Day 10 - Journey to Siena

Day 10 started with a surprise cancellation of class. We had planned on having class in the morning before moving out to go to Siena, but the Villa had to boot us out earlier so that the rooms could be cleaned for the incoming wedding. We hastily got our things together and stowed them in the basement.

Day-bags in hand, we grabbed a quick lunch and headed to the train station. There, we met up with Fr. Paris, a Jesuit who was joining us on the trip and will be continuing to be with us sporadically in Rome. In total, the travel time door-to-door was about 3.5 hours from Rome to Siena. 

View from the top of the hill above the train station

After climbing the Sienese hill by the station, we came to the Hotel Italy, our home for the following few days. Once again being the only guy, I was given a room for two.

The maid actually made the two beds up as one queen the following morning, so I had one large bed instead of a separate twin.

I opened my window to discover a private terrace. I never used it, but it was kind of neat to have.

After getting settled, Prof. Coolman and Fr. Paris took us for a stroll into Old Siena to get our bearings. With a free day the following day, they wanted us to have some sense of where we were and where we could go.

We had dinner at the Piazza del Campo, the location of the famous Sienese "Palio", a horse race held twice a year between rival sections of the city. The menu included various forms of boar, a common Sienese treat. I discovered at that dinner that I did in fact enjoy boar.

Tomorrow, we have a free day to go do as we please around Siena.

Thus ends the 10th day.