5/10/10

We had a big day today, travelling to the small town of Siena. We all met at the school and took the bus from there to Siena. The views along the way were pretty; lots of green vineyards, but it was a little difficult to appreciate them on our bumpy bus ride. The layout of the town was more like Venice, with the streets moving along the landscape, unlike the grid pattern we’ve gotten used to in Florence. It was very small and without vendors, which was very nice! We first walked to a small church to see the head and finger of Saint Catherine that were on display. From there we walked to Il Campo, the piazza known for horse racing. We were given free time to eat, shop, and sketch. Many of us chose to sit in Il Campo to sketch because it was sunny and open there. Many other groups sat there as well and kept things pretty lively. Barbara got our class back together to go to Il Duomo later in the afternoon and it was gorgeous! Finally we were able to take some pictures of the interior of a church, and it happened to be one of the most interesting churches we have visited. The walls and pillars inside were all striped black and white, the ceiling was dark blue, and the floors were covered with carvings. When we finally finished there, we walked to the outskirts of the town to get a few pictures of the country. Barbara gave us instructions for the bus, and we were allowed to do our own thing for the rest of the day.