Siena is only about 100 km from Perugia, so we decided to take the long way around Lake Trasimeno and show Nina Castiglione del Lago. We hit it during siesta time again (we are talented), but our same pasticceria was open and we bought a number of new delights to try out. The Pane Pescatore, with almonds, raisins, pinenuts and dried fruit was great, although apparently a bit to exotic for Nina (more for us). After walking along the main street, up into the fortress (which we hadn't done with the bikes) and back, we collected the car and headed to Cortona, of "Under the Tuscan Sun" fame. It is at the top of yet another hill - Umbria is famous for its hill towns, although by now we were in Tuscany -- and so parking promised to be difficult. We grabbed the first free space we saw, although it was a challenge with my bike hanging off the back and only inches to spare. Then as we walked up the hill, we passed large spot after large spot that would have been so much easier. In our excitement over squinching into the spot we found, we ended up leaving the GPS in the car, thus violating our rule of setting a waypoint to find our way back. Up and up we went, through a city garden and amphitheater, then encountered a young couple from Belgium who were also trying to find the entrance to the city. Together we found that going up was to no avail, but backtracking a bit (not thru the garden) got us into the city proper. Full of tourists, but very charming, and a great gelateria to greet us almost immediately. Thus fortified, we headed up a set of steps that seemed to go on forever up a narrow alley. This brought us to a much less crowded street and some spectacular views of the flatter farmland below. Time was pressing, so we headed downward, ever downward figuring, we'd have to come across the set of switchbacks on which we'd parked. Which we eventually did, although not without getting worried that we'd never see our handy GPS -- or car -- again. As we had walked away from the car, we had looked down on it and seen the car behind us pull out and then back down the road a short ways to where it was no longer one way. We wondered if we should do the same rather than heading up into the tangle of the city, but the GPS seemed to show that we could continue up and then soon have a chance the turn back down the hill. All went well, and we were off to the autostrada and Siena.
The owner of our VRBO in Siena had indicated that we could not park, but could unload, near our apartment, and he would then tell us where to park legally and without paying an arm and a leg. We were to call when we got to Siena, and he would be there in "some minutes." When we did call, he indicated he could not be there for about half an hour. So we let the GPS navigate us to the apartment. Talk about nerve wracking! We entered an area restricted to traffic and soon were having to crawl along waiting for tourists all over the road to move aside. We eventually encountered a policeman on a bicycle and asked him where Via della Citta was. He asked us why we wanted to know, and I said because our apartment is there (all of this was in Italian, or in my case, Italglish). Ah, he said, then you are almost there. Via della Citta starts right here, just keep going. That made us feel a bit better, and soon we found #19. The road was slightly wider there, so I simply pulled over in front of the door and turned on my flashers. In a short while, a man showed up and said "I am not Sr. Pratelli, but I will show you the apartment. Sr. Pratelli will come in an hour." He gave me a brief tour (there was not much to show -- you could put three of these in the last VRBO), then told me to drive out under the arch, follow the arrows and then park. We found parking about 1/2 a mile away, but all the other cars seemed to have resident stickers, so we were a bit nervous. Even more exciting was the difficulty in finding our way back to the apartment, even with the GPS. The buildings are so close together and so tall that the GPS has a really tough time finding the satellites, and it kept thinking we were on a street a block or so from the one we were actually on. So we navigated by feel and memory and fortunately found our way back.
We amused ourselves for a while by looking out the window at the tourists teeming by, but as an hour stretched by we began to get anxious about our car. So I called Mr. Pratelli again, and he seemed happy to hear from me, wondering when I'd like him to come by (!). I told him as soon as possible, and he proposed 7:30 (about 40 minutes later). I said I was worried about the car, but when he heard that it was registered in Switzerland, he said I shouldn't worry, it would be hard to get a ticket. Hmmm. So David and Nina went foraging for pizza while I started this blog. About a paragraph and a half ago, Mr. Pratelli arrived, and he spoke much better English in person than over the phone. He gave me another tour of the apartment, admonished me not to get any water in the crack around the little 2-burner stove top lest the electricity short out, and proceeded to complete his paperwork. In Italy, wherever you stay, you have to give them your passport to complete some paperwork regarding who is staying where. The only place this did not happen was in Bologna, but it probably should have.
Mr. Pratelli then proceeded to tell us where to find free parking (but watch out for street sweeping days), which would be 1.5 km or so from where we were currently parked, but only 300 m or so back to the apartment on foot. It was more like 2 or 3 km away by car, and 1 km (according to the GPS) back to the apartment. But we're set until Saturday morning at 6 a.m.
The apartment is a trip. It couldn't be more centrally located, being just around the corner from Il Campo, where the famous Palio horse race starts, or finishes, or something. But it is definitely not a car friendly section of the city. Fortunately, there are double-paned windows since the night life here seems to go on forever and is very loud (at about 3 a.m., someone started singing what sounded like a fight song or a victory song - they seem to still be celebrating whoever won the Palio in July - and at that point we opted for quiet over fresh air and closed the windows. The apartment consists of two rooms, a largish living room that doubles as Nina's bedroom and has a tiny, and I mean tiny, "kitchen" in the corner (see picture). If you've ever complained about having a small kitchen sink, think again. This one is so tiny it's practically impossible to do dishes, not that you can really cook much of anything. And there is the problem of the water and the stove (Mr Pratelli warned us again just before leaving that we must not let water get into the crack around the stove). Our room is up a short flight of stairs and has the most amazing ceiling. If I didn't know we were on a lower floor, I'd swear we were under the eaves. The bathroom, reached only through our room, has a tiny, not too clean, shower with nothing but a bit of slope to keep the water from covering the rest of the floor. The hot water heater is operated by a switch on the wall. As far as I can tell, there is no hot water in the kitchen.
But if your goal is a relatively inexpensive (100 Euro per night) place for 2 (or 3 if you don't mind being cozy), with location, location, location, and you're not arriving by car and don't really want to cook, then this is ideal.
The owner of our VRBO in Siena had indicated that we could not park, but could unload, near our apartment, and he would then tell us where to park legally and without paying an arm and a leg. We were to call when we got to Siena, and he would be there in "some minutes." When we did call, he indicated he could not be there for about half an hour. So we let the GPS navigate us to the apartment. Talk about nerve wracking! We entered an area restricted to traffic and soon were having to crawl along waiting for tourists all over the road to move aside. We eventually encountered a policeman on a bicycle and asked him where Via della Citta was. He asked us why we wanted to know, and I said because our apartment is there (all of this was in Italian, or in my case, Italglish). Ah, he said, then you are almost there. Via della Citta starts right here, just keep going. That made us feel a bit better, and soon we found #19. The road was slightly wider there, so I simply pulled over in front of the door and turned on my flashers. In a short while, a man showed up and said "I am not Sr. Pratelli, but I will show you the apartment. Sr. Pratelli will come in an hour." He gave me a brief tour (there was not much to show -- you could put three of these in the last VRBO), then told me to drive out under the arch, follow the arrows and then park. We found parking about 1/2 a mile away, but all the other cars seemed to have resident stickers, so we were a bit nervous. Even more exciting was the difficulty in finding our way back to the apartment, even with the GPS. The buildings are so close together and so tall that the GPS has a really tough time finding the satellites, and it kept thinking we were on a street a block or so from the one we were actually on. So we navigated by feel and memory and fortunately found our way back.
We amused ourselves for a while by looking out the window at the tourists teeming by, but as an hour stretched by we began to get anxious about our car. So I called Mr. Pratelli again, and he seemed happy to hear from me, wondering when I'd like him to come by (!). I told him as soon as possible, and he proposed 7:30 (about 40 minutes later). I said I was worried about the car, but when he heard that it was registered in Switzerland, he said I shouldn't worry, it would be hard to get a ticket. Hmmm. So David and Nina went foraging for pizza while I started this blog. About a paragraph and a half ago, Mr. Pratelli arrived, and he spoke much better English in person than over the phone. He gave me another tour of the apartment, admonished me not to get any water in the crack around the little 2-burner stove top lest the electricity short out, and proceeded to complete his paperwork. In Italy, wherever you stay, you have to give them your passport to complete some paperwork regarding who is staying where. The only place this did not happen was in Bologna, but it probably should have.
Mr. Pratelli then proceeded to tell us where to find free parking (but watch out for street sweeping days), which would be 1.5 km or so from where we were currently parked, but only 300 m or so back to the apartment on foot. It was more like 2 or 3 km away by car, and 1 km (according to the GPS) back to the apartment. But we're set until Saturday morning at 6 a.m.
The apartment is a trip. It couldn't be more centrally located, being just around the corner from Il Campo, where the famous Palio horse race starts, or finishes, or something. But it is definitely not a car friendly section of the city. Fortunately, there are double-paned windows since the night life here seems to go on forever and is very loud (at about 3 a.m., someone started singing what sounded like a fight song or a victory song - they seem to still be celebrating whoever won the Palio in July - and at that point we opted for quiet over fresh air and closed the windows. The apartment consists of two rooms, a largish living room that doubles as Nina's bedroom and has a tiny, and I mean tiny, "kitchen" in the corner (see picture). If you've ever complained about having a small kitchen sink, think again. This one is so tiny it's practically impossible to do dishes, not that you can really cook much of anything. And there is the problem of the water and the stove (Mr Pratelli warned us again just before leaving that we must not let water get into the crack around the stove). Our room is up a short flight of stairs and has the most amazing ceiling. If I didn't know we were on a lower floor, I'd swear we were under the eaves. The bathroom, reached only through our room, has a tiny, not too clean, shower with nothing but a bit of slope to keep the water from covering the rest of the floor. The hot water heater is operated by a switch on the wall. As far as I can tell, there is no hot water in the kitchen.
But if your goal is a relatively inexpensive (100 Euro per night) place for 2 (or 3 if you don't mind being cozy), with location, location, location, and you're not arriving by car and don't really want to cook, then this is ideal.
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