Joyful Traveling

So this Saturday I wanted to go on a small little day trip. I didn't want anything too far away or any of the big cities nearby because Mom is visiting soon for spring break, which I am so excited for! Now I had heard that Lucca was a good place to visit, and since the train ticket there was only  € 7.50, I decided it was worth  it. And worth it, it was. I got a nearly empty train at around noon. I would have left earlier, but I just missed the train. Thankfully there are always trains going to and from, so I wasn't worried. I boarded the train, ate the rest of my Italian meringue from the night before, got my fix of podcasts, and saw the beautiful Italian landscape (not featured in any of the pictures that I took in the train). There's just something about public transportation that I love, probably because growing up in a smaller town made it so I had to drive myself everywhere. I would pay to ride around on public transportation all day--wait. Unlike Sie...

So this past Sunday, I wanted to take a spontaneous day trip to the city of Siena. I woke up early(ish) to get to the train station and take the approximately hour and a half ride to Siena. I didn't know too much about Siena, but I figured since it was so close to Florence, it might as well be fun to go visit. This was the first mini trip I took on my own and first time using the train by myself. Thankfully the train was very empty, and there were no seat assignments to worry about. Now when I arrived in Siena, I wasn't exactly sure about where the historic center was (despite having Google Maps). I just kind of set off down the road. After walking quite a ways and through some residential areas, I assumed that I had gone in the wrong direction. Thankfully I had Rhett and Link's Ear Biscuits to stop me from going crazy, so I happily turned around and kept walking. Here's what I was walking on for a long time. I got real good at getting across streets with no ped...