Sightseeing in Siena

Today will be mostly about pictures as we spent most of the day going through the old town in Siena. One of the highlights of the day was saying hello to Kelly Hrudey as he and his wife stopped to look at the menu in the restaurant we were having lunch in.  Before and after that it was a lot of wandering around through narrow cobblestone streets looking in the windows of shoe shops (Hey, it's Italy!), leather shops, bakeries, wine stores, souvenir shops, gelato shops, meat shops, cheese shops and more bakeries.

As you can see from the view above there are many, many streets to wander through.  The sun came out in the afternoon and it was a beautiful day for sauntering.  We stopped for gelato, sat in Il Campo piazza (but we didn't lie down because the security police won't let you.  Can't eat or go shoeless there either!!)

These guys on the balcony above the piazza had the right idea as they sat and watched hundreds of people below.  Many of these balconies can be accessed from shops below the piazza.  Narrow streets, more narrow streets and even more narrow streets took us most of the day to explore.

Horses seem to be quite a big deal here.  There are 17 neighbourhoods, each with their own mascots and flags.  Rick Steves describes the big horse event perfectly, "The city's world-famous horse race happens twice a year, on July 2 and August 16. This is not some folkloric event — it's a real medieval moment. If you're packed onto the square with 60,000 people, all hungry for victory, you may not see much, but you'll feel it. (Go with an empty bladder as there are no WCs, and be prepared to surrender any sense of personal space.) While the actual Palio packs the city, you can more easily see the horse-race trials on any of the three days before the main event (usually at 9:00 and after 19:00, free seats in bleachers). And keep in mind that finding a room in Siena is tough at Palio time. Many hotels won't take reservations until the end of May for the Palio, and even then they might require a four-night stay." We watched a video of the race and it was craziness.  This internet picture will give you an idea of how the square transforms on race day:

For us today though, it was only tourists and locals enjoying a long lunch, a gelato, or simply lazing around in the sunshine.  It was a perfect day in Siena, some cold pasta and chicken from the neighbouring deli, a glass of wine and a quiet evening planning out tomorrow and the next day.