Day 18 - San Quirico d'Orcia, Italy -> Siena, Italy

Sun, June 30

29.8 Miles (531.4 total)

Didn't get a lot of sleep last night. The Pilgrims hostel was hot, so I soaked my shirt in some water and used it as a blanket. And there was a town party last night for winning some archery competition, which started at 8pm and ended around 2 or 3am. But we got up early to beat some of the heat and made great time, getting to Siena a little before 11am.

There's another celebration going on here! The town is getting ready for the Palio di Siena, a horse race happening in two or three days, but they spend the two or three days leading up to it partying, drinking, and singing their neighborhood's song in the street. IT'S WILD! You have to look up a video of it. They cover the town square in dirt for the race, and some of the turns are so sharp, they put mattresses up to keep the horses and riders from hitting the walls too hard. Jockies often fall off! Which is ok, cuz it's the first horse that crosses the line that wins - no rider necessary.  

We did a Rick Steves walking tour around Siena, then headed back to wash up and wash clothes.

I was looking forward to pasta for dinner and trying an Aperol Spritz, which are everywhere. We were going to go to the piazza where the race is held to get a seat at dinner and watch the trials (Mom luckily texted us they were happening), but the place was packed! The restaurants there temporarily closed for the practice trials, with the horses going around the track and kicking up dirt. As each horse entered the piazza, the neighborhood the horse represented followed, wearing their area's colors and scarfs and chanting their songs. Even earlier today, you'd be hard pressed to walk around the city and not hear a song being chanted from somewhere. As the trial neared starting, teams around the piazza chanted at each other constantly, always trying to outdo the other. Just electric with energy. Such a cool time to be in this city!