So when I get up, the first thing I do is turn on my computer and especially when I get up early like yesterday and today because it is only 11:15 at home. When I opened my browser this morning to facebook and saw that Alabama is still in the running for the National Championship I was SHOCKED!!!!!!!!! I scrolled through facebook and everyone was talking about Iowa St. beating Oklahoma St. and how there is going to be a re-match between LSU and Alabama in the National Championship and I was slightly freaking out!! I called my momma and they had no clue...they hadn't even known the game was on! Then, it hit me...OMG I'll probably be in New York City for the National Championship game...WHAT?!?!? I mean I am so freaking excited to be in NYC, but I would have wanted to at least be IN New Orleans for the game. BUMMER!!! Oh well....that's life I suppose...I've always found a way to DO IT ALL...but this will be one time I wont be able to! **However later after I got home, I saw that Neal said he would go watch it with me...and I'll see if Fran wants to go or something!! I'll share my FAVORITE thing with them!!!** Mike Beers claims that he was going to give me his other ticket, etc....I dont believe him...though now I guess we will never know because I wont be there anyway!
So after that I had my breakfast...a plain muffin. Hmm...I had never seen anything like it...no flavor...just "muffin". Again, better than the alternative. Then I got dressed (warmer today- light turtle neck, cardigan, UA columbia fleece, coat, white thick scarf, jeans, UGGS...with two pairs of socks, and my black head wrap thing). MUCH warmer...and cozier; and today I decided to bring my purse rather than my backpack...it's just so much easier to get things out of the purse than the backpack!
I eventually headed out into the cold...a few minutes later than I should have! As I was coming to the park, I noticed what looked like vendors setting up. However, it was not. It was actually individuals doing more of like a really large yard sale. So, the question I have been wondering this whole time was finally answered; "what do the Italians do when they want to have a yard sale without a yard/how do they get rid of their old stuff?" Haha...Okay so I haven't been wanting to know this, but it was interesting to see. They had literally truckloads...and big set ups and everything (later I saw that it was still set up for Sunday...so i'll probably leave for my walk to the school about 30 minutes early tomorrow so that I can stop and see what they have...).
I took the short cut to the station and when I was walking in I'm pretty sure I saw Natalie, Fiona's roommate, but I was in such a hurry that I didn't stop. She said Thursday that she was going to Venice with some friends that were flying in, so I'm about 99% sure that was her. I went quickly to the ticket windows and waited (somewhat impatiently) on the people in front of me. Once I got my ticket, I went to the bathroom and then had a few minutes to catch my train. When I did get on the train I happened to walk through the car that had the bathroom...dont think I want to use it unless it's an emergency (I used the one on the train to Rome because it was nicer...). Then we were off...the ride was good! I saw a Shell station...I think this was the first gas station I've seen with a name that I recognize. I fell asleep for maybe 20 minutes or so. As we got closer to Siena I started noticing that the view outside of the train was MUCH better than any of the other cities I have been too! It was much less "spoiled" by factories (though there were some on the way). It was nice to look out and see land and beautiful houses, etc.
When I arrived, I was immediately confused on what to do. I had written down walking directions from the train station, but that was looking like a hassle. Then I noticed a lot of people walking across the street so I followed them. Then i saw signs that lead you to a bus stop below and it said something about a bus to the "centro". So, I followed the signs and found myself at a bus stop. I figured out how to buy the ticket (and thank goodness the machine told you what to do in English for a ticket to the center. Then i was standing there like a lost puppy wondering how I would know which bus to take...so, when one came, and EVERYONE else got on it...I did too! This was my first bus ride here in Italy because I have been walking everywhere. However, once I saw how far the walk would have been, I was SO grateful that I was on the bus.
So when I got off the bus, I just followed the crowd again, down into the city. Thankfully, Siena is well marked for tourist attractions! :) Yay for Siena! Also, they had Christmas lights/decorations hung up...CHRISTMAS!!!! I was in search of "Il Campo" and then the Duomo. These were really the only two things that I felt I MUST see. So, I made my way down what was appearing to be a main street, with A LOT of shopping (mostly high end shopping). I was in search of a bathroom and I saw this nice place that had a decent crowd and what looked like some amazing food! I went in, and I decided that because they had a smaller and cheaper Canolo (canoli), that this would be my treat for myself (though more were to come later...but I didn't know that at the time). So, I got the Canolo Siciliano and I was so excited to try it and mark it off of my "list". It was SOOOO good! :) Yummy, yummy, yummy!!! Fiona was right though, it is just a bit too sweet. However, it was yummy...the outside was crispy and the inside was soft and creamy!
Then, I used the bathroom at this place, which had the nicest stairs that led downstairs...they were marble and twisty! ;) **Today I will talk A LOT about stairs...because I literally climbed OVER 1000 stairs today...I'll explain more as I go**After I left here, I continued down that main road and then I saw some stairs down to the Piazza del Campo.
Wow, they weren't lying in the book...the Piazza is HUGE and really cool how it all slopes down to this one spot right in front of the building.
I was also there pretty early in the morning, so it was pretty empty! :) YAY! I took pictures and walked around for a few minutes. I saw a girl getting water in her water bottle from a spout on the fountain (a popular thing in Italy...but it seems to be safe...and is apparently very good). 
So after I took in the hugeness of this area, I went into the building. I didn't care anything about seeing the museum, so I went to climb the tower. The sign suggested that anyone with certain health issues of claustrophobia not climb it...but how bad could it be?!?!? It also said you had to lock up your stuff and could ONLY take cameras to the top! Hmm...so I climbed the steps (whew) just to the place where you buy tickets. SO, I put my stuff in a locker (#16...my fave) and bought my ticket. Then...I climbed 503 steps to the top of the tower. It's a good thing that heights are not really a fear of mine. 
The claustrophobia was fine...there were a few tight squeezes, but what I was more concerned about was my knees...wow...and like yesterday, what goes up MUST come down! Well, 503 steps later I had a GREAT view of Siena!!! Wow...you could see for miles! I could see hill sides, green fields, mountains, plus the tops of the buildings in the centro! It was beautiful and the sky was perfect today...so blue and sunny! :)
It is breathtaking to see such views.
I mean I LOVE the view from Top of the Rock and such, but there is something about the Tuscan views...it's just different I suppose! I think the main difference is knowing that so much of this has existed for many years before New York City was even thought of...you know like when your parents tell you something happened before you were even thought of!?!?!? Well, that's how Italy is to the U.S. (we are of course the child who wasn't even dreamt of). So after a little time up on top of the tower (you're only supposed to stay 15 minutes) I decided to leave.
As I was I doing this, the bell began to make noise...it was SOOOO loud...and not the actual bell....However, after this I began my decent...I was really nervous about how my knees would handle this! They were definitely throbbing and when i got to the office for my purse, my legs were shaking a little bit. Then, I thought I had somehow dropped my phone, but it had fallen deep inside my coat pocket! I definitely had a mini heart attack because that phone is my link to the outside world. Then I used their bathroom (you ALWAYS take advantage of a free bathroom in Italy!!!). Then I had to go down mooooorrre stairs to get to the ground floor. I'm telling you, today was ALL ABOUT the stairs!!!
When I left the Campo, I sat down and tried to figure out my next plan. I had anticipated doing the "walk" that my travel book laid out so I set off to do that...but immediately hated the idea given that the book's maps SUCK!! So, I turned around and followed the signs to the Duomo (again, thank you Siena for having clear sign and directions to your major attractions...I am eternally grateful!). I was back on the main shopping road. I stopped many times to look at shoes, but never found a pair that I really liked! :( Sad times...but I did go into this shop where they make and handpaint their stuff (a VERY common thing in Siena apparently). However, this man had the stuff laying out in the back where he was working on things and I could see his Kelm (SP?), etc. So, I was in love. I saw the salad utensils from the other day (different handles, etc of course) AND they were half of the price of the ones in Florence...see, I knew it was a good idea to wait. PLUS these were much better (the painting). SO I called my momma to ask her opinion and I ended up getting the ones with the Tuscan house/trees/etc. painted on the handles. I went in and out of the shop twice trying to decide what I wanted to do and then sat down on the floor to look in the basket of utensils. The man probably thought I was CRAZY!! Then, after calling my momma AGAIN, I decided to buy some as gifts for two special people. So after I made my purchases, I was off again!
My next stop was the Duomo. It was very pretty from the outside. So, I went to the ticket office and bought a combination ticket to the museum (and panoramic view tower climb thingy), the Duomo, the Baptistry, and the Crypt (which I never saw for two reasons: 1. Never found it 2. I was STARVING at that point and lost interest). I went to the museum first, but as I dont care that much about some of that stuff, especially if I cannot take a picture, I breezed through a few rooms and began CLIMBING THE STAIRS!!! Now THESE twisty stairs needed a claustrophobia warning! Yuck! However, the view from the top was gorgeous. THEN there was another level with MORE claustrophobic twisty stairs, but again, totally worth it (and I think at this point with the other stairs, the stairs to both of these new twisty stairs, and then the twisty stairs themselves...I'm pretty sure I was at about 800 stairs for the day (and this was all before lunch). The view was just a lower view than the other (Torre de Mangia at the Campo), but that was good because some things were clearer and you got a great view of the Duomo, etc.
As I was leaving the museum part, I went into this little store selling Murano glass and hand painted canvases. The lady was there working. I decided to ask her if she could recommend a good "local" place to eat (local meaning something that the locals go to...not touristy). She was excited to share! She was SO SO SO sweet and wrote down the names and mark it on my map! She said that one of the places was her absolute favorite and that it was not too far away...DONE that was where I was going! First though, I had to go into the Duomo, which was BEAUTIFUL!!! Again, words cannot really describe it, but I will try. It is just AMAZING what they were capable of creating...I mean I know that God orchestrated it all because it is just beyond words!! The grandness of it all and the history and everything is so chunky and heavy looking yet ornate and beautiful with more details than you can imagine...than you can even take in at one time! I am just going to post my favorite picture from inside which is of the dome ceiling.
Also, as I was getting ready to leave the Duomo, my big camera's memory card said it was full! :( Sad times...but at least I have my little Canon and it's a great camera...so I was okay with it! Plus, I had seen all of the major things!! So, I took a few more pictures and left the Duomo. I headed to the Baptistry on my way to lunch. It was beautiful as well...again all of the ornate details and art is just beyond words.
After the Baptistry, I was in search of food. Name of the place in hand, I started walking. I stopped and asked a guy if he knew the place and he pointed me to the Piazza del Campo and told me the name of the tiny street to walk down. I walked down a different street first to see what was there and then went to my tiny street. As i was walking the tiny (yet uphill) street, I stopped again and asked directions because I was unsure of what to do after this street. I had to wait on the man to finish helping this sweet older Italian lady who clearly knew him well, with her papers. It was fun to watch them interact...I even caught a few words here and there! :) Then, it was my turn. He said just to continue on this road and then go up and it was near an arch. Well, I thought up was going to mean stairs, no, but it did mean a VERY steep hill! Then, there it was on my right. It looked very authentic and amazing!!
So here it is: the BEST meal I have had in Italy (well, I did love the Spezzatino and the Ruballita...but this was different). Pictures first, then I'll tell you all about it:
So I went in and sat at this big table with other couples. I mean we were separated, but it was still at one table. The couple to my right seemed nice, but the couple to my left (I will continue by referring to them as "judgy mcjudgersons") were snooty and judgmental looking. Whatever, i did not care that I was by myself OR that they didn't seem to think I belonged there. It was a nice place, not fancy or anything, but nice. It was very old looking with a lot of exposed brick. The waiter was VERY nice and a lot of things on the menu sounded really good!! I decided to order this pasta with chicken and veggies. The exciting part was that it was hand made pasta and it sounded amazing...there was another dish I wanted to try until I realized it said "hare sauce" and i dont want any part of any food with rabbit. Now, if I am being ignorant and this isn't actually rabbit, let me know please! So, I ordered and they brought me my water (naturale...no gassata water for me..) and then they brought this little cup of what I think he said was zucchini soup, but tasted more like cream of broccoli. It was a "welcoming" soup...and it was AMAZING!!! Then, after judgy mcjudgersons had given me some nasty judgemental looks, they finally left (after having food, then dessert, then coffee, then he had grappa...I wanted them to leave so badly). Anyway, I definitely took some pictures while I waited and THEN....my food came! OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That pasta was AMAZING!!! Everything about it, the pasta, the sauce, the veggies, the chicken (though there was very little chicken)...it was simply divine!! The olive oil today though was yuck...yesterdays bread and olive oil was definitely superior to todays...however, it does NOT matter because that pasta rocked my world!! Soooo much so that:
Now, you KNOW that the pasta was good for me to have eaten that much of it! I probably could have finished it had I not decided to have whatever the dessert that everyone else seemed to be having. So, when he came and took my plate, he asked if I wanted dessert and I said, "yes please!" As he was handing me the menu I said, "do you have a speciality?" He said, "yes. We serve the best Tiramisu; not the best in the world, but the best in the UNIVERSE!" I told him that I thought I heard them telling someone else that the Tiramisu was their specialty and that in the case of it being the best in the universe, I must try it. Now, I have only had Tiramisu once or twice (once at the olive garden and it was this weird layered dessert thing...YUCK...I did NOT like it). HOWEVER:
It was AMAZING!!! It was more like creamy and no cake stuff and it was just amazing!!! So amazing, that I ate it all. Now, let me take a minute to say, that I do know I consumed like a billion calories today (yuck), but today was my day to do that...today I deserved it and plus, I climbed well over 1000 steps and walked for hours and plus, it was my day to indulge...and if that meant two desserts, then so be it!! I could have licked the glass...I'm not going to lie!
The restaurant itself was just beautiful; a lot of exposed brick and it was quaint and cozy!
However, after I had eaten my weight in food, or so it felt like it, I got the check and was ready to go. I paid a bit more than normal for this meal, but it WAS WORTH EVERY SINGLE PENNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(and then some). I went to the bathroom, and when I came out, one of the waiters (though he seemed a bit more important than a waiter) asked me if I wanted to see the cellar. I had been looking down into the cellar the whole time from my table wondering what was down there...i could see cheeses on the table, etc. 
He said that he saw me taking pictures and wondered if I was interested in seeing it. Of course I said yes. So he told me that the cellar was built like 600 or 700 B.C. ....WOW!!
It was originally a church and you can still see the cross at the front. It was a church when Siena was below sea-level (I saw some tours called "Siena below the sea"), but anyway, then it was built on to as a house and the bricks were different colors because of bodies from the black plague or something to that effect (bricks in the restaurant part). IT WAS AMAZING!! SO, they keep their wines and cheeses down there because it stays the same temperature year round. 
I was so excited to see this and learn the history! I was even more excited that I asked that lady her favorite place to eat...WOW!!! THis was definitely the best food experience I've had in Italy...and one of the best all-around experiences (except for judgy mcjudgerson couple). So, I left there full and feeling good about the experience! :)Oooh this is what I had...I took a picture of the menu outside so that I would know...
The one that says "Tagilini con ragu di pollo e verdure dell'ono, etc. etc.
After I ate, I walked a bit and then headed back towards the bus station. I did some window shopping and walked a little extra just to burn off some calories. So then, I got back to the bus station and was TOTALLY confused about what to do, so I went into the "Tabacchi", which is essentially a gas station without gas pumps and asked. He sold me the "ticket" and told me to take bus 3 or 10. So, I went out and waited what seemed like FOREVER for one of those buses to come and finally bus 10 came. The only thing was, I didn't know when I should get off the bus. I was hoping that it would stop AT the train station like it did last time, but I didnt know that for sure! So, I waited a while...then when we didn't turn at the sign for the stazione, I began to get concerned...THEN as I realized we were headed out into the hills/country side that I had seen for all of those lookout points I became EXTREMELY concerned. So, I asked the driver and he said it would be 30 minutes. Well, at this point I only had 30 minutes to catch the 4:18 train (all of the trains from Siena to Florence left at 18 past the hour...). SO I was super bummed and a little upset, but I sat back down and told myself to just enjoy the scenery, which I did. However, the loooonger it took and the further away we seemed to go, the more concerned I became...in fact I am sorry to say that I was getting very upset and angry and confused and just wanted to be back in the U.S. where people understand my questions and speak my language!!!I was also loooooonging for New York City where everything is in a grid and the stops on the subway make sense.... I called my momma very upset and angry and wishing i could just come home. I started to realize that we were headed BACK to the bus station...NOT the train station. So, I eventually asked again and he said 5 more minutes...UGH...so I rode ALLL of that time just for him to go back to where I started and within 5 minutes take me to where I needed to be. In the time I rode the bus I could have WALKED to the train station and caught the earlier train...but again, i was trying to remember that I saw some beautiful views!!
So, when i finally got to the train station, I bought my ticket for the next train and then went across the street to what turned out to be a semi-mall thing. I found my first REAL grocery store and looked around. It was pretty normal I guess...they had buggies like at the ALDI store where you put a coin in it to disconnect it from the others. Anwyay, I killed time doing this and then used the bathroom there because it was free and I was afraid that the one at the train station wouldn't be and that it would be dirtier...
After this, I went and got on the train. I slept most of the way back to Florence. I pulled my tobogan thingy down over my eyes and slept! When we got back, I walked in the coooollld back to the apartment (thank goodness for the shortcut though) and laid on the bed. I was so desperate to NOT have to eat a whole lot. God bless Signora Gabriella...she had only made this chicken (kind of like the yellow chicken we had that night...or maybe this was it...it was like chick-fil-a nuggets-ish in yellow stuff) with rice and THAT WAS IT!! Ooooh I was so excited not to have a million courses to eat!! :) Then I had a mandarino and that was it. Oh and I also took her up on her offer of tea! :)
After dinner i just came and worked on blogs. I did have a mini-crisis when the internet stopped working and wanted me to unplug the router...of course Signora Gabriella had no clue...and could barely understand what I was saying. I worked on it on my own and eventually got it working, but then I just wrote for a few more minutes and WENT TO SLEEP!!! I was able to set my alarm to where I would get almost 9 hours of sleep...MUCH needed!!!!!
Thought for today: As I was on my VERY long bus ride, trying to relax and just take in the scenery, I had a thought: why am I so concerned with being alone in Italy? Two of my favorite movies of all time, "Eat, Pray, Love" (also a favorite book) and "Under the Tuscan Sun" (haven't made it through the book yet), are about two women who come to Italy...wait for it...ALONE! They have both just had life altering break-ups (marriages and then in "Eat, Pray, Love," a marriage and a boyfriend) and they came to Italy for healing. Now, both stories are very different and take different paths to healing, but how is that any different than life in general? In "Under the Tuscan Sun" her friends send her to Italy because she is so down and depressed (and the girl is pregnant...but not the point) and they want her to find some healing (yes, I know the book is different). In "Eat, Pray, Love" she decides to take off on a journey of self-discovery (to beautiful places I want to go) and starts with Italy! She is alone and while she found a "family" here, she was also here much longer; but to begin with, she is alone and learning how to do that. Now, I already know how to be alone...sort of! Anyway, my point is that perhaps a trip to Italy alone is something that some of us just have to do to find healing or to "complete" the healing process. Today was a GREAT day for me to have this realization. While life is not like the movies, sometimes it can be (and the fact that both stories are based off of real life experiences...especially "Eat, Pray, Love". So, perhaps this is my "Under the Tuscan Sun Eat, Pray, Love healing adventure!" Everyone's journey to healing in life is different and God grants us different opportunities to get us there. I think Italy was part of that journey for me! To have made it through yesterday without more than 5 minutes of funk and NO tears...well, I'd say that's a MAJOR accomplishment (Erin? H-R? agreed?). So, maybe life can be a little like the movies...
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