We left Siena Saturday lunchtime and after a succession of train trips arrived at the Airport Hilton in Rome around 5. It’s a fairly boring business hotel but it meant that we could be at check in for our flight at 5am (😳) the next day after a 15 minute walk rather than a really early transfer from the city.

And so, after that early check in and after a flight of around 4 1/2 hours we arrived in Iceland. After the most casual immigration check (two police checked documents – no booths, no stamp, no e-gate) we picked up our bags, found our transport and were whisked across a snowy landscape to Reykjavik. It was a bit like the Desert Road with heavy snow and no tussock. The light was amazing – black, almost green low clouds on one side, little bursts of sun through lighter clouds on the other. And it light made it feel for all the world like 4:30pm rather than lunchtime.

Our hotel is very comfortable and very central. It’s more like a small apartment with a kitchenette/lounge and separate bedroom. We had a quick meet, greet and orientation with a young guy from the firm we have organised the trip through and then we had a bit of a wander in town. The city is small (only around 200,000 people) and the centre of town is quite compact. Good thing we had snow practice in Siena though – it’s been snowing since we arrived – so after a quick walk around we retreated home. It’s supposed to stop when we go out for dinner tonight.

Tomorrow we have a long day trip out of the city. Weather is supposed to improve a bit – we’ll see!

So here are a few quick snow shots – Allister: can see already that a cloth for cleaning snow flakes off the lens will need to be handy at all times!

Very quiet day – washing, reading, packing etc in anticipation of leaving tomorrow for Rome and on Sunday morning (early) Iceland. Morning flights always seem like such a good idea until you factor in the two hours beforehand for check in. In this instance though not a lot of choice – Iceland isn’t exactly a high volume route!

We had dinner out last night to celebrate my finish at university. Despite what seemed like very hard slog at times, my results were good – italian exams are marked out of 30 (🤷‍♀️ no idea why) but I got 27/30 for the grammar part of the course and 30/30 for the culture/oral part of the course and was extremely pleased. Particularly with the result for the oral part of the course as I found it so hard.

So we had a hearty meal of pasta, osso bucco (john) and duck with bilberries (me) in a lovely osteria not far from the Campo. The snow had basically gone but there was the odd patch of ice here and there to look out for.

Today was wet and much warmer (12C – balmy!). Off out tonight to another nice place we tried last weekend just down the street from our apartment.

A few pics from yesterday…last pics of Torre del Mangia!

Even though the very reliable Norwegian Met office app didn’t forecast snow here today it began around 11 and didn’t really stop until 3. Much heavier than last time – enough for it to lie around and be getting slushy and very slippery for our walk late this afternoon.

Apparently, according to our Air BnB host Lorenzo, it only snows like this every five or six years – and we weren’t alone at the Fortezza this afternoon – folk were taking photos, throwing snowballs, building snow people and the kids were improvising sleds.

So we didn’t have to wait for Iceland for a walk in the snow.

After the exertions of Saturday, Sunday was pretty quiet – some shopping and a walk in the afternoon to Santa Maria dei Servi, a church we could see from various viewpoints on our other walks but hadn’t visited. The afternoon was a bit overcast, but the view from the steps towards the city was quite lovely. The church is more densely decorated than the other large basilicas we had visited (San Domenico and San Francesco) and appeared to have the complete mummified bodies of two minor saints. I’ve never got used to seeing various bits of saints displayed in churches we have visited and this did give me the creeps a bit!

Anyway, here are yet more contrada wall tiles and shots from around Siena from our Sunday, Monday and Tuesday walks. And the next post will be about the snow we had today!

Yesterday was a sunny day – cool, but sunny and still. A good day for tackling the 400 steps up the Torre del Mangia, the tall, thin tower that dominates the Campo and has featured in so many of my photos. There’s no option but the stairs, so John, thinking of his knee, was going to look at the frescos in the Palazzo Pubblico instead – unfortunately it was closed for an event so he hung out in the Campo.

Anyway, after the slog up the view was fantastic – across the city and out into the surrounding countryside. It’s clear from up there how much the streets of Siena curve around the hills, the solidity of the old city walls and that the countryside is really close – no vast sprawl of suburbia here!

Siena is full of architectural and historical signs and symbols that are connected to the 17 contrada (loosely neighbourhoods) that the town is divided into, as well as other symbols, for example St Catherine and other saints, Famously, the contrada are represented in the Palio horse race in the Campo every year but they are more than a historical relic that gets trotted out (excuse the pun) for the race. They operate as a social club come social services provider for their area: the local paper posts their social events too. And almost every where you go in the city are markers – wall tiles, fountains, etc, that tell you where you are. So here are a few more details from around the town…

I put these on Facebook earlier in the week so if you’ve seen them you can skip this post. The forecast snow did arrive. I walked home in light snow on Tuesday afternoon after classes, then it snowed all afternoon – not heavily enough to pile up but it was the first time I’ve actually been snowed on! The next morning there didn’t seem to be much around when we looked out our window, although it was still snowing lightly. But on my walk to uni, when I got to a point with a view it was clear that there had been enough to coat trees and cars – the school kids along Via Camollia were scraping it off parked cars to make snowballs! Sadly by Wednesday lunchtime it was gone! Just bitter cold and rain Wednesday afternoon.

The photos in this post are from our stroll on Sunday afternoon. Sunday morning we took Maddi to the bus for Florence (the trains in Tuscany were on strike for 24 hours), and then had a quiet day: we did some washing, shopping and I did my homework and tried reading the local paper. In the afternoon we found two more fountains – the snail and the panther – which complete our giro (tour) delle fontane but my photos of at least one could be better so a revisit is on the cards for il lupo (the wolf) at least.

The day was mild and in finding the new fountains we also found a dog park (there a lots of dogs in Siena and they aren’t all small!), a flea market, and another porta (gate). The turtle contrada also seemed to be having a community lunch in their HQ.

I am now half way into my course – still feeling like the learning process is hard work but I know that my confidence in my interactions has improved. But the language mountain in front of me is still very steep! Trying to read the local paper was good practice though – even if the pull-out sport (read soccer!) section was bigger than the actual newspaper!

Today was the coldest day since we arrived and the forecast this week is for sleet and maybe even snow – we’ll see. At least the apartment and the university are well heated. Possibly not many photos this week if the weather is rubbish❄️💦

Busy day seeing the artistic sights of Siena yesterday. One of my Vic university classmates arrived on Friday afternoon for a couple of nights so Maddi being here was a great incentive to get out and about. After an evening stroll and dinner at home Friday, yesterday we were out almost all day.

We started with the Duomo and its associated sights which included the crypt, baptistry, museum and what remains of what was intended to be a massive extension of the Duomo which gives a magnificent viewpoint over the city. Our combined ticked also included entrance to Santa Maria dalla Scala, originally a hospital housed in a large, very old building across the piazza from the Duomo.

The Duomo is impressive – an amazing space, and the crypt and baptistry had some interesting frescos and sculpture. Santa Maria was a big rabbit warren, and one of the oddest museum experiences – some wonderful frescos and religious treasures, but also odd chapels and exhibits spread through four levels including basements. Exploring the basement levels it felt like you could get lost and not get out again – signage was not a strong point!

Then after a brief stop for lunch Maddi and I headed off to the Palazzo Pubblico to see the frescos representing good and bad governance. Having climbed to the Panorama dal Facciatone, we didn’t climb the Torre del Mangia – but it’s on my list to do before I leave!

Last night we headed out to a place John and I had tried which serves good, traditional italian food. Lots of folk out and about for Saturday night.

Maddi caught the bus to Florence this morning, so it’ll be a catch-up day today – washing and homework.

Grey and a bit damp today. Was feeling a bit like I exist to provide examples of what not to do! The learning is coming, but not easily and the concentration required over 4 hours a day is tiring. John meanwhile has been keeping the home fires burning and finding new places for us to try, both takeaway and eat in, and keeping me going.

A late walk today because of the rain. We are enjoying our afternoon strolls and the fountain hunt is taking us to locations we might not otherwise get to, with little piazzas, shops and churches and some different viewpoints.

I have Maddi, a Victoria University classmate, coming to stay for 2 nights so that’ll vary our routine this weekend.

And here, without further ado, a couple more fountains!