Time to See the New(ish) James Bond

So apparently the new(ish) James Bond movie has a scene that takes place during the Palio (a crazy horse race) of Siena. Before we went to Italy I hadn't thought that I wanted to see that movie. Now I do. Note the large, fan-shaped piazza in the picture above. That is where the Palio takes place. Apparently they haul in a bunch of dirt to make the race track. It must be a lot of dirt. Anyway, now that we've seen the place, I'd like to see the action - just not in person. I can't imagine dealing with the crowds.

I really enjoyed our visit to Siena (day 3 of our trip). It is a beautiful town. I loved the cathedral, I loved the Campo (the piazza), I loved the art museum, and I loved walking through the streets. I also loved the ice cream... (see previous post!)

Here are Ian and Naomi at the beginning of the day. The church is the first thing we came across when we entered the city. The kids are standing by a well (with which they were fascinated - thank goodness it had a grate over the top!) which stands in front of the church. Everything in Siena is so picturesque. I had to remind myself to pause and enjoy what I was seeing - not to see it only through the lens of my camera.




Our first official stop was at the Pinacoteca Nazionale, an art museum that houses primarily Sienese art. Naomi was fascinated by the sculpted crucifixes. I literally had to drag her away from them so we could move on to other things. I explained the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ many times that day. Unfortunately it was much harder to find any depictions of the resurrected Christ than it was to find pictures of Christ on the cross, so the lesson was a little unbalanced.

Here are the kids letting loose after a couple of hours of good behavior in the museum...

Here they are after lunch. Doesn't Ian look thrilled to be in Italy?


Our next (attempted) stop was the Palazzo Publico, home of the Museo Civico and a wicked cool tower to climb. (Definitely a kid friendly activity - our kids love climbing to the tops of things.)



Unfortunately there was a very long, very SLOW moving line to climb the tower. The kids would NOT behave. (I think it may have had something to do with having spent the morning in an art museum.) We quickly gave up on the tower and moved on to the cathedral. (One may ask how taking unruly children into a cathedral at this point was a good idea? Well it probably wasn't. It was, however, our only shot at seeing the Duomo. Plus the kids knew that if they didn't behave in the cathedral, not only would the lose the opportunity to climb something, they would lose gelato as well. And that, my friends, is a dire punishment indeed.)

I love Tuscan cathedrals and churches. I think the white marble facades are strikingly beautiful.




The interior of the Siena Duomo (cathedral) is eye catching as well. (Not necessarily in a good way, however, maybe eye assaulting would be a better way to put it!) Pardon the bluriness - I don't think flashes were allowed.


My favorite part of the interior was the Piccolomini Library. Just look at the ceiling...



...and look at what it housed. I'm such a sucker for neumes.


The kids were good in the cathedral (for the most part) so we did do some climbing. Fortunately for us (and unfortunately for them) the climb to the top of the Duomo's facade took us through a museum housing the treasury of the Duomo (aka the bones of dead saints) and some fantastic art. We all made it to the top, however, and this is what we saw...




After we stopped in the baptistry (which is fantastic - none of the pictures are blog worthy)we spent the afternoon meandering. If you ever get a chance to go to Italy, make sure you leave some time to meander.

Some pictures from our walk...

Senus and Aschius (The twin sons of Remus. Apparently this family had issues with mothering their young. We saw variations of this statue all over the place.)


a nifty door....

a nifty ceiling....

laundry...

a view up...

a well....

and finally GELATO!!!