We have two lists going for our time in Tuscany. You know that, as far as hobbies are concerned, list-making is second only to traveling for me. The first lists things to do in Florence and the second lists day trips around the region. Unfortunately, fortunately, however you see it, this being Florence, the first list is literally inexhaustible. So who knows how often we’ll pull ourselves away from the vortex of Renaissance splendor that is Florence. But we knew that Siena was a must, top of the list.

I’m here to tell you that Siena is a must, top of the list type place. Florence is already dear to my heart, and don’t even get Radek started, so we won’t go in for all the rivalry and comparisons. But Siena is a lovely, twisty turny, up and down, vistas sneaking up around the corner type place.

My favorite sight, the Duomo, blew me away with it’s zebra striped interior. Fresh off of a trip to the Middle East, we couldn’t help but see the Byzantine/Arabic influence. It’s the most mosque-y cathedral that I’ve ever seen.

Otherwise, Siena is not too big on sights. It’s more of a meandering, narrow city, where the real joy is following random streets with no destination in mind. The problem with this strategy was the temperature. It wasn’t much of a day for lingering outdoors. The narrow streets don’t let in much sun and they all seem to become vicious wind-tunnels. It’s hard for me to appreciate much when I’m cold, so this says a lot for Siena that we wandered for hours spellbound by it’s charming streets, winding up and down and looking for that perfect view and hopefully a warm patch of sunlight.