Siena

April 22, 2019

Left the castle (😢) and made our way to Rome, with a stopover at Siena.

I’d almost forgotten that this day started out a little stressful. But it’s now a laughable story and a fond memory. Quick backstory: Most historical city centers in Italy (like Florence) are ZTL zones, meaning you need a special permit to drive into the city. If you go past the boundary, even by accident, you get charged an expensive fine. So best to get into the designated parking areas before you even hit any of the border markers. But as it was all our first time driving through the Tuscan countryside, and with 3 overly cautious backseat drivers (aka the women in the family) saying different things to an already flustered driver (sorry kuya!!), we ended up driving past the parking facility. The entrance was completely nondescript, so we didn’t even realize we missed the entrance until we were faced with the ZTL sign. We were driving down a one-way road and the roads were too narrow to attempt a u-turn anyway. We were dumbstruck, to say the least. Then Mike got out of the van and basically trafficked and guided our car to drive in reverse (luckily we were the only car who drove past the parking lot) and helped my brother join the line for parking.

Duomo di Siena was majestic! It was such a visual feast I didn’t know where to look first. One of Italy’s Gothic wonders, the cathedral is unlike any other I’ve seen. Photos don’t do it justice at all. The beauty of this cathedral is in the details. Everything was just so fine and intricate. It amazes me how they’re able to maintain and take care of such an old building. (It was built in the mid-12th century and took over 200 years to build!) Totally worth the stressful parking experience. lol

Watch video recap here.

Ciao, castello! Grazie mille xx

Pre-ZTL fiasco lol

Romulus and Remus

Mike’s power stance whenever he takes photos at my eye-level lol

Returning our rental. Thank you for the fun(ny) adventures!