Previously on Lenka’s diary: I have just arrived in Bologna with a two-hour delay.
I had one day to spend in Bologna. But as I was reaaally excited about the following day and a little tired, I didn’t care enough about Bologna. Yeah, the beautiful typical Italian arches along most of the streets in the historical centre were interesting, but it wasn’t Siena. However, there was an amazing archaeological museum full of Egyptian artefacts in Bologna. And there were not one, but two leaning towers (Pisa who?) – but still, it was not Siena.
So let’s forget about Bologna for now. If you happen to know me personally, then you’re most likely aware of what my favourite book is – Anne Fortier: Juliet. I. love. it. This masterpiece is a modern Romeo and Juliet retelling, but better. You have everything one would ever need in a book, like romance, mystery, historical elements and mafia. I may or may not have read it over ten times in seven years. Whoops? And yeah, you might have guessed it, it does take place in Siena! (I’m not mentioning it out of nowhere, I’m not thaaat weird.) And obviously, that was the reason why I needed to go.
When I got there, I was… excited, obviously, but also a bit confused because for the first time during my Interrail trips, I didn’t understand the instructions of Google maps. And I’m not even surprised, who would’ve thought you have to go through a mall and take eight (I counted!) escalators to get out of it, to the street level. What I didn’t like about Siena that much is the hilliness. You really have to go up and down all the time, which can get a bit annoying and very tiring, but it’s got its charm and what-am-I-even-saying,- Siena-is-perfect-the-way-it-is-♥. Though the way to our accommodation was no different from the rest of the hills in the city, maybe even worse and more dangerous, as there was no pavement and quite sharp turns. And then there was me with my lovely suitcase and my mom trying to get… somewhere.
It was quite far from the city centre (on a hill, indeed); however, thanks to that we had amazing views. And the lady running the place even had a dog. (I hope he’s doing okay.) This was one of the exceptional utterances when I had energy despite travelling a lot and I just couldn’t wait any longer to see all of the sites that were mentioned in the book.
And it was even better than I’d imagined! The monochrome medieval houses, the narrow streets, the tiny squares with fountains belonging to different contrade (districts). Siena is known for its horserace called Palio where the contrade compete against each other. However, in the past, the rivalry was more than just the horserace (which is an important point in the book!), there would be enemies to the death and friends for life. And you’d feel pride for your own contrada. And, of course, as a person who when reading becomes a character in the book, I had my favourite that I was looking for – Contrada dell’aquila. Their flag is yellow, c’mon! So naturally, I had to take a picture of their symbol everywhere I saw it.
And don’t even let me start about the Duomo di Siena. I don’t even know how to describe it, I was amazed. The first time I saw it was in the last rays from the setting sun, so it had orange-y tones and it looked majestic. Having now been to Milan, from the outside it looks quite similar to the Duomo di Milano, though humbler, which I appreciated. And then, the following day, I saw it also from the inside. When you looked at the floor, there were fractions of stories depicted in the tiles. When looking up, you could see the stars (and I just love stars!). Looking around you, you could see the most amazing works of art. But my favourite part was the Piccolomini library with the most insane frescoes.
We also went to another church, Basilica Cateriniana de San Domenico, where my mom started crying out of nowhere, perhaps due to the beauty of the mosaic windows (and there were also the flags of the contrade – I do admit to being obsessed).
All in all, we saw a lot. The shell-shaped main square with Palazzo Pubblico (the city hall) and Torre di mangia (a tower with about 400 stairs we climbed), the unexpected paintings on various walls, the houses that were mentioned in the book. But the best part was just walking aimlessly through undiscovered paths as the sun was setting and just relishing the moment. Never before or after have I felt so calm and content. So do yourself a favour, read the book, get hyped and go to Siena. I shall do that for myself at least once more as well.
PS: I thought that I had lost these photos forever, but I’ve just found them and looking at them, I am freaking out just as much as I was when in Siena. I think that’s enough of a proof.
