Siena

The next day, I decided to do an afternoon and evening in Siena. In retrospect, maybe the side trip might not have been the disaster it turned out to be if I had just done a day trip there instead of spending the night. Who knows. What I do know is that it did not go well.

The trip started out well. I got a little lost, but eventually found the bus station (as a side note, I am starting to think I should rename this blog Lost in Europe. I get lost every day it seems, to varying degrees.) I easily bought my bus ticket, and hopped on, and the ride in was smooth and full of beautiful scenery.

After being dropped in Siena, disaster struck. I got very, very lost. I spent at least 2 hours wandering the hilly town of Siena with my heavy backpack on in the midday heat. I was exhausted. I couldn't find anyone who spoke English to ask for directions. I couldn't find a taxi, nor did I know or could I figure out which bus I needed to get to my hostel, which was pretty far outside the city center. I was also hungry. I quickly got frustrated and upset. I may have even cried. At one point I asked a man working a newsstand where to find a taxi, and he told me in very basic Italian that I had to call one. He gave me the phone number and told me the street name, which I didn't understand. I quickly abandoned that plan when I couldn't figure out how to use the pay phone.

I just kept wandering until I finally found a taxi. He dropped me at the hostel, and I thought that was the end of my misery. But upon checking in to the hostel, I realized I was mistaken. The place looked like a prison. Everything looked hard and cold, and was painted shades of brown. The man at the front desk spoke little English, and barely looked up from his game of solitaire to speak to me. He was the most unfriendly person I had yet encountered on my trip, and to experience such after being already so discouraged just broke me.

After dropping my things in my room (which, thankfully, was a single) I went back downstairs, bought an hour's worth of Internet time (first place where you had to pay for web access) and cried while emailing my parents.

I eventually calmed down, got some food, and slept. I stayed at the hostel the rest of the time
I was in Siena, reading my book in my room and hiding. Many people say that Siena is their favorite place in Italy, and it seems beautiful. But it just did not work out for me.

(on a side note, this hostel I stayed at was part of the International Youth Hostel Association. I have since stayed at another IYH that was almost as bad ad this one. If any of you ever go stay in hostels, avoid these places like the plague. They are soulless and unfriendly places, and the "non-official" hostels I've stayed at so far have been a thousand times better than these. Just an FYI.)