I am a fellow Ziner from Houston. We visited Tuscany and Umbria in May of this year. We stayed at the Hotel Santa Caterina. It is right outside the walls of the city. You can have a room with a fabulous view of the Tuscan hills for under $150. Breakfast is served in the beautiful garden or in a breakfast room. Our room was very small, but the view made up for it.

You can catch a bus right outside the door of the hotel that takes you into the heart of the city. Also, you can have parking for $15.00 a day at the hotel. We found this to be very convenient.

We loved Siena. We only spent one night there because we had rented an agritourismo for the rest of the week (which we also loved), but it was out in the countryside near the Castel Brolio. Since we wanted to experience Siena at night, we decided to spend one night there.

And, as you thought, Siena is an excellent location for day trips into the countryside. I have information on a great tour guide for the city or day trips, if you are interested.

Here is the link to the hotel: http://www.hscsiena.it Wish I was going to Tuscany again. We just loved it!

Best wishes, Sharon Stockstill Houston