A Day in Siena

day 12 // florence // siena // florence

After waking up at my friends' apartment (I spent the night so that we could have a more efficient morning since we had to be up so early), we quick got ready and once again, sprinted across town to the bus stop. (We really need to start leaving earlier…) Then we hopped on the bus to Siena!
Once we got there, we had a guided tour of the town, including the Cathedral and the main square "Piazza del Campo". Then we were free for lunch. Our tour guide had suggested we go to this specific restaurant and get a pasta called "picci" because this was the only place this pasta was available. It was SO good, and so unlike any other pasta I've ever had before. It was really thick noodles, made from flour and not wheat (or something like that). We made sure we had enough time to grab gelato before touring the Contrada. Everything was so incredibly beautiful and in every room I felt like royalty. Then we got a couple hours of free time to roam around and do whatever. We took LOTS of pictures and maybe even got gelato again. (We couldn't resist, we found a place that had the freshest, most authentic looking gelato and they had banana flavor, which we had never seen before. We just wanted to try it but they lady wouldn't let us sample, so we just all chipped in and bought a little one to share.) We sat on the steps of the main square, bird/people watching and I felt like I was in a movie. Then we had a sleepy ride back home before dinner. Heidi (friend who goes to Vanderbilt) and I were craving salads. (I'm actually starting to get sick of pasta and bread - if that's possible - it's just so hard when you're surrounded by the best of it and feel like you need to try it all). But after a bit of a search, we finally found a salad place where we could redeem our meal vouchers. So the two of us had a "lady-date" and even got fruit salad for dessert. (Can you tell we are fruit and veggie deprived?) It was such a relaxing and refreshing end to the evening. Then I went home, and got to bed the earliest yet, and boy did it feel great.