Shea and Tommy atop the Torre del Mangia
We spotted this building as
we were leaving Sienna
A blurry picture of the David
(photos weren't allowed)
Day 10: Saturday, April 14, 2007
Siena & The David
Siena is a little town that is locked in time. As you walk the streets, you feel like you've been taken back to medieval days. Most of the streets are lined with flags displaying one of 17 crests and color schemes. Each area belongs to a faction of people that are incredibly loyal to their neighbors. Twice a year the factions compete in horse race called the Palio around the Piazza del Campo. It was this location that we made our way to after our bus arrived around noon. The piazza is a large seashell-shaped area with a castle and tower on one end. We hung out in the piazza for a while then decided to climb the tower. The Torre del Mangia has 500 steps. We were weary when we reached the top, but we were rewarded with an incredible view of Siena and the Tuscan countryside.
After making our way down from the tower, we visited the museum in the castle then headed off to find some lunch. We found a place that was recommended in our guide, but it didn't open for another 30 minutes. To kill some time, we stopped in at the Museo de Tortura (Torture Museum). The museum was made up of two floors filled with all sorts of torture devices. It was kind of a depressing way to spend 30 minutes, but interesting nonetheless.
We walked back over to our chosen restaurant and grabbed a table. For our primi Court ordered gnocchi and Nick ordered a type of fat spaghetti. Both were excellent. For our secondi, we shared a beef steak marinated in chianti, also great.
Our bus was scheduled to leave at about 16:00 so we shopped around Siena a bit more then went and hung out in a nearby park until our bus arrived. It took us back to Florence where we anticipated one of the highlights of our trip. When the bus dropped us off, Shea, Tommy and Caitlin went back to the hostel to check into a new room and Courtney and Nick headed toward the museum that houses one of the greatest artistic works of all time — Michelangelo's David. Once the Jones' caught back up, we entered the museum. As we made our way down the front walk-way the David towered in front of us. The enormous statue is positioned beneath a translucent dome that allows natural light to cascade down its surfaces. We stood in awe for at least an hour. Michelangelo's work is absolutely breathtaking; not just because it's enormous but because of the artist's attention to detail. An observer can see every vein and muscle in the statue, as if it were alive. After seeing the David, we felt as if everything else we could witness would pale in comparison. This was a part of our trip we will never forget.
After heading back from the museum, we enjoyed a relaxing but uneventful night in a coffee shop near our hostel.