10:00 am, Siena – We packed up for the second time and left Florence after breakfast, this time stopping for a day-trip in Siena. This is one of the more unique cities we’ve ever been to. Located, what feels like, on top of a small mountain, the streets of Siena tend to stretch more vertical than horizontal. Trying to maneuver through the streets is similar to winding through a maze, with little help at times from the maps we were provided (just ask Coach Cunningham, who may or may not have lead his group the wrong direction a couple of times). The narrow, stone streets give Siena a unique authentic feel.
1:00 pm, Bettolle – Between Siena and Rome, we stop for lunch at a small restaurant named Enoteca Opera in a cool small hillside town, Bettolle.
5:00 pm, Rome – We arrive in Rome! After checking into our hotel, Eurostars Aeterna, Massimo drops us off at Piazza Trilussa for us to tour around the south end of Rome. It is much more crowded than the previous cities we toured, but not as hard to navigate around as Siena was. Every street we go down has interesting shops and small cafe/restaurants. The players are starving by now, so we find a cool little (standing room only) pizzaria-to-go called Da Li Cochi a Trastevere. It is interesting in Italy, pizzas by the slice (which is what our players got tonight) are usually thick, like what we are used to in America, but if you are at a restaurant and order a pizza, they are whole personal pizzas and thin crusted. The guys got plenty to eat and wandered around the streets of Rome, while the parents/coaches found a nice sit-down restaurant to pass the time.
