Siena (see-N-ah) – the perfect Tuscan tourist town….or Perso (pear-so) – Lost

            ….day in siena started off awesome! We got up and we out of the hostel and off to the train station with all of our things nice and early….we were even able to change our train tickets to an earlier train like we were hoping! (we had booked them so that we would have all the tie possible to see siena, but we forgot that we were coming home on Monday which is the day that the metro closes really early, so we were able to change the tickets to get in a bit earlier so that we could take the metro instead of a cab…)….it was great J…

           …we got on our 1.5 hours long train ride to siena, and were off as soon as we got there….grabbed a map and just really started walking….siena is really a pretty little town, right in the heart of Tuscany so it was really hilly but beautiful….it was so steep that to get from the train station to the main walking street we had to go up 5 escalators and 2 uphil walkways…it was really on the verge of ridiculous actually….

            …but when we finally got up to the top….we had no idea where we were so we just started walking until we could find a sign pointing us to the main piazza….took a bit of a walk but finally we walked and the street opened up into Piazza del Campio….this Piazza is so cool because it isn’t flat, its more like a shell shape….and the coolest part is that this is where the Palio is….that is the big horse race every year between the original families of Siena….this town is so steeped in history, I would have loved to take an actual tour of this place!....so we sat and had a snack and just took in the sunshine and the mass of the square and then I decided that I wanted to climb the bell tower there so I went to go check it out….come to find out you have to buy tickets for a certain time, so I bought mine for a couple hours later and we went to find the Duomo…..

          ….which actually is really close!...just about a block or two….and trust me you know it when you see it….and actually as soon as I saw it, I thought, “oh this is why my mom loves this place”….the entire thing is black and white striped….and im not talking the outside is painted….no the entire building inside and out is black and white striped marble….it is completely unreal!....i paid to get my ticket to go inside and that is completely amazing as well!....I was just in awe the whole time I was in there….so so beautiful….

            ….when we were done there, we got our siena souveniers (kaitlyn’s shot glass and my scarf) and went back to the Piazza so I could climb the tower…..and sheesh was that a workout…..i think I counted about 400 steps….which were even more tough after hiking Thursday, climbing the Tower of Pisa Friday, and the Bell Tower in Florence Saturday…..my legs were feeling it….but I got to the base, stored my bags in the locker and headed up…..and as soon as I started I figured out why you couldn’t take your bag, the stairwell was so small some people had to walk sideways!....literally only a bit wider than my shoulders!....and up and up and up we climbed to the very very tip top and the view was worth every step and more!! It was the most beautiful, most perfect view of Tuscany I could have ever imagined…..i wish I had the pictures! Though they wouldn’t do it justice one bit!...but man it was amazing and it felt like I could see all the way back to Torino, I could see for miles!! It was awesome!!!...

            ….we could only be up there for 15 minutes, so eventually I had to come down, and so I did and found Kaitlyn….we went off to grab a snack and walk our way back to the train station…..and that’s where the story explaining the subtitle comes from…

            …well we got to the train station and since we had an hour and a half train back to Florence then 3 hour train back to torino we were just changing into yoga pants to get rid of our sweatiness and be more comfortable….so we went into the train station bathroom, and I set my phone on the toilet paper holder (also thinking to myself, sheesh hope I don’t forget this here)…changed and then gathered my things and walked out….right as a couple other people we were walking in….then we went to the bar for a caffe then to our platform, when I thought, oh no where’s my phone??....bathroom!....so I sprinted there, and it was gone….i went to check the bar, ticket office, custodian, even the police officer there….no one had turned it in, so I am assuming the people that walked in behind us saw it and took it, because they would have seen it immediately and could have ran out and asked if it was ours L…..totally sad about it, mainly just because it was my camera for this trip….thankfully because of my blog I dump my pictures everytime I write….so I only lost the pics from this weekend, I have the rest….and thankfully it wasn’t something worse like my passport or wallet….still just sucks….guess I get a new phone when I come back to the states! But that is why none of the pictures from these blogs are mine and why I don’t have a phone J….my own fault….blehhh I guess it was about time I lost something with all the traveling I have done….

            ….but all in all Siena was awesome…..after we trained to Florence, we grabbed some McDonalds, which is fun because we never get it!....i used Kaitlyn’s phone to lock my iphone and remotely erase it, and we got on a train back home to Torino…..aside from a couple mishaps, it was a truly fantastic weekend…..its amazing tho to think that tomorrow I get on a train bound for Rome J until Monday friends! Buon Weekend!!! J