"Siena! Oh, I love Siena!"

With a recommendation like that, how could we possibly skip the Tuscan town of Siena?

We hopped on a bus in San Gimignano and headed out for a day in the town known for its church and town square (or Il Campo). Il Campo is a huge, semi-circle, paved square that sits in front of the town hall and tower. The square is the perfect place to grab a bite to eat and do a bit of people watching. We sat on a lovely balcony just above Il Campo and enjoyed delicious sandwiches made with the best of Italian meats and cheeses. After lunch we wandered through the square and crowds of people while sipping on fresh lemon and strawberry granitas.

City Tower

Matt in front of the Fountain of Joy

After lunch we headed off to the religious center of Siena and visited the Duomo, the Baptistery, and the Duomo museum. We were treated to works by Donatello, Pisano, Bernini, and Ghiberit in situ. Both the Duomo and the Baptistery have beautiful, intricate inlaid marble floors that are an artistic treat all by themselves.

Baptismal Font at the Baptristry by Ghiberti and Donatello

Marble Floor from the Duomo

Donatello's St. John the Baptist at the Duomo

My favorite part was the Piccolomini Library in the Duomo. It is a sumptuous room that is decorated with with bright frescoes and a beautiful ceiling. The real treat for me was the intricately decorated illuminated manuscripts and music scores that are displayed around the room.

Ceiling of the Piccolomini Library

The rest of our Siena pictures can be found here.

Photos of Pisa

The first stop on our Italy vacation was the town of Pisa and the Field of Miracles. The Field of Miracles (or Campo die Miracoli) is Pisa's religious center and contains four white marble buildings spread out on a green lawn.

The Duomo (or Cathedral)The Camposanto Cemetery

The Baptistery

And, of course, the Leaning Tower of Pisa

Which is actually the bell tower for the Duomo

Okay, Okay. Our first stop was actually a gelato stand, where we enjoyed delicious cones of limoncello, orange, and coconut gelato. How else can one start an Italian vacation but with a few scoops of the Italian delicacy?But as soon as we finished our cones, we headed straight for the most famous building in Italy. A few minutes on the beautiful lawn told us the sweaters we packed would not be needed and we were in for a wonderful, sunny vacation.

The rest of our pictures, including the interiors of the buildings, can be found here.

Duomo & Piazza

Our trip to Milan started with a visit to the Piazza del Duomo - the square in the center of town. With Carnival coming up next weekend (Milan starts celebrating just as the rest of the world's parties are winding down), the square was a festive scene of children in costumes, confetti, silly string, friendship bracelet con artists, and the fashionable Milanese. The piazza is also the site of MTV Italia's TRL (that's "Total Request Live" for the older crowd). It seems the TRL crowd got really rowdy when the Jonas Brothers visited.

We grabbed lunch at Luini Panzerotti's - just around the corner from the church. After our travels, the warm stuffed calzones where like heaven on earth. With our bellies full, we set out to see the 4th largest church in Europe.

Every inch of the exterior of the Duomo is covered in spires, statues, gargoyles, and pointed arches - an over-the-top high Gothic facade. The pink marble was sparkling from its cleaning in 2008 and really gleamed compared to the surrounding buildings.

To truly appreciate the spires and statues, we climbed to the Duomo rooftop. Instead of walking through a forest of trees, you are walking through a maze of spires and statues. The main body of the roof is slightly angled and offers an amazing view of the Milan skyline. Some say you can see the Swiss Alps on a clear day - the question is when the last clear day was. The air is so hazy in Milan that even the closest buildings appear faded and dull.

The Piazza del Duomo is the place to people watch on a sunny afternoon. In a five minute gelato break we saw (around noon on a Sunday):

• 7 women wearing stilettos - and we are talking 4.5+ inch heels that tapered down to a very small point. Remember it is too late for the walk of shame and too early to be dressed for dinner. My favorite wearer was a sixty plus year-old lady with knee-high patent leather stiletto boots on and a full length fur coat!
• 7 men with man purses - if is a Gucci man purse, does that make it better?
• 15 women in fur coats - not just fur collars or fur trimmed, but real, 3/4 to full length fur coats. I really liked the fashion sense of the women wearing combat boats, purple hose, a floppy hat, and a full length fur coat.

The piazza is the place to see and be seen - just pray the pigeons don't poop on you.

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