Jameses Jolly Jaunt: Siena- Senius

Piazza del Campo Siena.
There is a horse race round this Piazza twice a year.

Siena was founded by the Romans and its emblem is the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, and according to legend, it was Senius, son of Remus, who founded Siena, thus accounting for the name. The first document mentioning Siena dates from AD 70, so it’s a reasonably old city.There! History lesson over for today!

We had visited Siena in January, and consequently, there were not many people as silly as we were traipsing about in the freezing temperatures. This time was a different story. We’re sure that half of Australia is in Europe at present and also most of the American population and at least 50% of them all were in Siena! And the tour groups! OMG the tour groups! They are everywhere & Siena was full of them.

Anyway, we stayed at a really nice hotel inside the walls of the old city, which meant that when we wanted some time out of the blistering heat- 35 degrees outside- we could just wander back to the hotel for a bit. We ate on the hotel terrace which looked over Siena and it was magical at night, with the walls lit up and the moon rising over the Tuscan countryside.

So much of the old city is now filled with very fancy ( think unmentionably out of this world priced) stores so we did our shopping in S. Gimignano when we were there- much better stuff and much lower prices.

Piazza del Campo at night. Very beautiful.

Everywhere we went in Siena, in the historical buildings, there were signs that said NO PHOTO. We have a camera that has a “Museum” setting, where a flash isn't necessary, and as we have no conscience whatsoever, we snap away happily- or at least I do, as I take the photos, so I can’t blame Bill in this instance, but he is a co-conspirator, because he keeps an eye out for the Nazis who wander around, glaring at everyone and saying NO PHOTO.

After one particularly irritating run-in with a nun, I started wondering why there should be NO PHOTO as a general thing. Flashes I can understand, as apparently they can damage the very old pictures, but if there’s no flash, what’s the worry? So my conclusion is that if you aren’t allowed to take photos and you want a photo of the area, then you must buy a picture, or a book with photos in it, and of course, all these places have their souvenir shop conveniently located in the exit area so that’s obviously where they make their wine/beer/pasta money.

However, I’m here to tell you that not all is lost. Having once been a good Catholic, I have no aversion to bending the rules, and know all the lurks and perks, so I would enter these places with the camera nonchalantly in my hand, but not at the ready, and then, when the Nazis attention was elsewhere, I would snap away happily with no qualms whatsoever- except for the nasty Nazi nun who appeared out of nowhere & snapped, “NO PHOTO!”

Therefore, I can assure you that the photos you will see on the blog, are ones that should only be seen in the books that you are so readily able to purchase in each of the bookshops attached to these places. Think what I’m saving you in costs when you too, visit these places. And those of you who have already been, and bought the book, please don’t compare mine with the photos taken by a real photographer.

Next stop, the Amalfi Coast.