SIENA

THE PROBLEM AND PLEASURES OF EUROPEAN CITIES

Italy is becoming harder and harder to appreciate in a world were travel far and wide has become accessible to anyone with a valid passport.  Sites that once were hot tickets on our "to see" list have been striped of their charm with shoulder to shoulder overcrowding, selfie sticks, and required entry tickets into places that once were free.  We've given up on Florence and Venice and limit our time in Rome to no more than 2 to 3 days because we need to fly into someplace and we can't resist the shopping, but we don't go anywhere near the Coliseum or the Vatican.

For the last several years the pages of our itinerary book have focused on smaller destination; the hill towns of Tuscany, the lesser known villages of the Netherlands, anywhere not listed on the bus tours or that are inaccessible by cruise ships. Siena is one city on the verge of being dropped from our list of destinations but with our newbie JoHannah in tow we decided that an early morning site seeing trip to Siena would still be doable.

Driving to Siena from Armena takes about twenty minutes on the S2, a winding two lane road, through fields of sunflowers and beautiful vistas.

We've been parking in the same lot near Il Campo ever since we got lost trying to get back to our car several years ago. Rick and Emmy were coming from one direction and the rest of us coming from another. This was pre-cellphones and neither group could find the other or the car. Emmy's fear of being lost went into a full tears stage. Now we no longer need to leave a trail of breadcrumbs to get us back but we've never tried parking anywhere else fearful of losing the car or one of our fellow travelers. It's a bit of an uphill hike coming back but the price of getting a little winded seems a better choice than the tears of a lost comrade.

We arrived early enough to have avoided the major heat of the day. Temperatures were to rise into the nineties by early afternoon. At about ten in the morning it was still cool enough in the shade for some local sages to congregate under the statue of the famed priest and economist, Salustio Bandini to discuss how to save the world's trade deficits or which local church has the best bingo parties.

Siena is broken up into districts as are most of the towns of Tuscany but the districts of Siena are perhaps the most famous because of the Palio, a bareback horse race held twice during the summer. Riders and horses are selected for each district and the winner of the race brings huge bragging rights to the neighborhood that produces the winner. Thousands of the faithful cram themselves into the center ring of Il Campo to watch the race much like revelers in Times Square for New Years. It all requires a love for strangers, a lack of claustrophobia and a pair of DEPENDS.

The symbolism of the Palio can be seen throughout Siena as the districts are marked with graphic flags and animal mascots. The flags only come out for special occasions but the animal symbols are evident year round hidden in the architecture of the city.

Some are down right scary. I'm not sure if this one was a goat, or a lamb or a rat or a combination of all three but I am sure it would not be the district with which I'd want to be associated.

Then there are some that are so subtle you have to look very close to even see that they are there. This centuries old grate with dragon heads lets you know how long this tradition has been in effect.

Wandering through the streets of Siena is as stimulating as a walk through any museum. Every alley can become a painting as striking as a Monet and as lush as a Gauguin.

The palette of pastels could have been inspiration for Toulouse-Lautrec and the infinity of perspective is like being lost in an Escher drawing where your eye can go endlessly in circles chasing a beginning and finding no end.

As much as I pushed for a return trip to the Duomo and its striped marble detail with my crowd it was going to be shopping and food that were going to win out.

Well I might have had something to do with it as well. Our Dutch friend, Laura, and I found these perfect travel bags. I've decided to call mine a bag and let Laura identify hers as a purse. The outside pockets hold a cellphone on one side and a change compartment on the other while inside there are slots for fourteen cards, a place for a pen and what quickly became an empty compartment from all the money I used to buy my bag.

No shopping would be complete with out hitting a few clothing stores and both Rick and I found a store we both liked. Rick bought the jacket and I bought the vest to add to my collection. Our suitcases are growing in size, once again challenging the weight limited imposed by the airlines.

Before we headed back to the pool in Armena we sought out a restaurant our friend Mirando had recommended, one where he knew the chef. We're never about to pass up a recommendation from a local and especially not from someone as knowledgeable as Mirando, the movie star and taste controller for one of  Montalcino's Brunello wineries.

It was pasta all around but the pici was particularly excellent. Lunch at two in the afternoon is so civilized.  But here let me add that Rick ate all of his and two-thirds of JoHannah's and back at the pool we didn't even see a muffin top over his bathing suit!

There's only one way to top off a lunch like that: a stop at a gelatoria where I indulged in cup of stracchiatella and licorice gelato that everyone else thought was disgusting but I loved.

And we still made it back to the pool in time for a good two hours of late afternoon sun. Ah, Armena!