelming. Fried and jam-packed with visions of sweet baby Jesus and Mary, we napped, readying ourselves for a massive dinner, as we’ve come to expect. Bundled up, we strolled around town, taking in the numerous steep, winding roads and breathtaking architecture. We ended up at Il Carroccio, a quaint, Slow Foods trattori serving up a delish risotto and pesto gnocchi. After din-din, we trolled around ending up at what we think was Sienna College and watched pirates serve up food and drinks to spunky co-eds and not to mention the most bizarre mix of American and Italian music I could possibly imagine. (CCR was somewhere in there).

Thanks to everyone who recommended we spend time in Siena. Crazy enjoyable! Florence, Cinque Terre and Isola del Giglio to come as we wrap up the trek.

Ciao!

Charrie