Tuesday 27 April

The first part of today included a pleasant amount of downhill. A short climb to Montalcino, then more downhill to Buonconvento where we stopped for lunch. We had to make up some distance today, and we did it by taking a more direct route to Siena. Instead of the scenic SS451/SS438 via Asciano, we took the more direct, and populated, SS2. This was a busy road with many trucks and busses and mostly no shoulder to speak of, however the Italian drivers never failed to amaze us with their cautious overtaking, and never did we feel threatened by any of the heavy machinery hurtling past us.

We rode into Siena and found our way to the central piazza where some kind of policeman with no sense of humour gesticulated that we weren't allowed to ride our bikes there. We wheeled them back out to start hunting for our hotel in Siena's maze of side streets.

We eventually found the hotel we were looking for, Hotel Piccolo Etruria, a small establishment in one of Siena's many narrow windy side roads. We checked in, showered quickly, and headed out on foot to explore the old town. Some impressive old buildings, especially the beautiful Duomo (left). Very crowded and touristy though - not our favourite. We've learnt that we prefer the smaller, quieter towns.