Ok, I am hiding already from the insults that are going to be thrown my way BUT:<BR><BR>After a 2 week tour in Italy with my husband, our day and overnight in Siena was our least favorite part of our vacation and we felt that Siena was very much overrated.<BR>All I heard about for months before my trip was &quot;oh you are going to love Siena!&quot; Well, I didn't. In fact I felt it paled in comparison to the other towns and villages I have been to (Assisi, Orvieto in particular come to mind), and was just second rate overall without comparison to other places. Perhaps I had my expectations set too high or my perspective that day was horribly off.<BR>Anyways, If you are one of the ones who say that &quot;You will love Siena&quot; to everyone you come across that you find is going to Italy,<BR>tell me what I missed.

Can you be a little more specific?

I totally respect your perspective of your experience. We happened to love Siena, but felt the same as you about San Gim. We were so disappointed in it, and couldn't wait to leave! It was so grossly touristy and overcrowded that we couldn't understand all the hype. I think our expectations about a certain place color our experiences. All my life I wanted to go to Florence, and when we finally went, I was disappointed. On the other hand, I didn't really have any expectations about Venice, and it knocked my socks off! I loved Venice, and it was the highlight of our trip for me. I think it is important to just try to experience things for oneself, and not have too many preconceptions.

I'm just guessing here, but a foreign visitor may likely find your home town the &quot;least favorite&quot; stop on their visit. One can only wonder how a place other declared &quot;you are going to love&quot; was not to YOUR liking. I cannot imagine how anyone could possibly explain to you &quot;what I missed&quot;. Obviously, what they found enormously appealing, though you did not.<BR><BR>Such a shame that you would dwell on a day and overnight in an otherwise (?) enjoyable 2 week trip.<BR><BR>You know, when you rely on others to tell you were to go, &quot;second rate&quot; is not all that bad.

Most of us have favorite places, but it would be hard for me to say I &quot;didn't like&quot; any place that I have been on a trip. I have certainly liked some better than others, and Siena isn't on my list of favorites, but what is there to dislike about it? I don't understand this kind of thinking.

Enjoyed Siena and everywhere else in Italy we've been, but I have to say that the Amalfi Coast was a big disappointment. The &quot;charm&quot; was lost on me between the repetitious souvenir shops and the high-priced boutiques and jewelry stores (too much like Beverly Hills where I work). <BR><BR>But then we encountered Antonio Cavaliere. Antonio has been making paper since the end of WWII in his 13th century paper making factory in Amalfi. He doesn't speak English, I speak very little Italian and my husband some Spanish. Nevertheless, Antonio gave us lessons in paper-making history and then in paper-making itself. Priceless.<BR><BR>We had an equally memorable encounter a few years ago with a taxi driver from Milan who happened to drop off a passenger in Bellagio at just the moment we wanted a cab to take us to a Lombardy church famous among bicyclists. My husband is an avid cyclist; the taxi driver was an avid cyclist. Another extended conversation without a common language that we'll always remember.<BR><BR>Perhaps it's not the places we fall in love with but the unique and serendipitous moments we experience.

That you don't go gaga over one part of Italy doesn't surprise me. To be totally honest, Italy in whole is my least favorite of all the major western european countries. This is not denying the beauty and history of the place, but I'll take United Kingdom, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France any day over Italy. As a contrast, I have often read threads here which disparage some of my favorite places - I take them at face value and don't question the writer's outlook. To each their own.

I don't disagree with you. What one person likes may not be what you like-be it a city, country, anything.<BR><BR>For example, I happen to think Paris is beautiful for its architecture, shops, restaurants, hotels, etc. My mother, on the other hand, finds nothing fascinating about Paris. I cannot explain it to her as she does not see what I see.<BR>

I think Siena is not a place that makes its best impression in one day. It is not filled with marvels, like Florence, but offers a quieter and more subtle enjoyment. And I think it is a more interesting place if you know something about it -- not just when the cathedral was built or who St. Catherine was, but the social history -- the contrade, the Palio, etc.<BR><BR>My favorite things that are unique to Siena:<BR><BR>I like walking around the town, seeing the symbols for the different contrade on fountains, electrical boxes, and street lights.<BR><BR>I think the Campo is one of the most charming piazzas in Italy.<BR><BR>There are some wonderful shoe stores.<BR><BR>I find Siena a centrally located base for day trips by car all over central Tuscany.<BR><BR>And the last time I was there, strolling late one night a few days after Palio, I had the thrill of hearing drums and music. Soon we were pressed up against the buildings in the narrow street as the winning contrade paraded by, waving flags and celebrating.