Siena; Sunday, 28 September, 2014

Second disappointing breakfast of the trip completed it was off out into town, and first stop of the morning was the Cathedral.

I had a long look round the Cathedral, the museum, view point, Crypt and Baptistery, thankfully reaching each area just ahead of the massed ranks of day trippers who had turned up shortly after I did.

After taking in all the sights of the Cathedral, and a quick stop for coffee near the baptistery I headed over towards the Basilica of San Dominico, the massive church that dominates the skyline behind the Cathedral and had a look around there, stumbling upon perhaps one of the more gruesome Catholic relics – the severed head of St Catherine of Siena.

A slightly disappointing lunch in a café near the basilica and then a wander over to the Medici fortress. In the end it was quite a long wander around the outside and then inside of the fortress as I turned left on reaching it and had to walk round three sides to get to the entrance that I would have reached in under five minutes if I’d have turned right instead. However the walk did show how impressive a structure this is.

Up on the battlement walls we took in the stunning views across the city, the only place where you can see the three main towers of the town hall, cathedral and San Dominico.

A quick pit stop on the campo and then it was into the Palazzo Publico to have a quick climb up the Torre del Mangia for the views and then back down and into the stunning town hall rooms that house the Museo Civico.

After a refresh in the hotel it was back out for another lovely dinner on the campo before heading back to the hotel for a well earned rest.