Italy, Day 6: Siena Sights
(written April 10)
When I wake up, this is what I want most: my café Americano. I like the thin, china-like cups. So far they've been made in small pots containing about two cups.
Sarah and I left the breakfast room a bit early to sit outside. The hotel's courtyard is surrounded by an archway with outdoor seating.
Sarah wanted to take some pictures, too.
Then we walked to the Duomo, just a few minutes away. It wasn't yet open for visiting, though, we so walked to the Piazza del Campo nearby.
Sarah wanted to throw a coin into the fountain.
The Civic Museum is inside the building with the tower, but it wasn't yet open either, so we walked nearby shopping streets. We also stopped into a cafe and got drinks at the bar: espresso for me, macchiato for Margo, and a pastry for Sarah.
We visited a bookstore and Margo found some English-language paperbacks as her supply was low. I browsed a dictionary and as a result I can now call Sarah a testa sculacciata (spanking head).
By now the Duomo was open so we headed there. We endured the line and went in. (I was wishing our camera performed better in low light ...)
Much of the floor was decorated with frescoes.
After this we were all ready for a break, so we went back to our room to charge our batteries.
Later I went for a walk and found a nice hillside path. From here you can see both the Duomo and the tower of the city hall building on the Campo.
I was lucky enough to be there at noontime when the bells started ringing. I could hear bells in all directions. If you look at the bell in this picture, it's in motion.
Later in the day, Sarah and I came back to take in the countryside view and play on the play structure.
For dinner we went to the Osteria Le Logge. I had high hopes that this could be the best meal of our trip. It had a good write-up in this month's Vanity Fair as well as recommendations from other sources. We ordered a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino that was made by the owner, and we liked it a lot. Margo ordered antipasti and enjoyed it. My risotto made me moan. Sarah didn't like her ravioli, but she's just a kid. Margo had orchette pasta (little ears) with a chile-spiced tomato sauce and fresh ricotta; she didn't finish it as it was too strong for her taste. My salad arrived; it was just greens, no other vegetables. I had to add my own olive oil and pepper. I probably could have done as well walking out to a nearby pasture. For dessert, I got a dolce tipici (typical) that was about the same as what we had last night, no better. Margo enjoyed her crema al cafe with gelato. But by then two hours had passed. We asked for our bill. Time passed. Sarah was wearing down and eventually crooked and arm and fell asleep on it. Our bill didn't arrive until half an hour had passed. By then our good humour was mostly gone and we were glad to get out into fresh air again. Maybe it was a bad night for them; we don't know but we wouldn't recommend it as we paid twice as much for food of about the same quality as we'd had previous nights, while having the slowest service we'd seen so far in Italy.
When I wake up, this is what I want most: my café Americano. I like the thin, china-like cups. So far they've been made in small pots containing about two cups.
Sarah and I left the breakfast room a bit early to sit outside. The hotel's courtyard is surrounded by an archway with outdoor seating.
Sarah wanted to take some pictures, too.
Then we walked to the Duomo, just a few minutes away. It wasn't yet open for visiting, though, we so walked to the Piazza del Campo nearby.
Sarah wanted to throw a coin into the fountain.
The Civic Museum is inside the building with the tower, but it wasn't yet open either, so we walked nearby shopping streets. We also stopped into a cafe and got drinks at the bar: espresso for me, macchiato for Margo, and a pastry for Sarah.
We visited a bookstore and Margo found some English-language paperbacks as her supply was low. I browsed a dictionary and as a result I can now call Sarah a testa sculacciata (spanking head).
By now the Duomo was open so we headed there. We endured the line and went in. (I was wishing our camera performed better in low light ...)
Much of the floor was decorated with frescoes.
After this we were all ready for a break, so we went back to our room to charge our batteries.
Later I went for a walk and found a nice hillside path. From here you can see both the Duomo and the tower of the city hall building on the Campo.
I was lucky enough to be there at noontime when the bells started ringing. I could hear bells in all directions. If you look at the bell in this picture, it's in motion.
Later in the day, Sarah and I came back to take in the countryside view and play on the play structure.
For dinner we went to the Osteria Le Logge. I had high hopes that this could be the best meal of our trip. It had a good write-up in this month's Vanity Fair as well as recommendations from other sources. We ordered a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino that was made by the owner, and we liked it a lot. Margo ordered antipasti and enjoyed it. My risotto made me moan. Sarah didn't like her ravioli, but she's just a kid. Margo had orchette pasta (little ears) with a chile-spiced tomato sauce and fresh ricotta; she didn't finish it as it was too strong for her taste. My salad arrived; it was just greens, no other vegetables. I had to add my own olive oil and pepper. I probably could have done as well walking out to a nearby pasture. For dessert, I got a dolce tipici (typical) that was about the same as what we had last night, no better. Margo enjoyed her crema al cafe with gelato. But by then two hours had passed. We asked for our bill. Time passed. Sarah was wearing down and eventually crooked and arm and fell asleep on it. Our bill didn't arrive until half an hour had passed. By then our good humour was mostly gone and we were glad to get out into fresh air again. Maybe it was a bad night for them; we don't know but we wouldn't recommend it as we paid twice as much for food of about the same quality as we'd had previous nights, while having the slowest service we'd seen so far in Italy.
posted by Michael Nelson at 11:09 am
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