Siena...

Italian Liberation Day. That would be from the Germans during WWII. So it is pretty similar to the 4th of July for us. It is kind of the kick-off of summer here (like Memorial Day). Everyone has it off, including Tobin. Siena was our destination of choice. It is about 2 hours away from Montalto on a fun road in the mountains. I am sure it was absolutely spectacular but it was pouring and we were in clouds for the majority of the drive!

I don't tend to pat myself on the back, much, but I am a REALLY good navigator! Give me a map and I can get you there, even in Italy! I enjoy maps, reading signs, finding great roads to drive on, and out of the way things to look at. I am pretty sure I get it from my father, Thanks Dad! I don't think I have left the house yet with my car without my trusty map! We have not been lost yet! We might have taken the wrong turn, been confused by signage, and turned around from time to time, but once we find a landmark or series of signs...off we go in the correct direction. Italian roads are pretty interesting. First, and obviously, everything is in Italian! We are working on translating the signage as we go! We now know when to slow down even (Rallentare). The roads are VERY windy, there are NO stoplights only circles, and there are about a million signs. But once you figure out the system, it is actually pretty helpful. The color of the signs is VERY important! Blue signs are cities, green signs are for the Autostrada, white signs are for local city points (soccer stadium, parking, centro, train station, etc), and the brown signs are for tourist sites (churches, archeological sites, etc). So once you know this, you can look for the correct color as you are zooming (literally) around the circles.

Now why do I bring this up...driving to our destination in Siena...I even found the exact parking lot I was going for...with the in-laws in the car behind us...Kudos to Tobin for not loosing them in the city...and brownie points for me getting us there! They wouldn't even leave without us! Just makes me feel good!

Anyway, on to Siena...the three main sights in Siena are Il Campo (the main square in the city), the Duomo, and the Church of San Domenico. Il Campo is pretty impressive. It sports the tallest secular tower in Italy. It is called Torre Mangia, due to a watchman who was eating at the top and fell to his death (what a way to be immortalized). The large brick building is the city hall. The square (which isn't really square but kind of like a half circle) is divided into 9 different portions (like rays of the sun) one section for each of the 9 neighborhoods in Siena. One of it's claim to fame is Siena's Palio. It is a horse race inside the square. They bring in dirt, line the walls with mattresses, and mark a race course. It is small, with 90 degree turns, with hundreds of screaming italians...crazy! Each neighborhood gets a horse and rider and which ever crosses the finish line first (sometimes just the horse) gets bragging rights for the next year. This happens twice a year July 2 and August 16. This is BIG stuff! Each neighborhood has its own colors and mascots...I bought flags for each of the kids...Case has a red, yellow, and blue snail flag, Clayton has a maroon, black and white owl, and Gwen has a pink, green, and gold dragon.

Here is Il Campo and Torre Mangia...

The tower from a distance across the city...

A good lookin' fam...

The other major site is the duomo...

It is really amazing, with pink marble accents...

Wednesdays are apparently market days in Siena, and because it was a national holiday, it was VERY busy! We walked around a little bit and I am amaze at how big it was...it seemed to go on forever. It kind of makes my local Montalto market seem very tiny...

It was absolutely pouring on the drive up. When we parked and started walking, it was raining but managable. And by the time we got to Il Campo it had stopped raining. I am actually enjoying the rainy days (secretly thankful because it doesn't get super hot those days)...I really like my Mary Poppins umbrella and the chance to use it!

Have a wonderful day!

Ciao a tutti!