Sunday in Siena

by shz



Life is not measured by the numbers of breath we take, but by the places and moments that take our breath away.


As I went through my pictures from Italy, it just came back in my head of how wonderful Siena is. The brownish colours of the city, the unexpected alleys that always lead back to Piazza Del Campo, the light that falls on the building walls, the laundry hanging by the window and the view of Tuscany landscape at the back of the Piazza.

The absence of tourists in Siena, unlike Rome and Florence, allowed us to feel the city and the old way of life of the Italians. The morning we arrived after a painful an hour bus ride from Florence was greeted by old-timers reading newspapers and walking at the same time. Sometimes they stop when they see familiar faces and have a quick chat before walking again. The smell of coffee filled up my nose and as I entered the main square, the hair on my back stood up.

We walked the medieval city map-less, lost every now and again but also found many surprises along the way. Every alley seems to be different from the other, every roads are not the same. But everywhere we went seem to be leading to the main square anyway, so we managed to come back where we started. As the tower clock rang its bell in the noon, people were filling up the square and restaurants around it too. Even so, the atmosphere didn’t fail us like Florence and Rome usually did. Although we explored Siena even before we did Florence, we would give up our last day in Italy in Siena once again.

After Mecca, New York and Fes of Morocco – this is one of the best city I have ever been to.