Day 6 - Florence and Siena

This was the coldest day yet in Italy, with the temperature hovering around the 9 degrees mark for most of the day. Just the right kind of day for boarding a train to Siena, a medieval city high on a windswept hill.

We started the day by walking through the old city again, stopping at the Medici Palace and the church of San Lorenzo, both sites important to the history of the Medici family who wrested power in Florence and ruled for four generations before being made Grand Dukes of Florence.

We then walked to the Arno, the river that runs through Florence. Along the way we passed by the Uffizi, which was crowded with tourists. Since we arrived in Italy armed police and soldiers have been present at all major tourist centres and everyone has felt safer for it.

We came to the Arno River, and looked along its length to the Ponte Vecchio, a medieval bridge that has become the centre for the selling of gold and jewellery in Florence. Once again, I asked the boys to buy their mum's something nice, but none did.

We walked across the river to the magnificent Pitti Palace and then back to the hotel along Florence's west side, coming to the famous San Lorenzo Market where the boys had an opportunity to buy souvenirs, gifts and personal items. It was great seeing the boys master the ancient art of haggling.

When lunch came we went to Mercato Centrale, Florence's food market, a huge building selling the unique produce of Tuscany. The boys had panini again, choosing between finocchiona salami or porchetta as their filling. The panini were virtually inhaled.

Now it was time to board the train for the 90 minute ride to Siena. A political and economic rival of Florence's during medieval and renaissance times, Siena has maintained much of its thirteenth century character, with narrow, twisting streets and old high buildings. We walked through those streets until we hit the Piazza del Campo, Siena's main piazza. This is the site of the palio, a horserace around the piazza dating back to the middle ages.

Even though it was around 8 degrees, one of the boys stayed true to his ambition to have a gelato in every city he visited, and bought himself a double scoop of chocolate gelato.

We moved next to the Cathedral of Siena, a huge marble church. Many of the boys were versed enough in Renaissance history after one day in Florence that they were able to identify the gothic and Renaissance elements of the church, and draw comparisons with similar buildings in Florence.

After the long train ride back to Florence we headed straight out to dinner.

The charmingly named Trattoria Da Guido was the setting for our dinner, another selection of traditional Tuscan dishes.

A long day, and a cold day, meant that we were in our rooms soon after.