I left the campsite outside Siena a bit before 7:30am and drove past the sunflower fields I'd passed the night before, but there was still nowhere to stop, so I kept going. I got to Siena at about 8am, and found an easy place to park, but was then told by council workers that they were mowing the grass nearby and that there was no one really parked there for fear of rocks flying up scratching the paintwork. Thinking that was quite a wise move, I went back to the car to move it. But oh there was no parking anywhere, I did a big loop all around the city then back again before finally spying a spot on the side of a main road. One thing that's good about driving a British car in Europe is that you're sitting on the kerb side, meaning that I did a perfect parallel park, then got out safely on the footpath. The parking was also free there, so even better!

It was quite a walk into the city but my way was well-signposted and I just followed all the signs to the Duomo, as I wanted to see it hopefully without too many people around - I got my wish too!

You had to pay to go into the duomo but you also got access to several other places as part of your ticket so I decided to just do it. The cathedral didn't open for an hour, but the Museo dell'Opera was open, along with its panoramic viewpoint over Siena, so I lined up for that. The museum was full of mostly religious items and artwork, so I had a quick look around before heading to the stairs. I think they only let about 15 people or so up to the panorama point because its very narrow, but wow, it was sooooo worth it!

After I left the museum, it was time to go to the Duomo. Just a warning, I took LOTS of pictures inside this church because it was simply amazing...

The next part of the walk around the cathedral took me to the Piccolomini Library, which was just so beautiful. The entire library was decorated from floor to ceiling, with the frescoes having been painted by Pinturicchio. The library was to house an extraordinary array of old books collected by Pope Pius II.

After the Duomo, I visited the Baptistry and the Crypt. The Siena card to get you into all of these places was well worth it. I finally went to explore the rest of Siena - it was SO hilly! I must have walked the only vaguely flat walk from the car to the duomo because everywhere else had really steep hills! It was starting to get hot and I was a hungry and, admittedly, a bit crabby so I didn't feel like walking around. I found somewhere to eat and sat down gratefully. I am sorry to say that today was just not my day for exploring out in the sunshine, and I left soon after lunch without having seen a lot of the beautiful city. I would definitely return to Siena in the cooler months, as it was a beautiful place but stifling hot in the summer.

I hopped back in the campervan, cranked the A/C and drove to Montalcino, hoping that I would arrive there in better spirits!