Autobus... Bus, obviously... So FINALLY I'm going to write about Siena - I'm lazy I'll admit it but here goes :-) So Wednesday morning Kelly dropped me off at the bus station. I bought my own ticket and got on the bus. After 1 hour and 15 minutes we got to Siena, after driving through mountains looking down on quaint little villages and grazing cattle. I couldn't figure out which bus stop to get off at in Siena, but thankfully picked the right one and stood at the bus station, all alone, with no idea where to go. Since the weekly market only lasts until early afternoon I started to look for that first. Some sweet old lady handed me a tract as I wandered the streets, totally random but really cool. I finally found the market, which was actually right across the street from the bus stop. Wow. After looking at all the stands for a while (you have to be careful... all the stands with Chinese people working them aren't selling Italian stuff - so I only go to the Italian booths) I heard some girls speaking English. I got SO excited, because I hadn't heard English in forever! I found out that they were studying abroad there... although it didn't take me long to realize that Siena is a MAJOR tourist town... Then I decided to look for a place to eat, and for their city center. After following the tower I saw high above the buildings around me and admiring the ancient architecture on every building, I saw some stairs going through an archway down into what looked like a wide open space. (The Piazzo del Campo) So I went down the stairs and WOW there was a huge empty area with restaurants surrounding it.
And this amazing building with an old bell tower. So I sat at a quaint little restaurant and ate and read for a while. It was interesting to listen to the Americans there - I was thankful I blended in with the Italians fairly well. The waitresses spoke English pretty well, but the obnoxious, pushy Americans would speak loud and slow, like they were talking to idiots. No wonder people don't like us. Then I saw another tower and decided to try to find it. After wandering around admiring the dusty ancient beauty of the crumbling brick and stone buildings, a magnificent duomo (cathedral) appeared before me, shining in white, glorious splendor. It was very similar to the famous duomo in Florence - the Siena cathedral was built during the 1300s, the early years of the Renaissance. I stood gazing at the intricate carvings and brilliance of the facade for quite a while. To be honest, it is difficult to experience all these things alone, with no one to talk to about it... all I can do is shrink in the greatness of it all. But each day I am reminded of the steadfast love of God as He stands beside me, revealing His power and beauty in each incredible aspect of Tuscany! After admiring the Duomo for a while, I found my way to the bus stop (surprisingly- it was quite a maze), and went back to Grosseto.
Today I was pretty busy with the Christmas play - it's coming together and we got a lot of practice in tonight. I also sat on the roof for an hour or two today, while reading and soaking up the beautiful, sunny day :-) It was a nice break from the freezing hours of the morning - apparently tile floors and cement walls make your house a giant ice box. No wonder the Italians don't use ice. Anyway, it's now 1:30 am because I had to retype this - it got deleted. awesome. haha - miss you all, keep in touch!
Autobus... Bus, obviously... So FINALLY I'm going to write about Siena - I'm lazy I'll admit it but here goes :-) So Wednesday morning Kelly dropped me off at the bus station. I bought my own ticket and got on the bus. After 1 hour and 15 minutes we got to Siena, after driving through mountains looking down on quaint little villages and grazing cattle. I couldn't figure out which bus stop to get off at in Siena, but thankfully picked the right one and stood at the bus station, all alone, with no idea where to go. Since the weekly market only lasts until early afternoon I started to look for that first. Some sweet old lady handed me a tract as I wandered the streets, totally random but really cool. I finally found the market, which was actually right across the street from the bus stop. Wow. After looking at all the stands for a while (you have to be careful... all the stands with Chinese people working them aren't selling Italian stuff - so I only go to the Italian booths) I heard some girls speaking English. I got SO excited, because I hadn't heard English in forever! I found out that they were studying abroad there... although it didn't take me long to realize that Siena is a MAJOR tourist town... Then I decided to look for a place to eat, and for their city center. After following the tower I saw high above the buildings around me and admiring the ancient architecture on every building, I saw some stairs going through an archway down into what looked like a wide open space. (The Piazzo del Campo) So I went down the stairs and WOW there was a huge empty area with restaurants surrounding it. 
And this amazing building with an old bell tower. So I sat at a quaint little restaurant and ate and read for a while. It was interesting to listen to the Americans there - I was thankful I blended in with the Italians fairly well. The waitresses spoke English pretty well, but the obnoxious, pushy Americans would speak loud and slow, like they were talking to idiots. No wonder people don't like us. Then I saw another tower and decided to try to find it. After wandering around admiring the dusty ancient beauty of the crumbling brick and stone buildings, a magnificent duomo (cathedral) appeared before me, shining in white, glorious splendor. It was very similar to the famous duomo in Florence - the Siena cathedral was built during the 1300s, the early years of the Renaissance. I stood gazing at the intricate carvings and brilliance of the facade for quite a while. To be honest, it is difficult to experience all these things alone, with no one to talk to about it... all I can do is shrink in the greatness of it all. But each day I am reminded of the steadfast love of God as He stands beside me, revealing His power and beauty in each incredible aspect of Tuscany! After admiring the Duomo for a while, I found my way to the bus stop (surprisingly- it was quite a maze), and went back to Grosseto.
Today I was pretty busy with the Christmas play - it's coming together and we got a lot of practice in tonight. I also sat on the roof for an hour or two today, while reading and soaking up the beautiful, sunny day :-) It was a nice break from the freezing hours of the morning - apparently tile floors and cement walls make your house a giant ice box. No wonder the Italians don't use ice. Anyway, it's now 1:30 am because I had to retype this - it got deleted. awesome. haha - miss you all, keep in touch!
Mary- Beautifully written- keep it up!
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