Arrival

We were met at the gate by a representative from Renault and after we signed a few more documents for our brand-new Laguna, “Johnny” gave us a quick tour of the car and we were off. (Short-term leasing is certainly the way to go if you are going to be using a car for more than two and a half weeks.)

We thought about taking a leisurely drive north from Rome to Siena by going up the coast (A12) instead of the Autostrada but in the end we opted to take the quickest route largely as a consequence of feeling somewhat tired -- plus we had to stop and get gas soon since Renault only provides enough petrol in the car at pickup (for safety reasons) and it was suggested that the nearest petrol station was on the ring road around Rome near the exit from Fiumicino so we off we went. After filling up we naturally got snarled in rush hour traffic – there is also major construction going on widening the ring road and we were pretty much in it up to our necks until we got off onto the A1 heading to Firenze.

We stopped at an Autogrill service plaza where we had a couple of panini’s and caffe and then stopped at another service plaza about a half hour later so we could take a short nap – really only a stretch and eye closure ceremony but it served to renew us for the final stage.

The A1 is in great shape, we made great time (of course the Germans and Austrians in their large German cars made even better time as they whizzed past us) and cost a little more than 8 euros for the trip; overall it took us three and a half hours but that was with three stops, two of which were perhaps about 30 minutes each.

We got off at the Sinalunga-Siena-Bettole exit and followed the signs to Siena. This section of the road has been widened to 4-lane since we were here in June of 2001, although a couple of short stretches are still “in process.”

We found Le Meridiane with no problem – the streets and turns came back to us rather quickly and as it turned out we had directions – and were met by Alva, the caretaker. She speaks virtually no English but is a very kind and amiable soul. Our packages from FedEx had not arrived but we set about unpacking what we had brought with us and then crashed for a couple of hours.

After a nap we changed clothes and headed into the centro storico (the historical center) of Siena for the rest of the evening. It was chilly but clear and we couldn’t help but comment on how at home we felt. Although it had been nearly four years since we were even in Siena and nearly seven since we had spent any time hear everything came back as it had been yesterday: the streets, the alleyways, the shops and ristoranti (some new some changed, some gone), it felt, feels wonderful.

We found an Internet café, part of the Internet Train, a chain of Internet shops throughout Italy, near the Piazza del Campo, (on Via Pantaneto, 54 (ph 0577 247 460) and after speaking with one of the very friendly and helpful staff purchased a user’s card (as students we received a discount as well) of two hours’ time (and which we could use throughout the country) and sat down to send off a few emails. Internet Train also has a bank of computers at Via di Citta, 121 as well.)

We then stopped at the Consorzio Agrario Siena (one of the two largest market inside city center) where bought some water, some bananas and some ricciarelli cookies to take home with us; tomorrow, Saturday we will do our major shopping. We then headed to an early dinner -- it was only about 7 PM-- at Osteria Le Logge (Via del Porrione 33, 53100 Siena, ph 0577 48013, email is osterialelogge@tin.it). We had eaten at Le Logge twice before, in 1998 and again in 1999 and not only has the food gotten better but the service was in a word, superb. All the dishes were very creative and well prepared.

We had a quiet walk back to where our car was parked, near the fortezza. Walking through the silent streets of Siena reminded both of us why we come back here again and again, you can almost feel your peace of mind. For myself, of all the places I have ever lived or visited, large city or small, I have never felt as comfortable or as safe as when I am in Siena. It sounds like a cliché but there you have it.