When we got back from Israel, the weather had changed. It was colder, wetter and foggier. We’d only been back for a couple of days when it came time for Hayley and me to head to Rome to meet my Mum, who was visiting from Australia. We got the early bus and spent the three-hour trip watching America’s Got Talent on my phone.
After a few logistical hiccups, we connected with my Mum, checked into a hotel, had a bite to eat and headed to the Vatican. We found the entrance to the Vatican museum, showed our tickets and commenced the 2-hour walk through the various areas of the museum.
Our ultimate destination was the Sistine Chapel. It was pretty amazing. Being there is so different to just seeing photographs. The size of the room and seeing what was involved in creating the frescoes is overwhelming.
When we made it out into Saint Peter's Square it had started raining.
We grabbed an Uber and headed back to the hotel.
The next day, we checked out early and headed to the Colosseum.
It had been ten years since Hayley and I had been there before. There had been lots of changes since then.
We left the Colosseum and spent the rest of the day exploring Rome before heading to the bus station to return to Siena.
Over the week we explored Tuscany and then decided to spend a day in Florence admiring the renaissance art.
And then some more time back in Siena admiring some more recent art.
We finally made it to lunch at an amazing winery we’d wanted to go to all year.
After a jam-packed ten days, we said goodbye to my Mum and made a list of the remaining things we wanted to see in Tuscany.
One of the things at the top of the list was the town of Pitigliano. It is made up of an amazing tangle of winding alleyways perched on a hilltop.
And looks equally as impressive from a distance.
On the way back home we were treated to an amazing sunset.
That weekend we made it to a fantastic farm-to-table restaurant that we’d heard about from friends.
We explored the grounds and met the animals.
And some of them even joined us for lunch.
As the end of the year rapidly approached, Mandi and I started focusing on ways of solidifying our memories of Siena. For me, that meant final photos of the most famous sights.
While Mandi took a more physical approach.
Then it was time to pack for Amsterdam - our final trip before leaving to head home.