Siena/San Gimignano/Pisa: Italy is sweet

Original title right? I'm going to jump right into this because there's a lot to cover. We arrived in Siena around 1030 Saturday morning, meaning we woke up around 5am to make our train. Despite the obnoxious process of being awake at such a godforsaken hour the ride wasn't too bad. We watched as the terrain became decreasingly urban and gave way to rolling hills and countryside as far as the eye could see. We stumbled around Siena for a bit looking for our hostel (bed and breakfast actually), but it was not terrible. Siena is absolutely gorgeous and, as it's located at the top of a hill, overlooks the countryside and all of it's beauty. We walked across the town in about 10-15 min (its only a mile long) and found our B&B right outside the walls of Siena, which circumvent the whole city. The place was called Casa di Alfredo and in addition to its prime location, it turned out to be really nice as well. After checking in, we found a bike rental right inside the walls that cost 5 euro for the whole day.

We rode around the city and found a restaurant called Pizzeria di Nono which was recommended by various travel books and the like. They turned out to know their stuff as the restaurant look off over a horizon of medieval houses and properties on the hill across from us. After the delectable meal, we proceded to ride our bikes out of Siena down the side of the hill and try to venture into the countryside that looked so beautiful from above...unfortunately we found out that the city and the country are separated by an extensive highway and road system that would've been far more dangerous to traverse than we had intended. Looking back up the hill and thinking about the arduous task of riding all of the way back up, we decided to try and ride around the base of the city to ascend back up the hill...we made a series of wrong turns and ended up having to climb a ridiculous number of staircases and even take an elevator to get ack to Siena, bikes in-hand. When we got back to the top we explored the center of Siena, Piazza il Campo. We got a well deserved gelato from supposedly the best gelato maker in Europe (it was very good, but not the best...Giolitti in Rome...maybe i'm biased) returned the bikes and took a little nap at our hostile to recover from the workout.

We went back out that night to Trattoria Papei, another restaurant recommended by some publication. The food was excellent, but it was the restaurant itself that made the meal unforgettable. The wait staff was friendly and conversational. Our waiter's name was Mario and he treated us to sarcastic quips about Rome as well as free dessert wine and biscotti. We told them we had plans to go to a jazz club after, but he told us that we should go to a bar called Caffe del Corso, as the jazz club was f***** g** (i'll leave it to your imagination to fill in the blanks). It turned out to be just a regular bar with no seats and a long bartop, except there was a DJ in the corner playing amazing party throwbacks (that had probably just gotten to Italy). We were the only Americans and it ended up being a great end to a phenomenal day.

We woke up early Sunday morning to catch our train to San Gimignano at 915...except the train left at 845. The next train left at 1140, so we went back into Siena for a little bit to kill time. We found a Foot Locker that had cool shoes and apparel in it so I spent some money there (sorry to the rents). We caught the train and found ourselves in San Gimignano around 1pm. It was even more beautiful than Siena. Although there wasn't much to do in San Gimignano, just seeing it just amazing. While trying to find a way to occupy time there, we heard music in the distance, and decided to try to find out where it was coming from. It turned out to be coming towards us, as Sunday marked the first day of Carnivale, the ancient Italian celebration that proceeds lent (known to us as Mardi Gras). There was a huge parade and people dressed in costumes everywhere throwing confetti. The video below pretty much sums it up.

After the Carnivale in San Gimignano, we had to get back to the train station to go to Pisa. When we arrived in Pisa, we had about an hour and ten minutes to get to the leaning tower and back before our train back to Rome would depart, so we had to power walk (two workouts in two days...yikes). We saw the tower, although the pictures can't do it justice as it was nighttime already. After trying to look like I was holding up the tower like everyone does I gave up and booked it back to the train station, stopping only for falafel (the only thing I would ever stop for). We made our train by mere minutes and made it home safe and sound.

I had an amazing time and really want to go back, but I doubt i'll have the time with all the other travel plans I have. I just booked a bunch of flights, and am set to depart for Paris Friday morning. Let the jealously ensue.