Siena

Jake and I didn't have very much time in Siena. We arrived on Friday afternoon, and left on Sunday morning. We knew that all day Saturday would be spent touring Montalcino, so Friday was really our only time to explore the city. After quickly checking into our hotel, we set out, and wandered the streets. Siena is a traditional medieval city. It's built on a big hill, with walls surrounding everything, and small winding roads. At the center is a large shell shaped piazza called Piazza del Campo. We stayed in the Piazza for a while, and watched the people go by. We were hoping to grab a (very) late lunch while we explored, since we hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. Unfortunately we quickly learned that all of the restaurants in Siena close between 3 and 7. Food at 4:00 is hard to come by!

After our outing, we headed back to our hotel to relax for a little while. I was surprised by our hotel in Siena. I expected it to be something quaint, and traditional, but it was actually much more modern than our hotel in Rome! It was a really nice room, and the location made it easy to walk to everything which was nice.

For dinner that night, we decided to try a restaurant called Osteria le Loggio. It's just about half a block south of Piazza del Campo, and it was recommended to us by our travel agent, as well as listed as a suggested restaurant in our guide book. Our meal there was delicious, and really reasonable. The only thing we had that we didn't love was the appetizer that our waiter recommended - tripe stuffed with chickpeas and cheese, served with tomato sauce. I will say it's the best tripe I've ever had, but really, I'm just not a fan. I had risotto with mushrooms and duck liver for my dinner, and Jake got a bean soup with homemade ravioli stuffed with cheese and chickory. Both were excellent.

By the time dinner was over, it was about 10:30, and since we knew Saturday would be a long day, we decided to turn in for the night. So that's really all of the time we spent in Siena. It was actually a nice change from the business of Rome, and I'm really happy that we got to spend some time there.