Florence & Siena - Cultural Heart of Italy

Our hostel in Florence - Archi Rossi
see all photos »

Following a day of rest and laundry/planning on Saturday in Rome, we almost slept through our alarm and barely made it to our 07:11 train!  After a 2 hour ride we made it to Florence's Santa Maria Novella station (take note that there is often more than 1 station in each city and choosing the wrong one can add hours and many Euro to the trip!). We love the Self Service train ticket kiosks at the stations - you can really compare and contrast the different options in terms of speedy (expensive) v.s. slower (cheaper) ones - without having to deal with the likely attitude of the manned counter attendants!

The garden at Archi Rossi
see all photos »

The area around the station looked a little dodgy but turned out to be fine.  Our hostel (see review) was about 5 minutes walk away and again we were very pleasantly surpised by its quality and facilities.  Although we couldn't check in until late afternoon we left our bags in their Left Luggage area and walked into the town.  First stop was supposed to have been The Academy but the lines at 10am were almost around the block and the entry fee was also quite steep since, like the Vatican Museum, we would have had only limited time and would probably only rush through to see The David (the original!) - but a good enough reason to return at a later date!  Next on our walking route was the Duomo (cathedral) - amazing size and exterior decoration but the interior was quite plain (hard to live up to St. Peter's!).  Our next stop was Piazza Del Signoria, which turned out to be one of our favourite squares in Italy so far - with a fantastic grouping of sculptures including the Rape of the Sabine Women, Perseus and the Death of Medusa, and a copy of The David.  The vaunted Uffizi gallery is just around the corner but again we felt a little intimidated by the lines (seperate for each room) and reluctant to break the bank with such limited time to enjoy the artworks. Instead we wandered to the banks of the Arno River and the famous Ponte Vecchio (the bridge that has been built up over centuries with tons of gold and jewelery stores on the bridge itself).  Sadly many of the shops were closed (Sunday) but it was still enjoyable to see.  We walked up to the Boboli Gardens (again the €7 entry fee per person was off-putting...it really feels like the Italians are out to milk you for every cent you own which is not a great feeling on a budget trip!) and then back to the hostel to unpack in our dorm (we had a very nice bunk separated from the others by a wall).  We grabbed some dinner from the local supermarket, met a few fellow dorm-mates briefly and then crashed.

Two Days in Tuscany - We needed Two Weeks!

A first glimpse of the Duomo in Florence
see all photos »

Monday saw us on an early bus to Siena, the city that has historically competed with Florence economically, socially, and militarily.  It was a nice double-decker bus so the 2 hour ride gave some very scenic views of the Tuscan countryside.  Siena itself was super - very medieval in character with steep winding cobbled streets, colourful piazzas, and unexpected views around every corner.  We started at the Gothic style San Domenico church, the resting place of the head and thumb of St Catherine (Siena's patron saint) - this business of keeping bodily remains as holy relics takes some getting used to, especially when you are confronted by preserved heads! Denise joined a German tour in progress and gave us the info on the Saint and the church.  Our next stop was Piazza Del Campo, where the semiannual Palio horse race is run.  Nice spot to grab a quick drink, rest your feet, and study the tourist maps (the Tourism Office is based there).  The Palazzo Publico (town hall) is impressive, and the 102m tower looked liked it would be a fun climb and view, but for €7 each (almost double what we paid to climb St. Peter's cupola) it was never really an attractive option.  The Duomo was also impressive - we took the full Audio Tour and the Piccolomoni Library (inside the Duomo) is really special with its massive illuminated manuscripts.  After a quick pizza slice, some pasta, and a choc brownie (wow that was great!) we stretched out under a tree to wait for our return bus.  That evening back at the Hostel was very festive - with 5 bottles of red wine and a few beers between 4 of us.  Denise even tried her first ever water pipe (shisha).  Thanks to Matt (from Chicago) and Charlie (from Toronto) for a very fun (if somewhat punishing) night!