Siena

Siena is, perhaps, my family's favorite place in Italy (and if it's our fave in Italy, it's kinda our fave in the world). So when I set out to schedule our time in Tuscany, it seemed obvious to me that we would have our headquarters in Siena.

Here are some highlights from our time there.

Since Siena was our base not our destination, we spent our day times away from there and usually only returned in time for dinner.

View of the main churches in Siena from near our hotel

Piazza del Campo in the evening

Val at the fountain across from our hotel

My mom and I have fond memories of what we call "the cave restaurant" from our 2005 trip when we were in Siena for the Palio and watched the race in the kitchen with the locals at our dinner restaurant. We chose to seek this restaurant out again just the two of us and found it! It's called Antica Osteria Da Divo and is just around the corner from the cathedral. If you're in Siena, it's definitely worth checking out.

I also insisted on visiting Siena's cathedral because of its unusual black-and-white stripe interior. My mom had never been inside despite being to Siena twice before.

star motif dome interior

We stayed at the Hotel Villa Liberty for the second time. This hotel strikes the perfect balance as far as I'm concerned: homey but not bed-and-breakfasty, close to town but quiet, beautiful view and fair priced.

Julie and Val enjoyed the company of staff, too.
This one even gifted Val with the biggest lemon we've ever seen.

Our time in Siena was limited but it's always nice to return to someplace familiar and comforting. My mom and I have many memories of visiting Siena with my dad in 2004 and 2005, so it's almost like visiting him in a way. It was nice to share this gem with our fellow travelers this year and continue the tradition.

enjoying the perfect Italian light lunch: prosciutto e melone, olives, bruschetta