Today was a rest day, which we appreciated and needed after a couple of rigorous ones in scorching heat. Wandering around Siena is a good way to revive though, and hide from the sun due to the tall buildings and narrow walkways. Except of course if you step out into the glorious piazza del campo where the sun will scorch you until you crawl back into the shadows and order another cold moretti (the big one, 66cl per favore).
We shopped for small presents, ate a nice lunch, and retraced our steps to the air conditioned hotel room to actually take part in the afternoon siesta for a change. In the late afternoon we explored a bit more and I climbed a tower while the rest of the team had a look inside the magnificent duomo.
As the sun sank and the light turned golden we found a place to eat with a memorably cheerful and fun waiter. That was in contrast to an arrogant type who messed up my meal (ok, I make mistakes too) last evening but would not admit it. He became the evil Jaffar (Disney… Aladdin…) since he resembled him greatly. Tomorrow back on the bikes for a ride deep into chianti territory.
Look at all the new La Pavoni machines!
Piazza del Campo in the morning sunshine, one of my favorite places
We went looking for the important water sources for Siena, mysteriously coming from a below ground river called La Diana
We had lunch at a restaurant so tilted they needed to alter the furniture
It doesn't get any more ornate than the duomo in Siena
A view from atop the half built wall attached to the duomo
geeteetravels 
Nice to see that bad service is a ubiquitous experience. – Eric