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Wednesday morning we slept in a bit to catch up on some much needed sleep. Then after much deliberation and a little argumentation, we went off in search of a bus to take us to Siena. Before figuring it all out we stopped to get some pastries for breakfast at a little café near the hotel and then after not finding the bus station the first time, grabbed some meat, cheese and bread from the grocery store and went to the nearby Piazza Santa Maria Novella to eat it. Afterwards we finally found the bus station and I convinced my mom that we should just get on the bus and go right then and there instead of waiting for tomorrow, so on the bus we went!

It was about an hour and a half bus ride there and I slept the majority of the way while mom read the guide books to figure out what we should do the afternoon. Upon arrival we decided to go to il Dumo (there’s one in Sieana too). We stopped in several cute little ceramic shops along the way, and we got some yummy gelato too! Sieana is a very pretty, hilly city that is exactly what you would expect Tuscany to look like. We first went into the Baptistery at il Dumo, and it was pretty cool. The ceiling was a big fresco and the baptism font was beautiful, but it was a pretty small area so we left shortly. We then went up to the cathedral itself, but they were just about to start a mass so they weren’t letting any tourists inside, so we missed out on that one.

Then we went down Piazza del Campo, which is supposed to be the heart of the city. We tried to go up the clock tower Torre del Mangia, however there was a sign informing us that they sold out of tickets for that day – still not sure how you sell out of tickets for something like that, but once again we were let down. So we strolled across the square to the Fountain of Joy to watch the pigeons try to drink from the fountains and then headed back through the windy roads of the town. After that it was time to grab a quick slice of pizza and get back on the bust to Firenze. It was a much shorter ride back due to the madness of the bus driver flying through the streets.
This morning we woke up relatively early to get all of our stuff together and check out of the hotel so that we could enjoy a bit more of Firenze before taking off for Venezia. After breakfast we headed to the train station to check our luggage then we went back to il Dumo Firenze version. It was a long line to get in but it moved quickly and though the church was huge it was mostly empty. The dome however was worth the wait; it was painted beautifully and looked very 3-D. It’s smaller than the one in Saint Peters’ at the Vatican, but the design is much prettier and more intricate. We were going to go up in this dome as well, however the line was very long and not moving at all and we didn’t have time to waste.

From there we headed down to the market area, mostly to look at the famed Firenze leather and made few purchases. We spent most of our remaining time there before heading to the post office to change over some money. The we headed back to the train station where I went to the machines to buy our train ticket to Venezia and mom went to the grocery store to get the same lunch as yesterday and we headed back to the Piazza to eat again. Then we grabbed our bags and rushed to the train.

After about a 2 hour train ride we got off at Venezia San Lucia station and tried to figure out the Waterbus system. After being told by the owner of a restaurant we were getting on the wrong bus we walked in the opposite direction, only to find that we could in fact take the one we were on and get closer to the hotel. So we went back and when it came the guy opening the gates was quite rude because we couldn't get on fast enough with our luggage and weren't sure it was the right one. He barely stopped I swear. Then after a few minute ride we were dropped off at our stop and had to figure out how to walk to the hotel from there.

It was pretty confusing. There were street signs pointing us in the right direction and we wandered until some nice woman asked us if we needed help. We were basically right across the street. Hotel isn't bad, but has a lot of steps and no elevator. I'll post more tomorrow! Added Roma Day 2 Photos!!