A quick wrap up on Siena


The remainder of our time in Siena was spent 'finishing off' the remainder of the Cathedral sights including the Duomo museum which featured several sculptures and a stained glass window that measured 20 feet across. The original plan for the cathedral was to expand it significantly, making it the largest in Europe. A massive wall was erected to anchor the expansion but that was as far as they got due to the relative drop in Siena's importance. We were actually able to climb to the top of this structure via a couple of circular stairways, thus allowing us a spectacular view of the Cathedral and the surrounding countryside.
 For our last full day we had planned a trip to one of the neighbouring towns but after considering the idea of an 80 minute (each way) bus ride we decided to nix that idea and spend the day doing as little as possible.
 The following day we grabbed a local bus to the train station where we connected with our bus to Rome.
  We arrived in "The Eternal City" at around 1:30pm and by the time we checked into our hotel and grabbed a late lunch we had little energy to do more than stroll around the block.
 Wednesday morning we headed for the Vatican where we happened to catch a Papal Mass in St Peters Square. Delivered mostly in Italian and Spanish? we caught only bits of the message which appeared to be directed at support and prayer for the victims of the recent hurricanes in the Caribbean. After listening for 15 minutes or so we set off to circumnavigate the walls of the Holy City. That turned out to be a project and a half as it was rather warm and somewhat bigger than we anticipated. Reaching the area of the museums we shook our heads at the size of the crowds and the b.s. promises of the various touts promising "line skipping" at a significant price.
 Somewhat tired and hungry, we set off in search of our "go to" restaurant from the previous trip.
 Porto Fish and Chips offers an all you can eat for 9 euro and eat we did. After almost 3 weeks without an adequate supply of fresh vegetables we did our best to get our moneys-worth.
 The rest of the afternoon was spent touring the various sights- the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain etc.
  By the time we returned to the hotel we had logged a good 10km.
  After a decent rest we made our way to the Spanish Steps arriving late enough (8pm) that most of the tourists had left. We spent just enough time to take a few photos of the area, and of course a couple of selfies, before we caught a bus back to our lodgings. A prosciutto and mushroom pizza was my last full meal in Rome before turning in for the night.
  An early bus ride to Termini ( the main train station) then a couple of connecting trains brought us to  the airport for our return to Canada.
 A remarkably easy clearance through customs and barely a 10 minute wait for our luggage found us at the sidewalk just as our son Matthew arrived.
 Even though it was 2:30am ( Rome time) when we arrived in London, I didn't feel that tired.
 Today ( Saturday 30th Sept) I have spent much of the day downloading photos and trying to organize them. That will be an ongoing project in the days ahead.
  Meanwhile, I can start planning my next trip to ( at this point) God knows where.



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