Ah, Siena, with its beautiful cathedral with its beautiful facade.
Hmm, I'm sensing a pattern here...
According to our guide book, "In 1348, plague decimated two thirds of the population" of Siena. So that means one person in fifteen died?
We didn't have enough time in Siena both to eat and to climb the 505 steps to the top of the tower (which functions as the gnomon of the largest sundial in the world). We didn't have enough time in San Gimignano both to buy an ice cream (at the winner of the world ice cream championships 2006) and to climb any of the towers for which the place is famous.
That's the trouble with guided tours — they insist on guiding you when you just want to climb to the top of the tallest building.