Siena, Italy

The weather didn't look too good when I popped my head out the window of our apartment in Siena, By the time we got in the night before, it was dark, so this was first time I had seen the view.  That's the Cathedral in the background.

Many of the the apartments had lots of greenery on their verandahs, so first impressions were of a very pretty place.

Breakfast was provided at the apartment, so we had breakfast, start exploring fairly early...

Lots of alleyways to explore here.. Steven doing the Monster of Siena monsterfication..

 The view from where the people above are looking out to the Basilica of San Domenico....

An interesting and most likely very old door knocker...

The back of the Cathedral of Siena...

Siena Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Siena) is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta (Holy Mary, Our Lady of the Assumption).

The cathedral itself was originally designed and completed between 1215 and 1263 on the site of an earlier structure. It has the form of a Latin cross with a slightly projecting transept, a dome and a bell tower. The dome rises from a hexagonal base with supporting columns. The lantern atop the dome was added by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The nave is separated from the two aisles by semicircular arches. The exterior and interior are constructed of white and greenish-black marble in alternating stripes, with addition of red marble on the façade. Black and white are the symbolic colors of Siena, etiologically linked to black and white horses of the legendary city's founders, Senius and Aschius.

The origins of the first structure are obscure and shrouded in legend. There was a 9th-century church with bishop's palace at the present location. In December 1058 a synod was held in this church resulting in the election of pope Nicholas II and the deposition of the antipope Benedict X.

In 1196 the cathedral masons’ guild, the Opera di Santa Maria, was put in charge of the construction of a new cathedral. Works were started with the north - south transept and it was planned to add the main, larger body of the cathedral later, but this enlargement was never accomplished.

By 1215 there were already daily masses said in the new church. There are records from 1226 onwards of the transport of black and white marble, probably for the construction of the façade and the bell tower. The vaults and the transept were constructed in 1259-1260. In 1259 Manuello di Ranieri and his son Parri carved some wooden choir stalls, which were replaced about 100 years later and have now disappeared. In 1264, Rosso Padellaio was paid for the copper sphere on top of the dome.

A second massive addition of the main body of the cathedral was planned in 1339. It would have more than doubled the size of the structure by means of an entirely new nave and two aisles ranged perpendicular to the existing nave and centred on the high altar. The construction was begun under the direction of Giovanni di Agostino, better known as a sculptor. Construction was halted by the Black Death in 1348. Basic errors in the construction were already evident by then, however, and the work was never resumed. The outer walls, remains of this extension, can now be seen to the south of the Duomo. The floor of the uncompleted nave now serves as a parking lot and museum, and, though unfinished, the remains are testament to Sienese power, ambition, and artistic achievement.

Underneath the choir of the Duomo, a narthex containing important late 13th-century frescoes (probably about 1280) was found and excavated in 1999-2003. The frescoes depict scenes from the Old Testament and the life of Christ. This was part of the entrance of an earlier church. But when the baptistry was built, this under-church was filled with rubble. The narthex is now open to the public.

The belltower has six bells, the oldest one was casted in 1149.

The façade of Siena Cathedral is one of the most fascinating in all of Italy and certainly one of the most impressive features in Siena. Each of the cardinal points (west, east, north, and south) has their own distinct work; by far the most impressive of these is the west façade. Acting as the main entryway to the Duomo proper, it boasts three portals -  the central one is capped by a bronze-work sun.

Built in two stages and combining elements of French Gothic, Tuscan Romanesque architecture, and Classical architecture, the west façade is a beautiful example of Sienanise workmanship. Work began on the lower part around 1284. Built using polychrome marble, the work was overseen by Giovanni Pisano whose work on the Duomo’s façade and pulpit was influenced by his father Nicola Pisano.

The lower portion of the façade is designed from Giovanni's original plans. Built in Tuscan Romanesque style it emphasizes a horizontal unity of the area around the portals at the expense of the vertical bay divisions. The three portals, surmounted by lunettes, are based on Giovanni Pisano’s original designs, as are much of the sculpture and orientation surrounding the entrances. The areas around and above the doors, as well as the columns between the portals, are richly decorated with acanthus scrolls, allegorical figures and biblical scenes.

I loved the red marble which gave the cathedral a tinge of pink. A very impressive building and to me, it was a totally unexpected sight when we came across it. (I hadn't done my homework on Siena before we arrived)

Back out on the alleyways of Siena it started to rain...

The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008. Siena is famous for its cuisine, art, museums, medieval cityscape and the Palio, a horse race held twice a year

I can't find any information on these, but apparently these may be spearheads left in a brick wall from a medieval war.  Siena is very old first setled in 900-400BC by the Etruscans.

We stumbled across this very ancient fountain..

It was wet and cold and miserable so we found a cafe and warmed up with a hot chocolate and one of these to share between the three of us.  It. Was. Amazing.  Inside was melted fudgy chocolate stuff.  I could do with one right now!

Back on the streets exploring...

We then went and picked up our car to drive to Florence where we were meeting some of Anne's Friends for the weekend. Siena is a gorgeous city.

Skopje to Lake Ohrid and Back to Thessaloniki

We left Skopje with some difficulty as the roads were closed due to a marathon that was on in the city and our GPS kept wanting to use those roads. We eventually found the right way, after getting lost down some backroads and dead end streets!

We then ran into really bad weather over the mountains – cold wind, - it got down to 8C and pouring rain, really heavy.  Thunder too.  We were headed to Lake Ohrid – and thought if the weather kept this up, we would not be staying at the lake for long.

We arrived at the lake at midday to brilliant sunshine so were really lucky.  This is the view that greeted us.... 

Lake Ohrid  straddles the mountainous border between southwestern Macedonia and Eastern Albaia. It is one of Europe's oldest and deepest lakes at 289 meteres. It has a unique aquatic ecosystem that is of worldwide importance, with more than 200 endemic species. The importance of the lake was further emphasized when it was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1979 and when, in 2010, NASA decided to name one of Titan's lakes after Lake Ohrid.  The lake is otherwise densely surrounded by settlements in the form of villages and resorts - in both basin countries.

The stats are: Altitude 695M, Length 30.8km, Width 15.8km, Depth 289m.

We were enticed onto a boat by a nice man offering to take the three of us to the Church at the end for 5 euros, which was a great price so we jumped at it. I’m really pleased we did this as it gave us our bearings for the walk around the township/village afterwards. It was extremely beautiful, and the lake was crystal clear and a beautiful colour.

Anne and Vivie enjoying the boat trip...

Anne in charge....

Some of the houses along the lakeside...

Our destination - Saint John the Theologian, Kaneo, a Macedonia Orthodox Church situated on the cliff over Kaneo Beach overlooking Lake Orhrid in the city of Ohrid. The church is attributed to John the Theologian. The construction date of the church remains unknown but documents detailing the church property suggests that it was built before the year 1447. Archaeologists believe that the church was constructed some time before the rise of the Ottoman Empire very likely in the 13th century. Restoration work in 1964 led to the discovery of frescoes in its dome.  .

Colourful fishing boats dotted the lake...

And our skipper..

Once off the boat, we started exploring the old town in Ohrid itself..  Ohrid is the largest city on the lake and the 8th largest in Macedonia with over 42,000 people (2002). Ohrid is notable for once having had 365 churches, one for each day of the year, and has been referred to as a "Jerusalem (of the Balkans)". The city is rich in picturesque houses and monuments, and tourism is predominant.

Architecture of the area was the same as Bulgaria.  There was much ruin and restoration going on. Note that there are completely differen churches in this following image - so close to each other.

 Exploring the alleyways...

The cobblestones were smooth and worn and really nice to walk on..

I came across a great way to use up old hats and bags...

More interesting alleyways...

Office workers having a teabreak.  I took this image because their cups (red Nescafe) are the same we had a number of years ago ourselves!!

Some of the housing was old....

We suggested to Vivie that she take a photo of this one and text her parents to say she was staying here!!!

We found some turtles!  And we also ended up talking to a another Kiwi.  Fancy bumping into a New Zealander in Ohrid!

Our destination was the same church we saw from the boat, and as we were pressed for time, we tried to hurry, but there was so much to see, and it was all so different.  And beautiful.  This is a group of Macedonian dancers in the square.

I came across a lovely Macedonian girl selling her artwork outside her house. I bought the picture, took a photo of her holding it, and got her to sign it.  I cherish it, and have it tucked away safe.  I will be framing it.

Then we turned a corner and saw the church. I saw lizards sunning themselves on the stone wall. The lake sparkled, sun shone, and we couldn't have a better day in such a wonderful place.

Vivie and Anne dawdling while I was keen to get ahead!

This lady insisted on Anne and Vivie taking her photo.  I took this one as her attitude, and expression and her seeming sense of fun was hilarious, If a language hadn't stopped me from talking, I would have loved to know more about her.

 Red poppies lined the cliff face and were really beautiful.

We climbed down hundreds of steps to the beach from the church and walked along the pathways to head back to our car and to get some lunch - we were starving. A storm was brewing which made for some pretty dramatic skies.

There were little bars and restaurants on floats over the water, but they were pricey so we decided to go back into the town instead... besides the wind was getting up on the lake..

We passed old houses and doors, old boats, and the view over the lake was to die for...

A great place for a portrait...

The pathway around the cliffs towards the town...

Part of the old town wall and fortifications...

 Old and new...

Back in town we decided t move the car to a new parking spot, and asked for recommendations for a good cheap budget meal of local food.  Turned out we should have left the car where it was and just walked over the road!!

The food was amazing – we  had a variety of differnet dishes to try – which were all good,except the meatballs were awful.  All upo it cost about 15 euro for the three of us – I was most impressed, with the quality and cheapness. The tree outside was amazing too...

We then got back in the car around 4pm – 2 hours later than we should have been and started the trek back to Thessaloniki.  We were really late and missed the drop of time for the car rental, so rang them and they agreed to let us drop it off at 5.30am instead the next morning on the way to the airport.  We were later again as the ring road was closed due to  road collapse, so the GPS sent us once again on a wild goose chase!  But we got there in the end, but very late.  Anne by this time wasn’t well, but I was definitely on the mend.