Sienna and San Gimignano

We arrived in Siena by bus about 9:20 just in time to eat with Flavia and her family. We have discovered that in Italy most people eat two hours later than we do in Levelland. They give very little thought to breakfast around 8:30 or 9:00 a.m., eat a big lunch at 14:00 (2:00 p.m.), and have a light dinner around 20:00 (8:00 p.m.).

Dinner with Flavia's family consited of a variety of cheeses, salami, bread and vino. The main dish was a spicy pasta and more vino. The desert was prepared by Paolo, Flavia'a younger brother, and was a great tasting taramasu. There is no way to describe the atomsphere we are getting to experience here in Siena. Flavia's family owns a home inside the old city walls and have taken us in like family. They have given us a car to use while we are here, which is a fantastic adventure in of itself. There are mopeds and motorcycles flying around like little flies around the cars. There are very few street lights in Siena just turn arounds which are two lane circles and you choose the street you want. At first it all seems very crazy and out of control, but once you get in the flow it is very orderly and calculated. Turn signals are a must!

After dinner we made our way to the county home were we were staying and it was like a dream home we picked out of a travel magazine. This little cottage is more than we ever dreamed it could be, with three bedrooms and 1 and 1/2 baths, a fireplace and full kitchen furnished in antique style. We are at a lost in how to properly describe the experience we have found our selves emersed.

We awoke early and drove the grandfather's car to San Gimignano, a medievil walled city, famous for its white wine. The city sits atop a hill overlooking a brilliant Italian landscape with grape vines covering most of the open ground. We climbed the center tower with over 320 steps to get a birdseye view of the city and its surrondings. We ate pizza in the main square, had capacino in a local cafe, and roamed the city snapping pictures hoping to capture the essence of the city. Being here with our friends, Russell and Krystal, has turned out to be better than we ever imiagned. Having someone here to share in the experience insures this was not a dream.

We traveled back to Siena late in the afternoon. We wanted to get a better look at the place we are calling our home base. As we drove back into the city we took a few wrong turns and just explored the city outside the great walls of the inner city. Normally tourist would not be able to drive inside the walls of the city walls, but since Flavia's home is inside we get a special pass that allows us to pass through the grand arches into the secluded city. An experience I will not soon forget. We parked our car in the courtyard below Flavia's home and checked for our luggage, no luck. We make a couple of phone calls and within 10 minutes the door bell rang, our luggage had finally caught up with us.

We throw ournewly found bags in the car and head out on foot with Flavia to see her city from a local's perspective. We make our way through the narrow city streets dodging mopeds as we go. We find the set of a new James Bond movie shot in Italy. We walk down to the main square in the center of the square and find another tower, waiting to be climbed. We oblige and fight our way to the top with more steps than the last. The view is worth the excertion. The view is again unexplainable.

After decending the steep narrow steps we wind our way through the streets on our way to a family friends' house. The Filisio's have invited us to meet their friends who happen also to be Americans living in Siena. Once thier we are treated to a breath taking view of the city from thier balconey. A painted sky with brilliant hues of pink and purple fill the horizion, the city sprawling out below the horizion. Alfred and Ninfa offer a plate of fruit and cookies with vino to drink. We sit for an hour visiting like long lost friends catching up after a long seperation. As the sun sets fully below the horizon the city lights begin to fickler on across the city. We are being treated to fantastic views of the city one after another. It is one of those moments in time you log into your memory with every detail taken its rightful place in your mind. The smells, sounds, sights, the feeling of being welcomed into a home. This alone makes the trip worth more than we could have ever paid. Kimbra and I pinch each other to make sure we are not dreaming.

For dinner, Alfred and Ninfa argue as to which resturant we should go to, both wanting us to experience their favorite place. Ultimatley, Ninfa wins as Alfred's place is closed. Flavia walks us to the resturant and ask for menus in English. The answer is no. Flavia then does her best to explain the menu options, but in the end we just guess and hope for the best. We were not disappointed. The food is real Tuscan food. While it was great it's not anything like Carino's back home. This is the end of another unforgetable day in Italy. Tomorrow is Rome.