16 Day Trip Report: Rome, Positano, and Tuscany
 

First, thanks to all the Fodorites, esp. Dean, Kiki, and Kay. Instead of guidebooks I used your trip reports. This is my first trip report and now I realize how time consuming it can be so I appreciate all of you even more! <BR><BR>ROME (5 days): Left NYC on Delta Business Class at 5:30 PM EST and arrived in Rome at 8:15 AM. I wanted to ensure that my husband would sleep on the plane as he usually tries to drink himself into oblivion trying to get to sleep and ends up staying up all night and ruining our first several days/nights in Europe with jetlag, so we both took some Atovan. It didn’t seem to work at first, but we were both able to get about 3-4 hours of solid sleep, which was more than adequate to keep us going for several hours. I had booked car service with www.limoservicerome.com and they were there with our name on a placard, ready to take us to our hotel. <BR><BR>We arrived at Raphael Hotel, a four star hotel located right outside the Piazza Navona, we had planned to just check out luggage, but our room was ready so we were able to check into our room and freshen up. Our room was tastefully decorated in a charming traditional Italian renaissance style with burgundy drapes, paintings, and decorative flourishes. Overall, the room was very nice with a small sitting area that had two comfy chairs and a table. The bathroom was marble with all modern fixtures including a wonderful large shower head and a glass shower door (it was only a ½ door). We never ate at the hotel so I cannot comment on the food. We went up to the roof top terrace several times, but the bar was always closed by the time we got there. Overall, we were pleased with the hotel, the rates were a bit expensive because it was peak season, but it was worth it for us because the location was so fantastic. It is a stone’s throw away from the Piazza Navona and within walking distance (10-20 min) to most of the major sites.

<BR>Day 1: Day of Arrival. We walked through the Piazza Navona and had a cappuccino at a caf&eacute; facing the fountain, just soaking in the Piazza and Rome. We then walked to the Spanish Steps on Via Condotti and around the Via Veneto area. I found my Streetwise Rome Map to be very thorough. I found the street index to be especially helpful. I found that the two guides that I used the most were the Streetwise Rome Map and then the Louis Vuitton City Guide. A friend lent us the LV guide and it was great for finding the hip restaurants, specialty shops, and even listed the major sites. I supplemented these guides with the Rome Eyewitness guide for a bit more in depth coverage of the historical sites such as the Vatican, Coliseum, etc. After a quick lunch at L’Enoteca Antica we headed back to the hotel for a long nap. After the nap we walked through the lively Piazza Campo di Fiori towards Trastevere. We were to meet a friend (who happens to be a tour guide) at the Piazza St. Maria in Trastevere. We were a bit early so we decided to walk to Riparte Caf&eacute;, a supposedly hip restaurant/bar/club in Trastvere. It was a bit early and it was really dead, but we still enjoyed the walk and had a drink at their bar. It was just starting to get lively as we were leaving at 8:00 PM, so I imagine it might be a good place to hang out at night. We then walked the streets to the Piazza St. Maria in Trastevere, an extremely charming Piazza. While in the Piazza I saw the restaurant Sabatini and thought that we might eat there, but our friend took us around the corner to a restaurant named Der Belli Osteria, a Sardinian Restaurant specializing in seafood. We pretty much let them take care of us and they did, right to the last drink of lemoncello & grappa. We had wine, seafood antipasti, and two different types of pasta for the primi, grilled seafood for the secondi, then tiramisu for the girls and peaches in wine for the dessert. Of course no Sardinian feast would be complete without ice-cold lemoncello. The owner even gave my husband a bottle of lemoncello to take home (all this for 40 euros per person). At this point, we really should have headed home, but things were just getting lively in Rome at 11:30 PM. We headed to Enoteca Trastevere, a wine bar right down the street. I had an unfortunate accident with my white pants and red wine, but oh well, these things happen, especially after two glasses of lemoncello! After this we were headed back to the hotel, wandering through the windy Rome streets, getting lost and then finding our way again. On the way back we happened upon a lively little Piazza del Fico. At 2:00 AM it was still filled with fashionable Romans. They were spilling out onto the Piazza having a great time, we would return to this piazza at a later time. We turned the corner and found our hotel almost by accident, and so the end of the first day. <BR><BR>

Day 2: Ancient Rome day. We headed first to the Coliseum. I did the audio tour, my husband just chose to wander about. We were hungry and I don’t think the Coliseum area is the best area in which to eat, but we decided to wander about and look for a restaurant where lots of Italians were eating. We did happen upon such a restaurant, unfortunately, unbeknownst to me, it was another Sardinian restaurant! It was my second Sardinian feast in two days. I don’t even like seafood! I did not grow up eating seafood as it is prohibited in my religion. I was almost ready to cry, but I forced it down, as the host/owner was so generous and nice. It was about 12 courses and it seemed like the type of place that one would come for a special occasion. After the Sardinian feast at Antica Hosteria 2001 we wandered through the Roman Forum area and let our imagination take us back to Ancient Rome. Since we walked from the Coliseum area through the Roman Forum, we ended up at the top of the Capitoline Hill. We then walked down the white stairs back to the hotel for another nap (we must observe siesta!). We were to meet some other friends at the Trevi Fountain so we strategically walked through the Piazza of the Pantheon. The first sight of the Pantheon really took my breath away. It was just so big and grand. Unfortunately, we never had time to actually go into the Pantheon. We walked were still headed towards the Trevi Fountain when we happened upon another Piazza with an obelisk in the middle. Everywhere you go in Rome it is an adventure as you may stumble onto a new treasure. It may be an obelisk, monument, or piazza. We made it to the Trevi Fountain and I must say this was the only major site in Rome with which I felt a little bit disappointed. The fountain is majestic, but I guess I pictured the fountain in a large piazza such as the Piazza Navona. I didn’t realize it would be in such a small space or that it would only be one side of a building. I guess sometimes you create grandeur in your mind and reality cannot match up. After the Trevi Fountain we ambled back to the Piazza facing the Pantheon with our friends and had small dinner at one of the outdoor restaurants facing the Pantheon. After that just a short walk to our hotel.

Day 3: Vatican Day. Scavi Tour at the Vatican at 9:30 AM. Arrive early to check your bags and find the beginning of the tour as you will have to walk to the other side of the Basilica and then around the corner into the courtyard. This tour was suspenseful, informative, and fascinating. The woman that conducted our tour was so animated and informative, she kept us entranced the whole time. After the Scavi Tour we headed out to the street to grab a snack and then to head back to St. Peter’s Basilica. When we got back into the courtyard, we saw a long line forming so we got into the line. We thought the line was to buy tickets to enter St. Peter’s, it was instead, a line to go up to the Cupola (I did not have any idea what this was at the time). We bought the tickets for the stairs and headed up the winding staircase. We then followed others and ended up inside the dome of St. Peter’s, what an incredible sight. It was made even grander because we had yet to tour the inside of St. Peter’s. I thought this was the end and was about to head down when I saw some more stairs heading up even higher. I just followed everyone else and started climbing higher and higher. Bring water as the climb is actually fairly strenuous and the space is very tight. It was a hot day and people were starting to smell in those tight spaces. When we finally reached the top we were greeted by a panorama of Rome in every direction. After a series of pictures we headed back down to the ground level and ended up inside St. Peter’s Basilica. We then walked through St. Peter’s and looked at all the different treasures inside the Basilica. <BR><BR>After the Vatican we were hungry so we headed back towards the Piazza del Fico and ended up eating at a recommended pizzeria restaurant called Da Francesco. It was a very casual restaurant, only it did not serve pizza until the evening. This happened to us two times in Italy, where we wanted pizza for lunch, but the pizzas were not made until the evening. We had to “settle” for some delicious pasta. Prices were about 7 euros for an entr&eacute;e and the spagetti carbonara was delicious. We finished our meal with deliciously cut fresh l’ananas (pineapple). We were enjoying our time in that little piazza watching the Italian men gesticulating while playing chess in the courtyard of the Bar del Fico. Back to the hotel around the corner, and another nap. <BR><BR>It just so happened that it was our first wedding anniversary. I planned most of the trip but this was the one evening that was planned by my husband. We got dressed up and headed out towards the Spanish Steps. We climbed the steps and took some pictures. We were going to get a drink in the Hotel Hassler, but the garden bar was so dark that we decided against it (you cannot go up to the restaurant to get a drink). I remembered a charming looking caf&eacute; that I spotted the day before and we went to Ciampini, which is on the same level as the top of the Spanish Steps with a view of the city. We stopped by for a bit and then we headed down the steps. My husband planned dinner at the new restaurant at the Hotel de Russie, called Le Jardin. It was so spectacular in a romantic secret garden sort of way. The restaurant was on a terrace above the main lobby floor of the Russie. They had the tables set up in the garden with candles and umbrellas. The garden at the Russie is so lush and terraced, just beautiful. It looks like it has been there forever, but they actually created it when they recently redid the hotel. Even if you don’t eat there, it is a beautiful place to stroll around. The food was excellent and I was transported into a completely happy, relaxed state. <BR>

Day 4: Borghese Gallery & Shopping Day. We called the previous day to get reservations for four of us at 11:00 AM. You are supposed to pick your tickets up an hour before your appointment. We took a cab here as it is quite a distance to walk when you don’t know exactly where it is located. We picked up our tickets and then had a cappuccino and a snack at the museum bar. We also rented the audio guide, which I highly recommend for this museum. This is a museum where the whole building is part of the art, and the audio guide gives you information on all the different ceiling paintings, sculptures on the wall, and of course the well known sculptures and paintings. The sculpture of Apollo & Daphne by Bernini is one of the most beautiful objects of art that I have ever seen. It looks as though Bernini sculpted butter rather than marble. After the Borghese Gallery we strolled through the Villa Borghese until we ended up at a balcony overlooking the Piazza di Popolo. We took in the view and descended the balcony via the street until we were in the Piazza. This Piazza is a large spacious one, reminiscent of the Campo in Siena with a large obelisk in the middle. We decided to eat in the Piazza, there are several restaurants in the Piazza and we took a look at the first restaurant, then decided to go to the one next to it called Dal Bolognese. This was a great choice as I later discovered it was recommended in Gambero Rosso and the LV guide. The lasagna verde with bolognese that I ordered here was excellent. The bolognese sauce was almost like chunks of steak rather than ground meat. We were having a great time at the restaurant when it started raining pretty hard, our waiters moved us inside the restaurant, but we were stuck there for an additional hour and a ½ until we were able to flag a guy down selling umbrellas. After purchasing the umbrellas we set out shopping on Via del Babuino towards the Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps. We came upon an amazing sight, the Spanish Steps without one person on them! We continued our shopping expedition on Via Condotti and Via Borgognona. My friends and I separated, as we were to meet later that evening for a special meal at Agata e Romeo. The food and service at Agata e Romeo was fantastic, the appetizers were especially outstanding and we had a wonderful time and were the last group to leave the restaurant at 1:30 AM. <BR><BR>We left Rome the next morning. Trip report for the Positano portion to be cont’d in the next couple of days…<BR><BR>

Nycer,<BR><BR>Thanks for the great trip report. I am going in six weeks! this is great.

Day 5: Travel to Positano Day. We woke up early, checked out of the Hotel and took a cab to Rome Termini. We were an hour early because I didn’t check the train times again, so we decided to take an earlier Eurostar train to Naples. After a little bit of confusion with the Eurostar Ticket machine, I was able to get two first class reserved tickets to Naples (65 euros for two people). Note: Naples Central Station and Naples P. Garibaldi go to the same place. <BR><BR>The next experience was my first experience with “gypsies”. From reading this site and hearing some other urban legends, I was expecting roving bands of gypsy children that would around you and strip you of all your belongings. The whole time I was in Rome, I never experienced any of this at all. I didn’t wear a money belt; I just kept my purse with me at all times and left extra items in the safe at the hotel. So, I was surprised they “got us” this time. As I was looking for our car, a fairly well dressed woman came and looking at my ticket and indicated that this was my car and then she got up into the train car and picked up my luggage for me. She then proceeded to help my husband as well. My husband knew that something was up and after she helped us with our luggage she began to tug on my husband’s sleeve and demand some money. He initially gave her .50 euros, but she insisted on 1 euro, so he gave it to her. We still had all our wallets, etc. but my husband was very upset because we actually handed this woman our luggage. I think we thought that we would be able to spot a gypsy a mile away, but who knows, maybe she wasn’t a gypsy, and no real harm was done. <BR><BR>The train ride to Naples took 1 hour and 45 minutes. Our driver was waiting for us on the platform with a placard indicating our name. We booked the car service through Le Sirenuse and it was 100 euros for a one way trip from Naples train station to the hotel in Positano. <BR><BR>Upon first sight of the view from Le Sirenuse’s balcony, my husband immediately declared that he would not leave the compound of Le Sirenuse for four days. Our room was not ready so we had lunch out by the pool with incredible views of Positano and the Mediterranean. We were not able to get a view room because we booked a little bit too late (I booked in February of this year) and the nicer view rooms were out of our price range. But as Kay (a helpful Fodorite) ensured, there are numerous public areas where you could spend all day looking at the view. The hotel has a wonderful pool area, as well as numerous balconies with incredible views from each one. The hotel also provides an incredible buffet breakfast every morning that is included with the rate. Each room is also appointed with a DVD player and you can borrow DVDs from their library for no charge. One evening we rented La Dolce Vita and watched it over two nights. <BR><BR>We spent the rest of the day hanging out at the pool (I immediately booked a massage) and headed down to the water and had dinner at the restaurant Buca di Bacco. It had a nice view of the beach and the food was acceptable, but after our fabulous dinners in Rome it was a bit of a let down. I didn’t realize how touristy Positano was. All I heard were English speaking tourists all around me. I didn’t really find out until later where the real Positanians (?) were. <BR><BR>

Day 6: Capri Day. I convinced my husband to leave the compound so we booked tickets on the hydrofoil to Capri for a day trip. It is very commercialized, but once you get out of the shopping areas, I found Capri very charming with its windy little streets, white washed buildings, and incredible views. We had the worst meal of our trip at a restaurant called La Terrazza that had a very nice view. There were quite a few Italians eating there, so we thought it might be good, but it was not good and my husband wanted to leave Capri and go back to Positano at that moment. Luckily, we were able to regroup and explore a bit of Capri, which left us feeling a bit better about the day. <BR><BR>I learned a lesson because I was actually trying to find a restaurant recommended by Kiki called Biberius. I asked a shopkeeper that pointed me in the general direction, but I could not find it and we were hungry so we ended up eating at La Terrazza. I should have looked a little harder rather than just settle for something else because we probably would have been able to find it eventually, but we were a bit lazy and we ended up paying for it with a substandard meal. <BR><BR>We had dinner at Le Sirenuse. I would have to say, do not do it! If any of you want to spend some time at Le Sirenuse, have a snack and a drink in the Champagne bar. The restaurant is extremely formal and the prices are egregious. The average entr&eacute;e is between 40-45 euros, just for the entr&eacute;e. A caprese salad will run you about 26 euros. The atmosphere of course is very romantic and they have live music every night, but you can capture the same romance by eating at the Champagne Bar. <BR>

Thank you for the report. Sounds like you had a wonderful time all in all. When we travel we have to be able to see the humor in things. Sounds like you are a good sport. Best wishes to you.

ttt

GREAT trip report! I loved all the details. It seemed as though I were walking along side of you.

Thanks for the encouragement, I will keep on going until I finish. <BR><BR>Day 7: Boat Ride & Relaxing in Positano Day. Since I forced my husband to leave the prior day, we decided to stay in Positano for the day. The only exception was when we took the complimentary Le Sirenuse boat out for a 3hour tour (just kidding, just 2 ½). The boat fits about 13 passengers and it is very nicely outfitted for lounging about. The captain took us along the coastline and then towards the Islands of the Sirens. He stopped the boat near the Islands where we jumped out of the boat and swam in the Mediterranean. It was fantastic. The water was very salty and very nice for swimming. After the boat trip we had a nice lunch at Chez Black. <BR><BR>Later on in the afternoon we decided to walk north past Le Sirenuse on Via C. Columbo climbing higher on the mountain. We stopped in at a charming bookstore that had many English books. We kept on walking higher and higher and found little shops and homes and were soon in the territory of no more tourists! It was so refreshing as I felt we were seeing a bit of “real” life in Italy. We then walked down on Via C. Columbo past Le Sirenuse until we got to a little square and then started walking down towards the beach. As we were walking we noticed a beautiful courtyard with someone playing a beautiful grand piano. This was the courtyard of the Hotel Palazzo Murat. We began exploring the hotel and walking through its beautiful gardens. The restaurant is also in a beautiful courtyard with gorgeous trumpet flowers all around, we made a reservation for the evening. We started walking north again until we got to a very old street with beautiful private homes at the top of the hill. My husband said “this must be where the mayor lives”, indicating that maybe in a small town the rich mayor would live on top of this hill with beautiful views of the town below. It was getting a bit dark at this point so we then walked down again and decided to take a short cut rather than walking on the road. We ended up taking some very dark stairs that wound in and out, at times it was completely dark, until we ended up in some restaurant near their toilettes. We eventually ended up near the main square again and then stopped in at the local Bar for a drink. It was Friday night and it seemed like all the Italians were coming out for a night out on the town. I think the key to Positano is beach = hordes of English speaking tourists, higher up on the mountain = locals. <BR><BR>We had dinner at the Palazzo Murat and it was really delicious. We were eating right at the time that the piano concert was taking place in the courtyard above us, so our dinner was graced by wonderful piano music until it started raining pretty hard. The piano concert stopped, luckily the restaurant has the biggest palazzo umbrellas you have ever seen. So everyone started getting cozy and moving their tables closer and closer together until every table was placed under the four large umbrellas. It was a bit of a party and the only real harm done was that some of our food had some Positano rain on it, but things could have been much worse. There was thunder and lighting, but everyone was making friends and having a great time. <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><B R><BR><BR>

<BR>Day 8: Travel to Tuscany Day. We woke up at the crack of dawn (or so it seemed). We needed to get from Positano to our villa near Siena in one day. Originally I wanted to stop by Pompeii on the way to the train station, now I know that it would not have been possible for us to stop in Pompeii and get to Tuscany within the daylight hours. Car service again to the Naples train station. We purchased our tickets through the ticket agent for the next train to Rome Termini, which was a regular Trenitalia train (not Eurostar). The two tickets cost 31 euros, as opposed to what we paid to get to Naples. (65 euros) The train was not as nice as the Eurostar, but it was still fine and we were able to get seats, even if it left 20 minutes late for no particular reason. When we arrived at Rome Termini Station, we looked for signs to the Fiumicino Airport Express Train. We went directly from our platform to the Airport Express platform and purchased our tickets from the agent in the booth located on the platform. There is no need to go back out to the terminal since the ticket agent booth is right on the platform prior to boarding the express train. The train ride to the airport was about 25 min. After we arrived at the airport we went directly to the car rental area. <BR><BR>I was thanking my lucky stars that I listened to others on this site and only took a 21” expandable roller. All this transferring would have been miserable (esp. for husband) if I had packed in a large unmanageable bag. In fact, everything went extremely smoothly and we were happy with the efficiency of our day. <BR><BR>We rented a car from Avis. The rate for a 7-day rental of a large manual station wagon was 384 euros, but where they get you is the insurance. We opted for full insurance, which was 18 euros per day. Our station wagon was brand new a “Picasso” which had a large trunk area as well as comfortable seating for five adults. We left Positano at 7:30 AM and were now on the road to Tuscany at 1:30 PM. <BR><BR>Driving in Italy is not too difficult, especially if you are used to roundabouts. We never drove in the Rome City Center, but other than that, it was fairly simple with a good driver and a good navigator. We were on the road to Tuscany on A1. From the airport to the turnoff for Siena, we were driving on the freeway for about 2hours and 15minutes. From A1 to the turnoff for our villa it was about 45 minutes, although we had to make a detour to pick up our friends from the Siena train station. <BR><BR>Finding the villa was quite a task as the directions were very vague. It seems that Italians don’t believe in using street signs or names, rather “at the marble column turn left onto the dirty road”. We later discovered some large street signs that could have been used, but for some reason were not. We finally arrived at our villa and it was breathtaking. <BR>

Day 8 Cont’d<BR>The villa is located in a small town called Montepearti. We rented our villa from an agency called Bravo Holidays. Their website is www.hipvillas.com or www.bravoholidays.com. (Il Cassello) I was psychologically preparing myself to be disappointed, but instead the villa far exceeded my expectations. It was strategically located on a little mountain. Incredible views were to be had everywhere you looked; the towers of Siena in the distance, Tuscan hills all the way to the ocean, the Crete Senesi landscape, and the Chianti countryside. The owner had strategically placed park benches facing each view. The stone house had a courtyard, outdoor bbq, stone pizza oven, beautiful swimming pool, a lovely pergola, spacious bedrooms & bathrooms, well appointed kitchen, and beautifully decorated interior and exterior. It was located outside of Siena (10min drive), but still in the countryside. As I stood there I felt as if I had just hit the winning homerun for the World Series. <BR><BR>More friends arrived later in the evening, so three couple’s total. We had previous arrangements to have a catered meal with wine for dinner that night, so we were able to relax and catch up each other (we all live in different parts of the U.S.) as we feasted on our Tuscan meal.

Day 9: Veg Out Day. Long walks in the Tuscan countryside, visits to the nearby steer, lay out by the pool, and cooking with friends. Ah heaven!

"visits to the nearby steer"? Non capisco.

Yes, we were staying on a working farm and there was a steer farm just down the road from us. There were also chickens, turkeys, and some other animals. The owner filled our refrigerator with fresh eggs from the chickens, grapes from their fines, and figs & peaches from their trees.

<BR>Day 10: Tuscan Hill Towns. For Monday’s itinerary I closely followed a Fodorite trip report by Dean. We left our villa in a caravan of two cars and headed south towards Asciano. This was a beautiful drive through the unusual Crete landscape, which looks dry and arid with lots of Cypress trees dotting the landscape. We arrived in Asciano and parked inside the soccer stadium. We walked around a bit, but things were just opening up. We walked around a bit, grabbed a cappuccino and then headed to our next destination, the frescoes of Il Sodoma at the Mt. Oliveto monastery. We arrived at the monastery at about 12:10. Wouldn’t you know it, the monastery closes to visitors at 12:00 PM and doesn’t open again until 3:30 PM. I should have checked the schedule, but most sites seemed to close around 1:00 PM, so we were not able to see the frescoes this time. Of course the gift shop wasn’t closed, so we raided the gift shop and purchased some monk liquor, monk wine, and monk olive oil in attractive bottles. The monastery beautiful (even from the outside) and we enjoyed the nice crisp mountain air. <BR><BR>At this point I decided to call La Chiusa Restaurant for reservations for later in the afternoon. No problem they said, now we started driving towards Montefollonico, passing through Pienza. What beautiful countryside dotted with lovely villas, castles, and fortress cities! We finally arrive at La Chiusa and Francesca, the owner’s daughter, greets us like long lost family. We are all immediately enamoured by her charm and beauty. I would like to confirm all the wonderful things written about La Chiusa. The food was rustic but refined. Most of the ingredients are locally produced, including the wine. Our first bottle of wine was the Vino Nobile Innocenti 1997 as recommended by Dean. We had even a better wine for the second bottle, unfortunately I did not write it down, but it was a 1997 Sangiovese, I cannot recall the vineyard at this moment. 3 of the 6 ordered the tasting menu and the others ordered off the menu. Porcini mushroom season was just beginning and we had some amazing porcini mushroom dishes. The best dish of all was a simple maccheroni (very large pasta tubs) made with just a tomato garlic sauce. We were the last to leave the restaurant for the afternoon meal but did not feel rushed at all. Francesca stayed until the very end, even talking to us after the meal as we were taking photos outside. We wanted to visit the Innocenti winery in Montefollonico so she called them for us. They did not answer, but she just indicated that we should go up to the town and ask for them. Montefollonico is a tiny, but extremely charming medieval town, a short drive from La Chiusa. You are supposed to park outside the town, but we happened to drive in and then moved our cars later. The first store we saw was an Enoteca, we asked where the Innocenti winery was, and she pointed to a door down the street that said 10. She said just knock on the door and if they are there, they will open the door. After some fierce knocking, a woman eventually came out and invited us into the winery and cellar room. We purchased a case of Vino Nobile 1997 and several bottles of the Vino Nobile 1999 for 11 euros each bottle (we had just paid 45 euros for 1 bottle at La Chiusa). We walked through her cellar towards the backyard. As soon as I saw the backyard I gasped as the view unfolded in front of me. I had not realized that we were way up in a little fortress town as the road to Montefollonico did not seem extremely steep. The stone fence in the backyard was perched on a mountain, and we looked down on the entire Montepulciano wine region. This was my favorite hill town of our trip because it was unexpected, there were no other tourists around, it was extremely charming with tiny little streets, and we ate some of the best food of our trip.

ttt

Day 11: Siena. We started a bit late today. It is difficult to get all six people at the same time. Our first stop was the Pizzeria Fontebecchia outside of Siena. Our host wrote in our little hospitality book that the pizza here was “as good as Naples”. We finally find it and of course no pizza until dinner! We are forced to order other dishes, which are good, but not great. We head into Siena, which is already packed with tourists by now and find parking near the stadium. Our friends find parking on the street, but we have to go into a parking lot. (a five hour stay ends up costing us about 5 euros) Siena is larger than I imagined, with streets teeming with people. We head straight for the Campo and purchase tickets to go up the bell tower in front of the Campo. The tickets are for 2 hours later, good thing we bought them when we did, our friends tried to purchase tickets 15 minutes later and they were sold out for the day. We then head to the Duomo and admire the outside. We purchase tickets for the Panorama that is accessible through the Duomo museum. Once again we climb up tights stairs and then get to the top of the outside wall of the Duomo. The view is magnificent from the top of the wall. We then head down and return to the Campo area to go up the bell tower. If you get Vertigo, do not go to the very top of the Tower directly beneath the bell. Even I felt a little bit uneasy as it is fairly exposed up there. There are even more magnificent views on all sides of the bell tower and looking down upon the Campo. Remember the bell tower does ring every hour. There were several German tourists that practically fell out of the tower from fright as they were directly below the bell when the clock struck six. We all had a good laugh about that one. <BR><BR>After all the climbing, the men found a charming Enotecca while the women did a bit of shopping. Even though we were so close to Siena, we only went into the city center once. The city does seem to close up after 7:30. The streets seem quiet and empty after the bustle of the day.