October 6, 2025–Under the Tuscan Sun in Siena, Italy

Tonight we are in Siena, where we will be for the next three nights. Our hotel is right off the main square, so driving here was quite a feat. They told us not to use GPS because we would end up in a restricted area and would probably receive a large fine. So, rather than us being arrested by the Carabinieri, they sent turn by turn directions that were insanely hard to follow: drive past the soccer field, make a sharp right up a steep ramp, go past a round green garden on the right (?), drive by the newsstand on the left (on a road that was looking more and more like a pedestrian sidewalk), and then drive to the end of the road to the statue of Salustio Bandini in Piazza Salimbeni. The hotel is in walking distance. So, we arrived at said statue and had no idea where to park. We ended parking right by the statue while Doug found the hotel and someone who could park our car legally. Totally nerve-wracking.

We spent Friday and Saturday nights in Portofino—well actually on the Portofino Peninsula—in a town called Comalgi, which is part of the Italian Riviera.  The Italian Riviera is the narrow coastal strip in Italy which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines Mountains.  Although the Italian Riviera is known for 300 days of sunshine per year, it was raining on Saturday when we were there.  Go figure.  Basically, everything is built on a mountainside, so colorful houses line the beach and go up the mountainside.  Comalgi was a fishing town, so the different shades of orange, yellow, red, and green helped sailors recognize their houses against the vast expanse of the sea, making landfall more straightforward.  By the way, this is a phenomenon in many coastal villages and seaports, even in America.  For instance, Rainbow Row in Charlestown, South Carolina has the same history of colors used to guide sailors home. The pink building in the center picture is where we stayed, Hotel Cenobio dei Dogi.

One thing I learned about traveling in Italy:  you had better love pasta for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Well, not for breakfast, but definitely for the other meals.  And seafood, especially in the places on the water where we have been.  Comalgi is historically a fishing town, so seafood is a way of life.  And of course, the bread is fantastic and the pizza is always excellent.  We were at a pizzeria a couple of nights ago and they had a pizza called Americano, which listed as one of its ingredients as “frites.”  I was confused because even us rube Americans know that frites are French fries.  I asked, and yes, they had a pizza with French fries on it which was supposed to appeal to Americans.  That’s just weird in my book.

Last night we stayed in Hotel Villa Casanova, which was a farmhouse or villa on 360 acres before being converted to a fourteen room hotel in 2009. It is about six miles from Lucca, and totally out in the country, so the GPS had us making numerous turns through small towns and taking the second and third exits off dozens of roundabouts. It seemed like we were going to end up somewhere scary.  But we finally arrived and it was just the sweetest place ever, with a restaurant, pool, and a lovely guest room.

By the way, we are in Tuscany and it is sunny, thus my title.