Italy Vacation - Day 11

You'd think waking up in Siena would be heaven...not for us.  We froze our tootsies off during the night!!  The room had not thermostat that we could find to crank up.  We were at the hotels mercy.  I was wrapped up in all the extra blankets and still I basically froze all night.  I didn't dare snuggle up to Trent because he doesn't always sleep good and I didn't want to disturb him with my icy limbs.  Well, around 3am, he snuggled up to me because he was cold too!  That's when I knew it really was freezing in our room and not me coming down with my death.  Trent is never, never ever cold...so for him to be frozen is a big deal.  We warmed up in a hurry and I laughed wishing I'd snuggled up to him earlier.  Finally sleep found us both and we crashed hard!

Siena was medieval Florence's archrival.  And while Florence ultimately won the battle for political and economic superiority, Siena still competes for tourists.  Siena was also hit by the Black Death (Bubonic Plague) in 1348; knocking out a third of its population from which it never recovered.  What is lovely about Siena is that it's pedestrian friendly.  Not once did we have to worry about getting run over.  Everyone was out walking, the city was really lively and fun to be in.

View from our hotel room.

This is the famous Il Campo.  It's toted at the best square in Italy, and I'd believe it.  Right in the heart of town the square fans out from the City Hall to create an amphitheater.   The City Hall's tower is 330 feet high and it dominates the square, you can't help but notice it. 

The square and its buildings are the color of the soil they stand on...a color known to artists and Crayola-users as "Burnt Sienna."

We had to take this picture.  Our girls are into the Madeline books and in them the children always travel two by two.  These school children were doing this and it made us miss our kids! 

The Duomo, Siena's main Cathedral.  The white and dark-green striped church, sitting on an artificial platform atop Siena's highest point, is visible for miles around.  The current structure dates from 1215. 

**Siena hot chocolate...7

Now it's back to Sorrento to drop off the car.  We'll sleep in Naples tonight.  We had dinner at the hotel restaurant and divided all our clothing, toiletries and etc. into piles so they'd make it into the proper suit cases.  We tried not to think or talk about the looming cloud of depression that settled over our room this evening as tomorrow's parting of the ways gets ever closer.  We head to the airport in the morning.

It was a great trip, the trip of a life time, but now it's time to say good bye...good bye is no fun, tears were involved.  One positive thing is that we'll see each other again in 2 months, which makes this farewell a little easier.  Next time the kids will get to see Trent everyone is excited about that.  It will be awesome!  I'm flying out first with a layover in Paris, so I'm excited for that adventure.  Trent is heading to Dubai to work in a clinic for a bit before heading back to his ship.

Cheers to Trent for planning this trip for us!  He ended up being a day late, but better late than never!  Thanks for not leaving me alone in Naples to take on this trip by myself babe!  It's been a dream of ours for so long I could never have done it without you!  I want to add here that we used Rick Steves' videos and tour guide books almost exclusively to plan this trip and learn about all these different places.  For the most part he did not steer us wrong.  If you're wondering, almost all of the history I've shared has been from him and the internet and pamphlets we picked up along the way.  Having all printed here will make it fun to go back and read and remember with our kids! 

Italy you were everything we hoped you'd be and more!!  

Thanks for the wonderful time 

and memories that we'll cherish for ever!!

Ciao!