Benvenuti!

As a former medieval powerhouse, Siena is the first stop on our tour of Tuscany. Once upon a time (in the 1200s) it was Florence’s rival city, but after the black plague killed off many of its citizens, Florence permanently became the superior city. Still, Siena is still a great place to experience medieval life.

The narrow streets of Siena:

At the heart of the city is Il Campo, a plaza in the center of the city that spreads outward and forms an amphitheater of sorts. Both locals and tourists gather here all day long, and it really becomes packed in the afternoons and evenings.

The highlight of Il Campo is the Palio horse races of the summer, where the 17 neighborhoods of Siena are each represented by one horse and rider in a no-holds barred horse race. While we missed the race by one week, we did see the celebration honoring the winning neighborhood. Il Campo quickly filled up with people our first night there, and we took a seat to watch the craziness unfold.

Different groups and schools and clubs rode by on floats, and at one point a large group of little children monks (or something like that) marched by. They thought it’d be fun to throw hard candy at the spectators, and one landed at our table. To return the favor I thought it’d be fun to throw one back at them, but when I did it accidentally hit one of the mini-monks in the face, who then fell down. Oops. You know what they say: when in Rome…um, take out one of the Romans? (Then make sure to get the heck out of Rome.)

In the final moment of randomness, someone ran by and threw a piece of dry ice into my water.

Tuscan Food

“Farm to table” dining, such a fad at home, is the de facto culture here. All food is local and fresh, and the cuisine is always seasonal. The region’s specialty is wild boar (cinghiale) as is thick spaghetti known as pici, which pair well with each other. Other local specialties include all sorts of cured meats (salumi) and white truffles; upscale restaurants will offer this delicacy by shaving it directly above your pasta. Pricey yet tasty!

By the way, peoples, the pasta photos on the bottom right nearly cost me my life, reputation, and dignity. I wandered into a small pasta shop and started snapping away pics of their exotic pastas. Immediately an angry Italian old man grabbed me and dragged me to another part of the store with a sign that said “No Foto”. I apologized in a mix of English and Spanish (I don’t know, I just did) and started walking out. At the entrance to his shop, just before kicking me out, he loudly and passionately scolded me in Italian, complete with angry hand gestures and probably lots of profanity. My dad accidentally walked into this mess too, and after our 5-minute royal chew out session was over, we both walked away with our heads down in shame…but secretly laughing under our breaths.

Shopping

My dad, brother, and I walked into a shoe store and ended up buying shoes…the same one. All three of us.

(I’m the skinny hairy one.)

This puts that whole Swim Trunk Fiasco to shame.