Ever wonder where the name of that weird brown Crayola "burnt sienna" comes from? Well, as a kid, I did. And now, here's the answer: from the fantastic Italian renaissance town of Siena. Where the 2nd "n" comes from in the crayon will have to remain a mystery for other scholars. In any case, this town lived up to all its hype and then some - it is truly a jewel in Tuscany. Smaller and not as loaded with art treasures as Florence (the post from there will be coming in a couple of days), Siena manages to maintain that 15th/16th century flavor better than her rival to the north. The view from our hotel room, for example, was of a block of houses at least 350 years old, towered over by a side view of the massive cathedral, or Duomo. There was only a handful of tourists here, making it even nicer. Evidently you do not want to be here in mid-August, with the overpowering heat and crowds. As for food: nothing short of spectacular. For dinner we had a boar stew with spinach cooked in olive oil. I tried the famed local wine, Chianti, and found it a bit powerful. One glass was more than enough. For lunch the next day, before catching the bus north to Florence, it was pizza. Like almost all pizza in Italy (and in most of Europe for that matter), thin and crispy is the rule. Not much tomato sauce and no huge gobs of cheese. It's about as far from Pizza Hut's deep dish as you can get. Fine by us!
Ever wonder where the name of that weird brown Crayola "burnt sienna" comes from? Well, as a kid, I did. And now, here's the answer: from the fantastic Italian renaissance town of Siena. Where the 2nd "n" comes from in the crayon will have to remain a mystery for other scholars. In any case, this town lived up to all its hype and then some - it is truly a jewel in Tuscany. Smaller and not as loaded with art treasures as Florence (the post from there will be coming in a couple of days), Siena manages to maintain that 15th/16th century flavor better than her rival to the north. The view from our hotel room, for example, was of a block of houses at least 350 years old, towered over by a side view of the massive cathedral, or Duomo. There was only a handful of tourists here, making it even nicer. Evidently you do not want to be here in mid-August, with the overpowering heat and crowds. As for food: nothing short of spectacular. For dinner we had a boar stew with spinach cooked in olive oil. I tried the famed local wine, Chianti, and found it a bit powerful. One glass was more than enough. For lunch the next day, before catching the bus north to Florence, it was pizza. Like almost all pizza in Italy (and in most of Europe for that matter), thin and crispy is the rule. Not much tomato sauce and no huge gobs of cheese. It's about as far from Pizza Hut's deep dish as you can get. Fine by us!
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