Nancy in the town centre of Siena.

Siena's Duomo shines in the afternoon light.

Siena... is wonderful but busy! Too many cars, buses, motor scooters etc. The town is nice but you have to be careful all of the time. It looks like cool weather today, but in Italy it warms up in a hurry when the sun is out. We wear bluejeans since it is cool.

Breakfast at Hotel Romana was very good. The eggs are back and there were some tomatoes. They serve breakfast outside under a canopy in the courtyard. Very nice touch.

Unfortunately NO INTERNET. They offer a computer with an Internet connection... no wifi !

Our morning was a trip to the centre of the down town to get some souvenirs we missed the day before. A long walk for what we bought but I promised Nancy no more long walks... oh well.

The drive to Trieste will be long so we try to get an early start. First we make a wrong turn (I did) but it is solved by "mother" fairly quickly. She sends us North to Firenze instead of East to A1. In Firenze there is a traffic tie-up but only 15 minutes or so. it also started to rain. The road to Firenze is 4 lane but narrow. The speed limit is 90 kph and for good reason. Cell phones are a nuisance here... people use them when driving. One guy in front of us was weaving in and out and slowing down and speeding up... on a cell phone.

The trip between Firenze and Bologna is full of hills and tunnels and large trucks. You must concentrate on being in the right lane at the right time. Not my favourite drive but only 75-90 km.

After Bologna the road is flat and straight and all toll road. We have brought our supermarket sandwiches but they taste terrible. The tomato has a strange unripe taste. Most of mine does not get eaten. It is better to purchase the sandwiches st the roadside restaurants. One mistake.

Things go very well for some time until we get well past the Venice turn off.... then everything STOPS. For 20 minutes we barely move. Merging lanes from 3 to 2 seem to be the reason but there could also have been an accident. The we start but go for a couple of km and then we stop. This is more dangerous since the guy behind be nearly hit us... in Canadian terms.

The trip from Venice to Trieste is slowed by traffic and rain. We get a sudden downpour but it does not last. But the skies are very dark. The temperature drops from 24 to 17 C.

Finally we end the tollway 23.40 euros later.

We get off at a Trieste exit and find we have to drive 20 more km. However, it is along the North coast of the Adreatic Sea and is very beautiful.
We have been on the road from 10:30 till 5:30 pm 7 hours with 3 stops.

Hotel we are going to make our last stay at is right down town. We drive by it once but soon ask for directions. They do NOT call the Hotel the "Citta di Parenzo". Just "di Parenzo".

The room has two twin beds. We fix this by putting them together. The washroom is lasrge and the room adequate.
Parking is by valet service only. This adds 16 more euros on to the expensive hotel bill.

We decide to open our bottle of siena wine... no cork screw ! Our room does not have one nor does the hotel have one. I tried the "shoe" tick but it does NOT work. I try to buy a cork screw but the only thing I can find is a bar that will open the bottle for us. I bring the bottle back to the bar.

When we decide to go for supper, I find that my money purse is empty of my euro envelope. My heart just about stopped.
We realize that it probably slipped out into the middle of the car when we were going to make the 23 euro toll charge. So we ask the desk clerk to contact the valet company to see if they can find it in the car which is several km away. We have to wait 35 minutes and luckily the envelope is found and returned intact ! We are SOOOOOOOOO relieved.

Now it is about 8 pm and we head out for our last Italian meal. The girl at the desk has given us a restaurant that is not too pricey but has good Italian food;the Al Vecia Canale. It is busy and not presumptuous. The food is great and the price right. Nancy finally gets her grappa and is out like a light when we get back.

What a day !