the blue blog archives: sweating it out

To cool off, we visited a local water park. The boys had a blast on the slides (not this fast one though - that's my brother-in-law flying out the bottom!) and it was a refreshing and sand-free break from the heat of the beach.

Our last outing took us to two of Tuscany's most famous and most beautiful medieval cities, San Gimignano and Siena.

San Gimignano was amazing. You park outside the city walls then walk into this tiny little world. I wish I could convey how it feels to be inside this little town. The streets are crooked and narrow and the buildings on either side are high, so there's no view of the countryside around you. Then suddenly the small street will open up into a piazza.

Walking the shady zigzag streets, winding around and cutting through the little city, you really get the sense of medieval people living their lives in the confines of this small unit hidden behind the safety of city walls and high towers, cut off from the rest of the world.

Siena is much like San Gimignano, but muuuuch larger. We got to drive into the city walls to the parking area. Drive into them - cool! The streets were again all narrow and brick paved and lined with high stone buildings, but this was so much bigger. Here the small streets open up to a giant cathedral,

The piazza has a sloped ground (perfect for sitting and relaxing) leading down to the impressive Tower del Mangia. And there are restaurants and bars all around the piazza. We couldn't resist sitting down and enjoying a pizza and the cool evening air in this beautiful space.

Coming to you today (the first day of the official sockapalooza send off) from a very hot internet point in Siena. I've checked the sockapalooza database and we're at 48% reported done! That's almost half. Woo hoo! You've definitely been knitting. Now wipe that sweat from your brow and keep it up! I've got one last repeat of waving lace to do and then it's the final toe for me. The socks will be ready to ship when I am back stateside.

When last we spoke, I had popped into a 10 min.-1Euro internet point in a hellaciously hot Florence and only had time to check the sockapalooza progress. It's been near impossible to find stamps and a mailbox to send postcards around here, so I gave up early on ever being able to find an internet point where I could upload pictures. Therefore, one more promise of pics to come, including boys on the beach, wee one in Florence, and a very leany tower.

posted by alison at 2:29 pm | in sockapalooza 4 , vacation 2007

Comments

Good luck with the pizza and the socks! Enjoy your vacation.

Posted by: Chelsea at August 2, 2007 3:13 PM

Mmm ... I tried checking everywhere, but just couldn't find it. I want to check when we are supposed to send out the socks ... I thought it was 08-02-2007 ... but obviously I remembered wrongly. So, is it 08-07-2007 then? Thank you.

Posted by: Agnes at August 2, 2007 5:44 PM

Oh Oh oh! Are you there for the Palio?!?!?!? I love the Palio. sigh.

Posted by: Jen at August 2, 2007 6:10 PM

Looking forward to seeing your holiday pictures!

I should be mailing my Sockapalooza socks tomorrow. They're finishing blocking right now. I may have to set a fan in front of them to make sure. The post office isn't open here on the weekends, and Monday I am leaving for my three-week vacation! They MUST go tomorrow!

Posted by: Sheri at August 2, 2007 7:19 PM

My socks are done and I mailed them today with a few surprises for my sock pal. I read that we were to mail 8/2/07......hope I was right, either way, they are on their way Priority Mail....

I also could not figure out how to post I was done?????

Posted by: Cindy at August 2, 2007 7:40 PM

My socks are done and I mailed them today with a few surprises for my sock pal. I read that we were to mail 8/2/07......hope I was right, either way, they are on their way Priority Mail....

I also could not figure out how to post I was done?????

Posted by: Cindy at August 2, 2007 7:45 PM

Crap, I thought it was the 2nd too! Did that change at some point? I sent my pair today. Oh well--my pal will get hers a little early!

For those looking to post their status, look in the sidebar of the main page and click the "Sockapalooza Database" link.

Posted by: Ashley at August 2, 2007 7:47 PM

I've not done the sockapalooza, but I've heard good things about it.

Have travels on your vacation!

Posted by: gerald at August 2, 2007 9:33 PM

Oooh, you're in Siena! My holiday starts on Sunday and we're taking a flight over there also ;)

I'm done with my sockapalooza socks, but can't get through the database to get my sockapaloozas address :/

Posted by: mippe at August 2, 2007 11:42 PM

nevermind stamps. Go to any post office and mail it from there. You can buy a nice yellow box at the post office, and that's the safest thing to use because these are usuallyr respected, while other containers sometimes get broken into. The post office guy will also take care of the stamps. The main post office in Siena is on piazza Matteotti, which is, I think, the square where the busses from Florence arrive.

Posted by: Typesetter at August 3, 2007 9:41 AM

I've been in Florence at this time of year. Hot, hot, hot!! I thought I was pregnant since I kept getting nausea. Finally realized I had sunstroke;)
But the coast at this time of year is always so much fun and so beautiful. I can't wait to see trip photos. I am 2 inches from finishing my socks. My pal is on vacation so I got a little reprieve, but I will be done this weekend--mailing Monday!

Posted by: deb at August 3, 2007 10:37 AM

Did you find pizza? :)
What kind did you have?

Posted by: Carol at August 3, 2007 11:08 AM

Typesetter's right about using the post office. You can also buy stamps in a Tabaccheria/Tabac, and they should direct you to the mailboxes.

Posted by: Liz at August 3, 2007 11:14 AM

Hey, I think *I* used that same Internet point LAST summer! Hope you're enjoying Italy. We didn't think Siena was such the big deal that some of our friends did, but we loved Rome and REALLY loved Sicily....

Posted by: Erica at August 3, 2007 12:46 PM

At the Tobacconist you can find stamps, but only for letters and postcards. If you have to mail anything bigger, the best option is always use the post office where the item can be boxed, weighted and correctly stamped.
By the way, Tuscany is not the best place where to have pizza: beside being too salty, it's usually flattened with machines that make the dough unable to raise while cooking, the resulting pizza is hard and unappetizing. Tuscany is a land of meat: look for fiorentina steak (for two or more people) or for a nice boar stew, and eat lots of bread (unsalted) to go with it, in order to keep the saltyness of the food in check. Remember, in italy the bread is served with no butter EVER, except for breakfast.

Posted by: Typesetter at August 3, 2007 1:50 PM

I love Siena. So jealous you're there (although not envious of the heat, ugh!). Be sure to get some chianti! :)

Posted by: connie at August 3, 2007 2:30 PM

How do I join the next Sockapalooza?

Posted by: Pam The Yarn Goddess at August 3, 2007 8:30 PM

I too would like to join the next Sockapalooza. I just found my love for sock knitting and I am curious about this whole sock/postcard thing:)

Posted by: Sarah at August 4, 2007 1:12 PM

Me too! This sounds like great fun. How do I sign up for the next one?

Posted by: megan at August 4, 2007 4:43 PM

Completely unrelated to the posted topic: I recently finished my first pair of Embossed Leaves socks and I must say I completely understand your obsession/fascination with the pattern. I'm currently working on my second pair!

Posted by: Lisa at August 4, 2007 9:40 PM

Great pictures of San G. and Siena. I was there c. 5 years ago and you brought it all back to me. (I didn't even attempt Florence in July.) (And why didn't I get this blog till 8/5? Weird.)

Posted by: Luise at August 5, 2007 11:15 AM

Your Sockapalooza socks are finished and ready to be mailed. They will go out tomorrow, as I am out of town on vacation and won't be near a post office until tomorrow. Sorry about the delay... I hope that you enjoy them!

I've enjoyed the photos of your vacation. It looks like you had a lovely time... Ciao!

Posted by: SockaPal at August 6, 2007 9:03 AM

I love Siena! I studied in Italy for 6 weeks while I was in college and absolutely loved it. I studied in a little medieval town and it was one of the most amazing things I've ever done. Glad to see you enjoyed Italy with your family :-)

Posted by: Yaya at August 6, 2007 10:20 AM

great pictures glad to see you all had fun. i have purchased your book it is really better then i thought it would be I am glad to see that there are sizes for both children and adults. I have already knitted a harry potter sweater with matching hat for my niece now i need to make two more for my nephews. thank you really have a great web site and i am glad i found it about a year ago. i love the pictures you took in italy the baby is getting so big if i remember right she is 5 months old today my brother has a little boy that was born on the sameday as baby L. how come there isn't many pictures of the boys anymore miss seeing how big they are getting.

Posted by: linda at August 6, 2007 2:24 PM

Hey that's the very same pizza restaurant I've been when I visited Siena for the last time. It is a wonderful spot to sit and enjoy yourself and the meals where just fine. Siena is my favorite city in all Tuscany although there are so many wonderful spots in that part of Italy. Your photos are a great reminder of some wonderful holidays I've spent there.

Posted by: Beate at August 8, 2007 11:58 AM

I hope that you tried the world best ice crean in San Geminiano...

Posted by: Orli at August 13, 2007 5:55 AM