Warning: Don't drive through the Arches in Italy

On the way back from Montepulciano, my FIL and Opa decided to take a quick road trip around the town of Sienna, since it was on the way back to our villa.  First, let me show you the van we were in:

The back of our Villa.  That lady in the door was the housekeeper and very nice!

It was an 11 passenger van, so it was quite large.  It was, in fact, the size of a daycare van.  (I should know--I grew up in daycare.)

Anyway, we were in this bus, driving around Italy, on the tiny streets.  Well, as we entered Sienna, traffic was going every which direction and people were everywhere.  People were yelling at us in Italian, honking at us, cutting us off, etc.  As we are about to enter into Sienna, we come to a stop light, and right after the light, there was a BEAUTIFUL arch way (like the one in Montepulciano).  My FIL yelled "Which way do I go" and Opa yelled back "GO STRAIGHT!".  At that moment, I said "WOW, we get to DRIVE through this?" 

Foreshadowing, anyone?

Well, here we are in a big arse van, driving on the cobblestone roads of Old Sienna.  I've already told you how narrow the roads where, so that means there was room for about 2 people to walk on either side of our van as we bumped along. 

To make a crowded road even worse, the University had just let out, so there were kids everywhere filtering out of the University buildings.  So, we continued on.  My FIL is saying the whole time "I don't know where to go, it's crazy crowded here".  People on the streets were giving us the meanest looks.  I can only imagine how they thought we looked "7 Americans in a huge van...driving on these roads". 

About that time, my BIL pulled out his Rick Steve's Italy travel book, flipped to Sienna and read aloud:

"Sienna is surrounded by arches that indicate you are entering city center.  You should NOT drive through these arches, as only local residents with special passes are allowed in.  If you should find yourself within the city walls, you should expect a fine to great you on your doorstep when you return home from your Italian vacation.  The fine for driving within the walls of Sienna are steep and will vary, depending on how many cameras pick up your license plate."

Oh, I wish I was joking, but it was almost comical.  All at once, we realized why we'd been given dirty looks--we weren't supposed to be there.  Just at that moments, a cop pulled us over and started yelling at my FIL in Italian. 

Here's what I heard:

Cop: "blah blah blah" hands waiving like crazy

FIL: I'm lost

Cop: "Ugh, YES, blah  blah blah lksjdfljdf

He then proceeded to tell us to turn left at the next turn and "get the hell out of here" as my FIL said.

We turned left, and found ourselves here:

Piazza del Campo

The absolute center of town, in the main square, Piazza del Campo.  Please take notice that there are NO OTHER CARS here.  We drove right along that road in front of the church, with thousands of onlookers watching the "Stupid Americans".  I have to say, it was so cool turning that corner and entering the main square.  It was beautiful.

Piazza del Campo: our view from the van

I'll show you more pictures of Sienna tomorrow.  The next morning, my BIL, SIL, hubs and I all went back to explore Sienna, but this time, by foot.

PS- In case you were wondering, my FIL still hasn't gotten a ticket / fine in the mail yet.  Fingers crossed it doesn't come.