One last day in Siena

Another leisurely morning – this time I brought Susie a cappuccino in bed and I returned back downstairs to sip an “espresso doppio” and work on some travel notes.

Our mornings in Siena continue to be leisurely – aside from connecting up with friends we have little planned: just drifting, walking around the city, exploring old haunts.

So after breakfast – which consisted in part of pastries from the nearby Peccati di Gola, operated by Roberto Bechi’s cousin Monica and her husband Antonio Betti, who is one of the best pasticerrie in the city – we strolled into the city, heading straight for the internet point to check email.

After a quick scan online we pack the computer up, pay and walk out the door. We visit another of our favorite spots: the view of San Domenico from Via di Diacceto (photo below).

We then strolled past San Domenico to the fortezza and through the weekly mercato (market). Here you can find an enormous outdoor department store operated by dozens and dozens of independent vendors who travel the country in specially designed vans selling everything from women’s underwear to pots and pans to specialty food items.


(OK, the photo above is a cat that was sitting in the very same spot in the fall of 2005 near the synogogue off of via degli Archi.)

It was soon time for lunch and we picked a spot off of Via Camollia, Ristorante Vitti. Formerly a rosticceria, selling prepared foods to go, they now have a rather large outdoor seating area. Sadly it’s parked right in front of one of the more interesting bits of statuary in the neighborhood. Also the food was no better than average we thought.

After finishing our wine, we paid the bill and walked out into the sunshine, strolling down Banchi di Sopra in the direction of the Piazza del Campo. For no particular reason Iw anted to pop into Feltrinelli’s bookstore – not the textbook, Italian-only store but the other one that hawks foreign-language papers out front. A few minutes later Susan came up to me as I was browsing histories of Siena (there aren’t many in any language) and said she thought she saw Romano, an old acquaintance. I first stumbled across Romani in 2005 when I was out one day exploring the city on my own. He thought I was lost and in very good, very British English asked if he could help. Well one thing led to another and he began regaling me with incredible stories about Siena – he was born and raised there. Siena being such a small place we would occasionally run into one another and he would always have news of great importance that he wanted to share.

The three of us chatted for awhile in the bookshop – Romano, who was born in 1938, is always well-dressed and looks quite the literary type with a scarf flung around his neck as if it’s always catching the wind. Most importantly he warned me about purchasing the slip of a history book on Siena and recommended one that I already had at home! He also gave me another recommendation but sadly it’s out of print.

So we said “ciao” to Romano, at least until next time, and headed for the Campo. We bought a gelato and strolled through the Piazza heading ever closer to your hotel.

Back to the hotel and relaxed until we met up with Roberto at nearby Peccati di Gola where we chatted and said a “final” arrivederci.

After Peccati we walked the hazardous 200 meters back to the hotel, enjoyed a glass of wine in the garden at dusk just savoring the Tuscan countryside one last time.

Around dusk we headed back into Siena to stop by Aimone’s shop one last time. The three of us go next door to Bar Quattro Cantoni for an aperitif and naturally talk about one thing and another, but mostly about wine and food.

After saying arrivederci to Aimone Susie and I walked around the corner to Via San Pietro down to Via Castelvecchio and to the Ristorante Castelvecchio, where we had an incredibly delicious meal in our own proivate dining area: not one other person came in the entire evening.

Afterwards we strolled through the clear, cool night air, down the half-dark, quiet city streets and past through the Valdimontone Contrada where all their flags were flying and the lights were all on – what gives here we wondered?

Once we get back to the hotel we ask for two glasses of Averna and go out into the garden again, to enjoy the quiet of this wonderful city and the distant lights in the direction of Monte Amiata.

Wish you had been there,

Steve