Back in Siena

Our trip from Denver to Siena was not without incident.  The British Airways flight from Denver to London was comfortable, despite lasting nearly 9 hours—the plane was not crowded and we were able to share a bank of three seats between us, so there was some room to spread out. We did, however, envy those guys in the bed seats up front, but still, we arrived in London feeling pretty well.

Heathrow is an incredible crossroads of humanity.  Our layover was a little long, but allowed for great people watching. Because the airport is so busy, our connecting flight was delayed over an hour, however.

Although we had been promised a personal pickup at the Rome airport, none of the “men with placards” outside Customs had our name.  Our iPhones wouldn’t work, so we had to buy an expensive phone card to call the car company representative.  His English was about as good as our Italian (which is minimal at best, and comes out mostly in Spanish).  About an hour after emerging from Customs, we ended up schlepping our bags (we don’t travel light, as we should) quite a distance, across traffic lanes and parking lots to a waiting van, where our guy stood outside a van holding a placard with our name—the only person in sight in the dark holding something up.  What were they thinking?  Why wasn’t he inside like all the others?  Oh, well, alls well that ends well; he took us to the leasing agency which stayed open late to accommodate us.

It was past 8:00 pm before we pulled out of the dealership.  Our GPS decided to take us through the countryside rather than on major roads, and being totally in the dark so to speak, we didn’t have enough sense to override it.  As a consequence, we didn’t arrive in Siena until nearly midnight.  Fortunately, our hosts, Marzia and Lorenzo, waited for us quite patiently and met us at a parking area close to the apartment. (Because cars are restricted within the walls of the old city, we had to park about 1 kilometer from the apartment—and that’s one kilometer up two very steep hills—remember the too much luggage part?

View from our bedroom window

Our street--Via Santa Catarina--and yes it is as steep as it looks.

The apartment is a delight—quite large and airy, although it too presents a challenge, being on the third floor and up 35 or so stairs (remember the too much luggage part?)  We both crashed soon after our hosts said goodnight and slept for nearly 12 hours.

Marzia had fortunately provided a list of recommended restaurants, so our goal on our first outing when we woke up was to find one of them.  We decided to head for Osteria Nonna Gina (Grandmother Gina’s Café.) What a great discovery and delight, and what an appropriate welcome to Italy.

 Though the restaurant was filled with locals (with reservations and we had none), we were greeted with warmth and hospitality. The young waitress was very patient with our halting Italian, and kept apologizing for what was her considerably better English. We started with a liter of the house Chianti that arrived in a crumbling raffia basket. Delicious and oh so smooth, much smoother than most Chiantis we have had in the U.S.  Next to arrive was Nonna Gina’s Antipasto—perhaps one of the best dishes we have ever tasted anywhere.  Grilled and marinated vegetables, including zucchini, eggplant, artichoke, tomatoes, and onions—all smothered in a wonderfully spiced olive oil.  Crusty bread made short work of that olive oil and we oohed and aahed our way through it all.  The fettuccine with porcini mushrooms and grilled pork on a bed of radicchio that followed were also scrumptious.  What a feast ! Although full to bursting, we couldn’t resist the tiramisu.  Maybe the liter of Chianti had something to do with our appetite.

Osteria Nonna Gina--oh what a wonderful place!

After that we waited for the check, but our waitress had another surprise—as a thank you from the owners, a big bottle of grappa and another of Amaretto is delivered to every table along with the check. We were told to avail ourselves freely. Good idea on their part--we will happily return to Nonna Gina’s, as we know many do.

It is so nice to be back in Siena—we remember some things and places (we were here in 2000), and we are discovering new places and scenes. The weather so far has been clear and brisk, with highs in the 50’s and lows in the 30’s, but the sky is very blue and the sun seems to be warmer every day.  Italians are ebullient, social people and it is a joy to walk around amongst them.  The beautiful, ancient architecture is magical and it seems around every corner there is yet another wonder to behold.  Feels good to be alive and drinking in the atmosphere.

Siena's Il Campo Piazza with Il Torre di Mangia.

 We’ll keep you posted as we wander on foot and by car.  Our best to all.  Arrivederci  !!