Wednesday 7 November 2018

Siena


Whilst on our travels around Tuscany and Florence, we decided to take a day trip to Siena. The only downside was from Florence it took an hour and a half to get there, which for a day trip is quite a long way. However, we have heard such great things about and it was a must- visit place in our guide book so we decided we needed to make the effort to go. As the journey was long we planned it all the day before to make it as seamless as possible. We got on a train at around 9am and the train was direct to Siena. It might seem like on this trip we visited to a lot of cathedrals, but this was a must see attraction and my god I am so glad we did it. From the front it is stunning with the huge stain glass window, but out of all the duomos (cathedrals) we visited I think Pisa's front was my favourite.

The tickets to go into the cathedrals cost 15 euros which at first we all thought was quite expensive. We found that each town and city very much varied in price as to how much they charged to visit their own cathedral. The cathedral inside was honestly absolutely breath-taking, I was very much taken a back. I can hands down say it was the most stunning place which I have ever visited, ever. My parents and I were just wandering around trying to take it all in, but it was just so beautiful. The entirety of the flooring throughout the place was covered in marble. Each different slab of flooring told a story. They have laid a small pathway throughout the cathedral to try and preserve the flooring from wear, which is completely understandable due to the immense amount of tourists who visit on a daily basis. Each piece of marble flooring told completely different stories and all done with such intricate detailing, we stood around each one interpreting what is trying to be portrayed. 

There was library which didn't look like anything special from the outside, but wow from the inside it was something else. From the pictures you can see that the entirety of the ceiling was covered in embossing which were brightly coloured. You can see that is has been really well maintained, and it was definitely the surprising element of this visit. Every single part of this duomo is beautiful, and I can easily say that the interior is the best I have ever seen. When you get back from your holidays and people ask "did you have a great time?" this visit to Siena is what I have been telling everyone about.





We discovered through reading in the handbook that there is a secret viewing point which you can go to. It was kind of hidden away in one of the back buildings. It was a little tight and narrow spiral staircase which you go up. It was all worth all the steps as you get to see this absolutely beautiful view of the entire town. You were able to see how big the site of the duomo really was and all the different elements which make it up.


There is no denying that the duomo is the stand out piece within Siena. However, the town its self is stunning. There was lots of shops to looks round and the whole town oozed character. As on all holidays we stopped for endless coffee and cake tea breaks. Overall, it was such a great relaxed day where we were able to stroll around at our leisure taking in everything around us. I have also written posts about Florence and Pisa if you want to find out about the rest of this trip.


Lucy
xoxo
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