The pause for breakfast segued into an after dinner commentary!
Florence was a bit of a let down in a way, the weather was drearyand after five weeks of constant travel and constant busyness i rreally needed an off day. The rain provided the perfect excuse to do absolutely mothing. The Savoy is a nice hotel but the room was miniscule – especially for the two of us. Sandra and I have gotten along amazingly well, always a consideration when you spend three weeks cheek by jowl with someone – especially two sisters! Anyway after being thoroughly lazy for the better part of the day we then spent the balance of the evening sitting in the hotels’ boulevard cafe, drinking vast and varied quantities of alcohol, eating some fine food and reordering the world entirely to our satisfaction! Needless to say the train to Siena the next morning was a little fragile! Fortunately the Intercontinental hotel in Siena more than lived up to expectations. We have a huge room on the top floor with an amazing views out over the terra cotta roofs and the Duomo. Lunch is planned for the Campo – possibly pizza and a pino grigio? I think it is going to be very difficult to give up all these lovely wines when we go home.
We spent most of the day perusing the Duomo and museum here in Siena. A truly fascinating monument to both the history and religion of a single small and very influential city. I really like Siena, the sunshine doesn’t hurt of course but it is a perfect intimate spot and still manages to be a working city despite the tourists. I can’t imagine what it would be like at the height of the summer hordes though!
Tomorrow back to Rome, which appears to be extraordinarily busy as I have had to take third choice for my hotel. Fortunately my travel agent is a genius so I anticipate a decent last stop.