Siena

Arrivederci Roma. Buon Giorno Siena! This morning we left the beautiful city of Rome to a new adventure to the Tuscan hills. We got on the bus for what was about a 3 hour ride. We stopped at an Auto Grill on the way where most of us stocked up on Fanta and Nutella to go for the rest of the bus ride.

Upon arriving in Siena we were dropped off on the top of the hill. We got off the bus and immediately saw the beauty of Tuscany. The hills were filled with grape vines and the land seemed to go on forever. We walked through the arch to enter the city and were headed to the duomo. The streets in Siena were very hilly and narrow.

When we arrived at the Duomo, Fr. Joe got our tickets and we went inside. What is unique about Siena’s Duomo is that the inside is made from black and white marble which is striped all throughout the interior.

After visiting the Duomo we headed to the Campo. The Campo was the hot spot of the city. We walked over to this little sandwich shop where we all grabbed a panani to go. We sat down in the Campo and enjoyed our sandwiches and biscotti!

After we headed toward the home of St. Catharine of Siena and we were able to walk through parts of her house and also see the little chapel that was hers.

After visiting the home of St. Catherine, we walked to the church of St. Dominic within the city, a church which has St. Catharine’s head and finger in a small side chapel. This church also contained all the flags of the counties within the region of Siena.

After a long day of traveling and walking we headed toward the buses and made our way to San Gimignano where we settled into our rooms at the 13th century convent of the Benedictine Sisters. We then headed over to Convento S. Agostino for our first taste of Loretta’s cooking!

At one time, Loretta had her own restaurant. She's been at the Augustinian convento since most people can remember. It was clear to us that she is the heart and soul of the place! She cooks. She cleans. She irons - all with a warmth that is palpable. What a woman!