Having arrived in Siena by bus we thought we’d use the train to get from here to Florence. The 12:18 on platform 3, to be precise.  Also on that platform was a model railway. Cute.  The train left at exactly 12:18 and we got an announcement in Italian, and then in English. The interesting thing about… Continue reading The Grand Tour 19 – Siena to Firenzi

We did a number of interesting things today – The Basilica of San Domenico which is also known as Basilica Cateriniana, The Cathedral Baptistry and The Santa Maria della Scalla. At Basilica Cateriniana (they don’t allow pictures) we saw the relics of Saint Catherine – her thumb and her head. It’s odd to say so… Continue reading The Grand Tour 17 – Siena, Misc

No it’s not paint, and it’s not licorice. It’s white and dark green-black marble. This side view was taken from a spot know as The Panorama. The Duomo di Siena as it is known locally was completed between 1215 and 1263, and the stripes represent the black and white horses of the legendary city’s founders, Senius and Aschius. The facade… Continue reading The Grand Tour 16 – Siena Cathedral 

The beauty of this church is astounding, and the library particularly so. The first thing you see as you look up is the ceiling. Lining the walls are books of music, all hand illuminated.  Here are some close-ups of the books. They are all under glass, so there are a few reflections, but you can… Continue reading The Grand Tour 15 – The Library at Siena Cathedral

We’ve arrived in Siena and have just taken a walk around at dusk, and into the evening. Here are a few pictures from the walk. 

Three minutes walk from our apartment in Rome was an exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci’s machines. I could not resist, paid the €9 ticket price, and spent the next 40 minutes in geek heaven. The focus was on his flying machines, mechanical aides (lifting devices with gears), and military machines.  Many of the exhibits had… Continue reading The Grand Tour 13 – Leonardo

This place is crowded with tourists just like us who’ve come to see one the best persevered buildings of antiquity. Completed in AD 128 , the reasons for its longevity is it almost continuous use. It was consecrated as a church in the 7th century and Mass is still held there today. The marble work… Continue reading The Grand Tour 11 – The Pantheon

Today we had the best history lesson imaginable.We booked an excellent small group tour of the Colosseum, the Palatine and the Roman Forum. Four hours passed incredibly quickly as Francesca showed us around and pointed out all sorts of details we would not have noticed on our own. Our companions were 2 friendly American couples… Continue reading The Grand Tour 10 – The Colosseum

There are many churches in Rome, and you can hardly walk two blocks without passing a church or a priest. Or two.  While there are massive queues for well-known churches such as Saint Peter’s there are many others worth visiting that have no queues, and where you can sit anonymously in a pew and reflect. … Continue reading The Grand Tour, Part 9

Lettera dal Vaticano. The Vatican is a 28 minute walk from our apartment, and so we set out at 8 for our 8:35 entry tickets. As we got closer more and more people were focussed on the same goal us us – find, or get to, the entrance to the Museum. Everything is very well sign-posted, and… Continue reading The Grand Tour, Part 8