WONDERFUL SIENA - Travel to Tuscany
The next day we were splitting up. My brothers had recommended Siena for the day and they were going to some wineries. While sitting in the bus waiting to go, Max (that’s what we called him) was asking us why we seemed disappointed with Rome. I had explained that we weren’t disappointed with Rome we just could not find what we were looking for. The orphanage and an address. This took a awhile to communicate back and forth because like I said there was this language barrier. Finally, I took out my husbands adoption papers and showed him. They were in Italian which over the years I had translated but maybe I missed something. He read them sheepishly because to him this was personal. I assured him it was okay and maybe I missed something. As he read he got this funny look on his face. He asked what was orphanage. I explained it to him and told him we were trying to find this in Rome. He said “ ah the translation is different in Italian” which is why no one knew what we were talking about. Orphanage in Italian is “institusion“. Then he read further and sucked all the air out of the bus. Kept pointing to the villa up the road and saying “the bus”. he kept repeating “villa bus” “villa bus”! I said ok, ok villa bus. What do you mean. He calmed down little and explained that’s how close he lives to my husbands sister. A mere 200 yards. This was Thursday. We leave for home on Saturday morning. We sat in our seats and seemed a little bewildered. We all were silent for a moment and Max started to drive us to Siena. Siena is very unchanged since medieval times. It is set on the slopes of three hills, easy access to the main attractions, wonderful shops, Gothic Cathedrals and museums. Each entrance is a port. At first the immensity of Siena intimidated us. But once we began following the street signs to the top and center everything was right in front of us. Strolling the narrow streets and checking out the shops on our way made it very enjoyable. The history is unique. Siena was one of our favorites. Piazza Del Campo (il Campo) - The building itself curves. It was constructed and the end of the 12th century and in the 14th century became Siena’s town hall and still is today. There are nine different brick patterns representing the members of the Medieval Government of Nine. Il Campo means the field. And when you approach it you’ll understand. If you are in for a good hike you can climb the 500 step bell tower, Torre del Mangia. The view is of all Siena. Spectacular. Walk west of il campo and you will come to a grouping of sites. Duomo - This is one of the most beautiful Gothic Cathedrals around Italy. At the time we were there it was having some restorations done, but, it did not affect the beauty of the iridescent marble and paintings. The Duomo’s interior is just as impressive. The marble floors took almost 200 years to complete. The artists biblical paintings are wonderful. Duomo Cripta - This crypt was discovered during excavation work and opened to the public in 2003. The beauty of the frescos are amazing. There are guided tours in English available. Duomo’s Battistero - While you are there you can’t miss seeing the baptistery. The immense, bronze baptismal font dates back to the 15th century. Orto Bontanico - This garden is a little ways away from everything but beautiful to see. A great place to have a snack picked up from one of the vendors and relax and just enjoy the wonderful Tuscan countryside. Shopping in Siena was easier than some of the other small villages we visited. Almost every vendor spoke some English and was very accommodating and helpful. We found everything there. It was actually where our daughter bought most of her gifts for her friends. And reasonably priced. I love Italian ceramic pottery and dishes. The big pasta bowl, the olive oil and vinegar cruets, butter dishes, all very available. There were plenty of local vendors to choose from. Most of the vendors let you observe as they did the hand painting. We met Max for our ride back to the villa and our family. He had been on the phone with a friend of his (Michael) who spoke English and he wanted us to talk to him. Michael was the driver that my family had before we got there. Max had kept the adoption papers while we were in Siena. He told Michael everything. I got on the phone and explained how my husband was adopted. We knew that no one in his family knew about him. Things are different in Italy. We also knew that he was removed from the family tree. Michael had left my husbands sister a note on her door. After explaining everything to him he said “uh oh” I said the same. Imagine this woman who does not know him or anything about a brother now had a note on her door. So he decided he would take a walk over and talk to her. While talking to Michael he told me why this was important to Max. He was raised in the same orphanage as my husband. Michael wanted to talk to my husband and I wanted to talk to Max. I first walked over to our daughter and told her. The look in both of our eyes when I asked him about the orphanage was heartwarming. All three of us had tears in our eyes. Max had this smile on his face and put his head down. We discussed his life. Then we all sat down once again in bewilderment over today. Our thoughts were spinning. What are the odds of never really expecting to ever go to Italy and ending up here two days before we return home? What are the odds that my brothers original driver got switched with Max? What are the odds that Max and my husband grew up in the same orphanage? And yes finally, what are the odds that these two men lived 200 yards from my husbands sister? All of us were pretty silent going back to the villa. We had just arrived in time for the end of a cooking lesson done by the owners of the villa. They had all the kids cook Italian pastries out on the grill. It was delicious. Good timing! We all had some wine together while we snacked on these goodies. There were also Italian cheeses, olives and breads. The kids all swam and the three of us just kept smiling and glancing at each other. After awhile my sister-in-laws went in the kitchen to prepare dinner. Since they were grilling they were just going to throw some burgers on. I was sitting alone watching my daughter and husband swim. My brothers came and sat by me. They asked how Siena was. I told them everything.
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