Siena

We arrived in Siena by train, passing hundreds of acres of sunflowers but they were not as amazing to see as they would have been mid-summer in their full glory.

Piazza Del Campo is the main attraction in the center of old Siena so that was our first destination.  We have a rental car for our week here but you have to park a ways away and then walk to the square so that's what we did.

That bell tower in the piazza is a long ways up...

....but we went up the incredibly cramped stairwell to the top.  It's definitely not for anyone with claustrophobia issues!

Here's the view from part way up...

...and the views from the top are unreal.

This is the area where the spectators stand in the centre while the horses race around around them in  the square - the Paleo race.  Lots of restaurants and shops here so we wandered around and then had some gelato at the Venchi Chocolate shop - delicious!