Monday, April 5, 2010

Sick in Siena

I spent Easter in Siena, Tuscany. It was kind of a bust. The hostel I stayed at, while it was cheap, was twenty minutes outside the city center. It wasn't actually called the YHA Hostel, but instead its real name is the Ostella di Siena. It was clean but that's the best thing I can say about it. Sarah, my friend and travel companion, got in around 8:00 pm and settled by 9:00 pm. We were starved so we settled for a restaurant around our hostel since we the buses weren't running to the city center any longer. I ordered the spaghetti alla carbonara. This I thought would be a safe bet. Never have I been so wrong. Sarah enjoyed her ravioli immensely. We both got chocolate strawberries for dessert. After dinner we were wiped so we headed back to the hostel for some beauty rest. I felt sick to my stomach. That night I didn't get one wink of sleep. I had the chills, sweats, body ache, and massive headache. I got sick in the middle of the night. I got food poisoning in Siena on Easter! Of course, just my luck. The next morning, still not feeling good at all, we headed into town for mass. Just being in Italy for Easter was so amazing. After that we waited in line at the tower, which was supposed to have the best views of Tuscany, for about forty minutes. As soon as we got to the front of the line they told us it was closed. It rained the entire day. We shopped around and saw the Duomo. It was really beautiful. Mass was going on, so we considered ourselves good Catholics for going twice. Sarah and I grabbed lunch to escape from the cold wind and rain and then called it an early day. We both decided that Siena would have been astounding if it had been sunny and warm. The weather just didn't want to cooperate with us. Oh yeah, and the whole food poisoning thing kind of put a damper on the Tuscan experience for me. Still, it was a great memory to be in Siena for Easter.

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