The Second Week: Siena, San Gimignano, and Hiking in Sesto

I have so much to update you on since my post last week! It is incredible how much adventuring I have done the past five days - all of which I am loving. Where did I leave off....


Thursday was our first Florentine-Renaissance Art History trek into Florence. I feel so privileged to be taking an art history course here and seeing the works in person each week. We started at the Medici Palace, a 15th century building in the heart of Florence. The outside was subdued but large, as the Medici family didn't want to display their affluence too much to the city. However, the inside was a totally different story! They definitely flaunted their riches and power in their courtyard, personal chapel, and other main areas too. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the Chapel of the Maji, but this small area was packed from head to toe with beautiful frescos that created one giant image around the room. The artist juxtaposed history and religion, as well as realism and fantasy which made for an intricate, interesting work. We passed through other rooms of the palace, and then walked across the street to San Lorenzo church. It was pretty neat, but once again no pictures allowed. Darn Italians and their preservation. I spent the rest of my afternoon walking around Florence, and ended up having a relaxing night walking around Sesto. I knew our trip to Siena was going to come early the next morning and had rugby practice afterward so I decided to get a good night of sleep.

Medici Palace Courtyard 

Medici Palace Gardens

Inside the Palace

Medici Palace from the Street - Very Plain Compared to the Inside!

Friday we headed to Siena around 8 and had an hour and a half bus ride. It went by pretty fast, but when we got there it was super foggy! Walking into town we couldn't see views from hilltops, but fortunately that cleared up later in the afternoon. We first went to the Duomo in Siena, and ended up going inside the cathedral as well. The interior was stunning! One of my favorite parts was the connected Libreria Piccolomini, a library that was created to house and preserve Pope Pius II's book collection (his nephew was bishop of the church). We also went to the Museo dell'Opera of the Duomo, which housed tons of Sienese art works, including statues and the Duccio's Maestà, a painting some of you may be familiar with. We couldn't take pictures of it, but if you google image it it may ring a bell. This altarpiece also had about 50 smaller portraits on the back depicting Christ's life. These, along with the main front of the painting, used a really tradition style with many gold accents.  

We then went to the plazza in the center of Siena, which I have to say I really, really adored, It's grand, open, and really stunning for that reason. It's slanted down into the center and in a shell shape, with the town hall and adjoined tower (Torre del Mangia) at the bottom. After eating some lunch we went into the town hall to view some frescos, many dating from the 13th century, depicting good and bad government and some slight glorification of Siena's conquering.

We walked back to the bus (all pretty exhausted already) and headed to San Gimignano, a small town about an hour away. We were told it was home to some of the best gelato in the world...I was excited to say the least. Prior to getting there I had no idea what to expect, but found a medieval town on top of gorgeous hills. There were so many old stone structures and I was loving it. We found the gelato place near the center of the town, and it did not dissapoint. So wonderful! The coffee and creamy vanilla with chocolate chunk things hit the spot. We had about an hour to wander around here, and I ended up buying some local white wine (more expensive, but well worth it). 

We got back to the villa a little before dinner, so I got changed for rugby and headed downstairs. I drank about three cups of coffee to energize myself for practice right after. It must have worked, because I felt ready to go at practice! I ended up getting back pretty late that night (11:30), and fell asleep right away after a long, but wonderful,16 hour day.

The Cathedral in Sienna

It Was Pretty Foggy That Morning...

Inside the Cathedral/Duomo

Inside Museo dell'Opera

Libreria Piccolomini 

Beautiful Frescos in the Library

Ceiling Work - SO intricate! 

Walking Out of the Duomo

Piazza del Campo

Palazzo Pubblico (Town Hall)

Lunch in the Plaza

View from Hilly Street in Siena

View of Siena - Once the Fog Cleared!

San Gimignano 

Entering San Gimignano

Well in Center of Town

The World Famous Gelato Place?

Definitely Delicious. Mmmm.

What a View!

Saturday: I got up feeling pretty well rested, and went into Sesto to the market! There were SO many stands and tons of people - especially cute little Italian kids with their parents. I was a fan. Things at the market were super reasonable, and I ended up getting a sweater (the villa is really cold inside) and a pair of jeans since I didn't pack enough of them. I spent all late morning/afternoon there and walking around Sesto. That night I was planning on going into Florence, but the packer game was at 2am my time so it would have been a waste of money to go into the city for only an hour or two. Instead, I went to a place called Drunk in Sesto. I know it sounds like some stupid American bar - but it was super packed with Italians and the crowd was a little older than us. A group of about six girls got drinks and just sat and talked for about two or three hours. I made it back in time for the game, but only toughed it out for the first half. At 4 am I called it quits and went to bed, but am ecstatic the packers won!


Sunday we had brunch at the villa at 10:30, and then I went hiking with my friend Amy. We decided from the start we were going to get to the top of the Sesto hills no matter what....and we did! Our entire trip to the summit and back was five hours long, but well worth it. Along the way the view just got better and better, and we did some off path hiking in a few spots (i.e. walking through thorny plants, no trails, and mud). But, it got us to some awesome random places like a little waterfall! Definitely felt like Lewis and Clark at times, making our way through the unknown. At the top we took a twenty minute break for lunch, with a surreal view below us. We then decided to take a totally different way back, clueless of where we would end up. But, our instincts (and/or dumb luck) managed to get us back to the bottom near our starting point ...after a small trespassing detour through someone's backyard. It was an awesome, memorable adventure! 

Early on in the Hike...

Waterfall! (Hard to Tell, I Know)

Hiking Buddies, Timed Pic Attempt #2 (First Time My Camera Fell)  

Getting Higher!

Remember this House From the First Picture?

Random Human Made Rock Pile - We Added To It :)

Typical Terrain

Almost there...

At the Top!! 

Literally in the Clouds..the Dark Figures Are Other Mountain Tops!

Random Locked Gate (But We Snuck Around It On The Way Down...)

Beautiful Hillside Woods Heading Down

This coming week will consist of some exciting schoolwork -- but then a group of us are heading to Bologna and Verona for the weekend. I can't wait to do some more traveling, and will be blogging about it when I get back :)