Siena, Tuscany

Er. Actually i can't remember if i visited Pisa first or Sienna first. I will do Siena first as I <3 this place. The truly beautiful, is all in this region of Italy called Tuscany. Poetic or not?? Lol. I find that there are places i really would like to stay there if possible and besides the whole of Japan, Salzburg, Tuscany is my number 3 place to be in.  And do you all know what famous film was shot here?? Yes.... TWILIGHT. Heck i was even in the square edward was in. ( Eclipse that is ) the infamed Volutri are from the tuscany region.

No, i was not there to find edward or jacob - thought the original stars were in Rome the same time i was here. But Siena is one of the most scenic places in Italy that i have been too. It's famed for it's high old city town ( which is part of Unesco's world heritage sites ) and also for the rolling valleys and hills this place is so famous for.  Since it is further up north, the air is chiller and a whole lot more fresher here than in Naples. And i am convinced, i am totally in love with this gorgeous place.What a difference 2 places are.

I arrived in Siena, in the evening but did not get any view of the town at night, but this is something i took at the hotel's garden overlooking the city. Old town is where you see the highest tower in the picture. For those who plan to look for a hotel in Siena, i recommend the Garden Hotel in Siena. It's a quaint B&B place with service that is so personal, you feel as if you are royalty. Dinner is served to you at the table - with the waiters scooping what ever you require- Pity - i didn't take pictures of the food that day - was exhausted from the previous day's travel - the best Risotto i have eaten was here.  Just to give you a glimpse of the interior of Garden - check out the pics below:

The room i shared with my parents, this is my parent's side.

Mua's private alcove :) with a day bed that was nice and comfy.

Mind you, this place was created in the 19th century, so it's pretty old outside and inside:

The hallway.

The frescoes adorning the ceilings

Go for a loooooong walk.

Recap of the hotel name.

Enough of the hotel, we need to go sight seeing now. What's Siena famous for? Well the city of course. It's old city is a Unesco heritage sight with a lot up up slopes and is famous for this yearly event in July which is known as the Palio Di Siena, the horse races around the circular square of Siena city. Thankfully the Palio was not there during the time we were there, otherwise this place is packed. No buses can enter the city so we started our tour on foot. It's a 3 hour walk round the city and .. pack good shops. Lots of slopes here - i felt i worked of breakfast going to the city and worked of lunch coming down!!

Start off point is above and we need to reach those buildings on the other side. Wee. Some views of the small corridors we have to navigate up to and how tiny the lane is. Only one car can go through and normally it is service vehicles. The people of Siena are slim because they walk alot!

Oh i jumped for joy when i reached the city.... Yeah!!!!!!!!  And was greated with this fantastic view. Unfortunately my stitching was not as good as the one in Naples - so you have to see part 1 and 2 as 2 separate pictures.

The people here are very relaxed - all sitting around at 10am just watching the world ( tourist, girls etc ) go by. Don't catch much malaysians let alone asians doing this during office hours eh... He kinda looks like Daniel Craig.

Besides nice historical places to see, Siena is quite the shopping area, behind the square are rows and rows of clothing, shoes and leather shops. Prices are alright but depending on what you buy. I also happen to go to the most expensive toilet here. 1 Euro to pee. It's the most costly pee pee i have ever done -_______- however, the place was clean ( we climbed 2 flight of stairs to reach the toilet ) ... so can't complain. ( I rather go to an expensive one than brave the ones @ the chinese restaurants )

Lunch was in Siena square in a very unique underground restaurant. I lost my tour group for a while as i did not see them turn the corner and go down the shop. The shop below used to house an old water tunnel and the owners converted the water tunnel to a restaurant some 10 years back. Because this is underground, the temperature was cooling, a bit chilly at times compared to hot weather on top.

Interestingly enough, ... skip the food for the moment, the waiter here is quite quite good looking. Italy is naturally famous for good looking people ( both men and women ) but i found that the men, further up north of the country you go to, are much much better looking. :) That is my opinion anyway. But... he was not from Sienna though, he was from Pisa, the next place i was going to. Ah.. oh well.

Possibly one of the best soups i had, here in Italy would be this restaurant. It's a bean soup i think, with pumpkin, potato and carrots added. The croutons give this a crunch as well. Sienna was cold that day,  the warm soup was really good for me. I finished this up quite quickly.



Now, the mains followed, which is Chicken Pot roast. My least favorite part of the chook, which is the drumsticks bit. -_-. Anyway, couldn't exchange it though so i dutifully ate it. Taste wise alright, lots of bay leaf here which i like. Gives it a nice herby smell. But the oil? Exxon Mobil. Scary.  The garden salad added on was quite refreshing. Gives it a balance to the "oil".


My Emo Siena shot. Kinda like this shot because it gives it a very strange feel to it.

If you want more pics of Siena - click here for my flickr link ( am too lazy to post all the pics )