Siena

Tuesday 29^th April 2014

On the Monday afternoon we arrived at the caravan park located about 10kms from Siena. The experience at the caravan park was not the best as the lady at the reception desk was grumpy when we arrived and even grumpier the next day when we wanted to leave in the afternoon. She wanted us to stay another day but relented and allowed us to leave in the afternoon. The showers were luke warm and there was only cold water in the wash up area. The only plus to the place was that the local bus to Sienna came right inside the campsite for pickups and drop offs.

We took the early bus 8.47 into Siena and in 30 minutes were in the bus terminal which is only a 10 minute walk to the centre of town. The return bus had a limited schedule and our best return time was at 3.55pm so we had 7 hours to spend sightseeing. We made our way to the Piazza del Campo the civic and social centre of Sienna since the 14^th century. The sloping Piazza was quiet from tourists but the street cleaners and rubbish collectors were out tidying up for the day. Apart from a group of school children and a couple of early visitors it was the best time of day to enjoy the interesting space. After taking a few photos and studying the different styles of buildings we walked down to the Palazzo Communale or Town Hall, where we had a bit of a look before moving on. Having ample time to wander we did just that, bought some very nice local extra virgin olive from a market stall  then walked some of the backstreets up towards the University where we stopped for a Cappuccino in a small local café. Refreshed we walked on towards the Piazza del Duomo where the large Gothic church stands impressive in the square. We then decided to buy the Opa Si ticket for 12 Euros each that allowed us entry into the Church, the panorama, the crypt, the baptisty, the museum and the library. We were very impressed with everything and spent a lot of time studying the works of art, the architecture and marvelling at the view from the viewing platform where we were lucky to be at 12 midday for the chiming of the bells. We had a lovely day in Sienna and the weather again was kind to us. Returning to the campground the decision was made to move on, so a quick pack up and back on the road in the direction of Assisi.

We had an easy drive along the motorway until we reached our next overnight stop at Lucignano, another small Tuscan hill town that had a lovely spot set up at the bottom of the hill for motorhomes. Our last night in Tuscany, with sweeping views of the countryside overlooked by the small town on the hill. It had everything we needed, water, free electricity and the quiet serenity that we craved.