Italy Historic Center of Siena

“As we sat facing the tower, soaking in the energy of the piazza, we soon noticed a large group of people gathering in one of the corners of the square — and starting to parade around it. [...] We had accidentally stumbled into their victory parade! And it was substantial, with hundreds of people passing by, many waving flags and some pounding drums. Nearly all of them were wearing a green, red, and white scarf with the symbol of the contrada.”

“Trying to escape the crowds in the cathedral and on the main square, I venture away from the city center. I get lost on purpose in Siena’s intriguing back streets, studded with iron rings for tethering horses and lined with colorful flags.”

“We arrived in Siena in some godawful August afternoon heat. The Siena train station is a bit outside of the historic town center, so we rode about 74 escalators (okay: maybe, like, 4) to a bus stop above the train station and hopped on a bus to our hotel. [...] I liked Siena immediately. The warm stone buildings glowed in the late afternoon sun, and the hilly streets were full of life.”