idonthaveacoolname

Bread, pecorino cheese, sausage, grapes and a pear!

A wonderful day today at the Duomo, the Pinocoteca Nationale, and wandering around in Siena!

Tomorrow I go to Firenze and Brunelleschi”s dome!

I took the bus from Pienza at 9 this morning and arrived in Siena a little after 10. I got to my B&B, dropped my bags, and tried to sleep for a bit but I was just too excited! I grabbed my cameras and some lunch, went to the Campo and ate. Great people watching! The sun was out, another beautiful day. I then went to the Duomo and bought an OPA pass to the Duomo, the Museum, Baptistry, and the facciatone, the unfinished portion of the Duomo that gives an amazing view of the city. I took a panorama from the top, see below! I have the Duomo and Baptistry to do tomorrow but I am sure it will be busy! After that I will I will climb the Torre del Mangia for another great view!

The first photo below is the beautiful Duomo and the second is the view from my B&B, that’s the Saint Dominico Catherine Basilica that I will visit tomorrow morning. Being Italy, there are a lot if churches, most with gorgeous art works! I spent a half hour with Duccio”s masterpiece Maestà this afternoon, people rushed in and out of the room with this spectacular altarpiece without even giving it a glance.

Oh…. And for those who asked; 2393 photos so far…. Not including iPhone photos 🙂

It is 5 am my time and I just woke up after a refreshing nights sleep. I am heading out to take a few sunrise pictures at 6:15 after I pack up. My accommodations thus far have been excellent, the food exceptional, and the photography, spectacular!

I will be leaving for Siena by bus at 9:15 this morning, just enough time for a few more photos and breakfast.

I just got back from an incredible hike through the Tuscan countryside to the Cappella della Madonna di Vitaleta. It is between Pienza and San Quirico d”Orchia and it took several hours due to my stopping every two minutes to take a photo!

Here are a few from along the way!

I woke up early and refreshed! I packed my camera gear and set out to get some sunrise images! Here are a few, including a panorama. It was incredibly breathtaking!

There is a beautiful sliver of a moon out tonight. Here is the Duomo in Pienza with the moon in the background.

I had forgotten that I had taken photos of my dinner. The wine menu should be enough explanation! Both the wine menu and the photo of the glass of wine were taken prior to my going to eat dinner. I can’t remember the name of this beautiful little wine bar but it is right next to a church 😉

Thank you all for your wonderful birthday wishes! I am here in Pienza eating a lunch of pecorino cheese and wild boar looking out over the beautiful Val D’Orcia. I’m really tired and the multiple cups of espresso aren’t working. I had a great stay in Montipulciano. Here is a shot of my room and the private garden.

Montipulciano is a wonderful town filled with wineries. I had dinner at the Borgo Buio, across the street from my B&B. The food was spectacular starting with a collection of local pecorino cheese and jam, I then ate Pici pasta, hand made by the chef, Richard. He came to my table frequently to drop off samples of his best Grappa, wine, and aperativos. I was well taken care of. I then had the most tender cheek as my main, followed by a chocolate dessert that I fell in love with. My hosts were the best and, to be frank, I expected (and was quite willing) to pay a lot more than what my bill was. Kudoes to the chef!

Luckily I was across the street from my B&B because I would have definitely gotten lost being in the state I was! I slept sparingly hence my dismal state today. It was the best dinner that I have ever had!

I wandered to Pienza and fell in love, again. Where Montipulciano was short streets and narrow alleys, Pienza is open and, while small, quite spacious. Here are a few from along my stroll. Note that all of these from my posts are from my iPhone to make it easy to update. I have given both cameras quite the workout and I am up over 1000 images thus far!

I arrived at Montipulciano in Tuscany today and will write a more fulsome review later. For now, here is an image or two from early this morning in Rome before I left.

Rome is the most beautiful noisy cacophony of cigarette smoke and petrol fumes that I have ever experienced. It is an amazing place!

I am tired. Dog tired after 12 hours of flight and layovers. The Zurich layover was almost non-existent since I literally got off one plane then walked to another terminal where the plane was waiting for me and one other person.

I took a few pictures from the plane over Switzerland and then Tuscany but tough to take photos from a plane.

Just as we were about to land at Fiumicino I could have sworn that I saw the dome of St.Peters!

I found the train quite fast by following the yellow train signs. I bought my ticket (stamped it on the left side of the machine) at the kiosk and off to Rome I went.

I immediately went to the 2nd floor to the TIM store at the train station. The guy at the store was very helpful! I was up and running in minutes. I went to er Burchetto and inhaled a pork sandwich. I was really tired since I don’t sleep much on the plane but Here are a few images from today