Today’s Shooting Agenda
- Dawn shoot cancelled (inclement weather)
- Siena, with visit to Duomo
No Dawn Shoot Today
Due to heavy rains and miserable weather this morning there was no dawn shoot. We were able to have a little sleep-in this morning and met in the hotel restaurant at 8:00AM for breakfast.
Siena Bound
At about 9:00 we met in the hotel parking lot and boarded our van for a trip to Siena. We certainly didn’t want to waste a day despite the weather, so we aimed for some type of indoor activity while there.
Arriving in Siena, we found a parking spot in the carpark, put on our raincoats and set out on the streets to explore the city (which was a challenge as it was pouring rain). We were in need of a caffeine injection so we stopped in at a busy little cafe called Bar Caffetteria 4 Cantoni to fuel up. I was impressed with their cappuccino art:
Suitably fuelled up, our group left the cafe and went up the street for a visit to the Duomo di Siena (Siena Cathedral). The Duomo is a massive and impressive medieval church in Siena which is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. It was designed and completed between 1215 and 1263.
We reached the Duomo, paid the €13 entrance fee (for full building tour) and started to explore. I couldn’t cease being impressed with all the splendour:
Just as we were leaving the rain let up just enough for me to get a couple of quick exterior shots:
Our little sub-group spent several hours in the Duomo, while a few of our other teammates split off to explore Siena’s Piazza del Campo. After spending several hours exploring the Duomo (or the Piazza del Compo), all of our group rendezvoused at the Bar Caffetteria 4 Cantoni (where we had stopped earlier) for a much-needed lunch. I had a highly enjoyable Salami Toscini Pecori sandwich and a pot of tea. Leaving the café at about 4:45, we returned to the carpack in the pouring rain and boarded the van for the journey back to the hotel.
Evening Meal
Reaching the hotel we enjoyed a bit of free time before meeting for drinks and chat at 6:45. Our dinner reservation was for 8:00PM, so we made our way to the Ristorante La Barbarossa, located conveniently beside our hotel (this was handy, given the flood-like weather condition).
We returned to the hotel at about 10:00PM, parted ways and retired for the day.
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