The Drago procession to the Piazza for the first "Prove"

Stella and me headed to the Drago contrada!

The snail contrada parade that interrupted class today

Inside the Duomo

The Duomo aka Cathedral... very beautiful

Le pazzia del Palio (The craziness of the Palio!)

Yesterday was a nice, relaxing day to recoup from the weekend and prepare for the craziness of the Palio (this Friday, July 2). I caught up on homework, wrote emails, sent postcards, went for a run around the Fortezza, and had a nice, leisurely lunch with Ana Rose. We went to Café Alfieri, one of my favorite lunch spots in Siena. We sat outside in their garden, in the shade. That evening we enjoyed time with Stella hearing about all of the Palio events taking place this week. She made us her delicious chickpea soup again and then wanted to have an American meal, so she made hamburgers, “Tuscano style” as she called it – veal and pork burgers with olive oil and sautéed onions and garlic. To accompany it, we had a chilled vegetable salad and dulce anguria (sweet watermelon) for dessert.

Now onto Tuesday… Today in class during our coffee break, Elena, Marco, and I saw a contrada parade pass by. It was for Chiocciola (the snail contrada), and hundreds of men, teenage boys, and young boys (girls are not allowed in the parade) were dressed in medieval velvet costumes the colors of the snail contrada: red and yellow. There were drummers playing a march beat and boys waving and throwing flags in the air. Other members of the contrada walked behind the parade, cheering as they marched to the Piazza del Campo. The parade took about 15 minutes to pass by and held up all traffic. Because of the excitement, our class was delayed, and when we did return to class, we spent the next 10 minutes listening to Marco talk about the Palio in Italian. Therefore, we did not have time to take our test today, and instead Marco made it a take-home test. After class, the streets were filled with people… it was hard to walk because people were scattered everywhere – tourists, Sienese locals, other Italians, etc! Most were wearing satin scarves around their necks with the colors and symbols of their contrada. At 12:30, “La Tratta” took place, which is a key moment in the four days leading up to the race. The contradas participating in the Palio are assigned a horse based on a lottery drawing. The Piazza del Campo was filled when I went to see the Tratta. It had to have been over 100 degrees in the piazza too! Although I did not know much of what was going on, the excitement in the air was tangible. After the horses were assigned, they were led out of the Palio and each contrada started cheering, chanting, and singing as their horse was escorted out. The talk is that nicchio (the clam) has the best jockey and one of the best horses, along with selva (forest/rhino with a tree on its back). For the remainder of the four days until the Palio, each contrada has 24 hour watch over their horse, to ensure that no foul play is occurring. Also, on TV is 96 Hours of Palio – live coverage of the Piazza del Campo, the parades, the horses, anything Palio related 24/7. It’s hard to be motivated to study when so much hype is occurring constantly outside my window! About every 10 minutes in class, another set of drums or trumpets could be heard going off!

At 3pm, our Art and Architecture class met outside the Cathedral (Duomo) for our tour with PG. We spent two hours touring the cathedral, and I loved learning the history behind it and seeing all of the famous art pieces. Some key points of interest include that the cathedral there today is truly the third version of the cathedral (the very first one was a Temple of Minerva). The roots to pagan times can be seen all throughout the Cathedral. For instance, the entire floor is marble inlay depicting a series of stories. (We were very fortunate because the tiles are normally covered, but for the Palio they were uncovered.) The far right of the nave has large tiles picturing a series of Sibyls, a mythological prophet. As you progress around the cathedral, the tiles depict Old Testament stories then New Testament stories at the front. Since the only original light came from the huge, circular stained glass window at the front of the cathedral, the pagan tiles would have been in the dark, the Old Testament ones in half dark, half light, and the New Testament ones in full light. This progression represented human history until the illumination of Christ. Also interesting is that among the floor tiles are mosaics representing the political power of Siena (since art, the church, and politics are always intertwined) and extolling wisdom. For instance, one tile shows the Virgin Mary as Minerva (the foundations of the original Cathedral), who is the goddess of wisdom. Therefore, philosophy, not Christian ideas, is celebrated. These same themes are echoed in the pulpit created by Nicola Pisano in 1269. The base of the pulpit, which is the darkest part, shows medieval symbols of lions and eight women representing the liberal arts and philosophy. The arches contain statues of Jewish prophets, or the Old Testament, and get partial light. Finally, the top which is the best lit and where the homily is given, contains a relief of the New Testament stories. The last interesting tidbit of information is that Michelangelo carved four statues in the Cathedral and was influenced by the floor and the Holy Water basin, by Antonio Federighi. These influences can be seen in him including Sibyls (on the Cathedral’s floor) in the Sistine Chapel and carving slave statues, which are in the Louvre now, (on the Holy Water basin).

After class, Ana Rose and I went with Stella to see the Drago parade progress to the Piazza for the first Le Prove, a trial run for the 10 horses racing. As I mentioned before, Drago is one of the ten contradas racing this time, so the energy was electrifying at the Drago center, where the horse’s stall is. Everyone was dressed in green, purplish red, and yellow (Drago’s colors) except for Ana Rose and I because we didn’t know we would be going until we got home this evening. Everyone was singing the Drago songs, celebrating how Drago is the best contrada and how they are going to win the Palio. One of the lines of the song Stella translated for us as, “Our strength is in our arms, the Dragon in our heart!” People of all ages were there, and we started the procession to the Piazza around 6:30. Along the way, we ran into some other contradas, which started a chanting match. Interestingly, each contrada uses the same tune for their songs, and only the words change. Once we arrived at the Piazza we went to the center and watched the ceremonies begin. First every contrada filed in, with the men of the contradas sitting in the bleachers, the children lined up in one section, and the rest of us in the middle. I couldn’t believe how many people were there just to see the first of five trial runs! The Piazza was packed, so I can’t imagine what it will be like for the real Palio on Friday! While we waited for the police to clear everyone from the track circling the inside of the Piazza, you could hear rival contradas shouting songs back and forth at each other. Then, a gun is fired (which scared me very badly!) and the horses begin circling until they are assigned a spot on the starting line. There is only enough room for nine horses in a row, so one is held back. But this is an advantage during the actual Palio race because this horse starts racing first and when it reaches the actual start line, then the gun is shot for the other horses to begin. Next, the Prove (trial) began, and the horses with their jockeys began circling the Piazza. The trials are not competitive; they are simply for the horse to get a feel for the layout because the Palio race is very dangerous. They circle the Piazza three times, and each circle around contains two 90-degree turns. After one of the turns the path slopes downward and narrows, making it very dangerous! Oftentimes jockeys get thrown off the horse and end up in the hospital. We saw the horses race by, but they did not go full-force. Afterwards, the horses are led out, and right in front of us a fistfight broke out between two rivals, leocorno (unicorn) and civetta (owl). Although they are small contradas, they are very feisty and fight every year!

When we got home around 8:30pm, Stella finished dinner and we ate while watching the reruns on the 96 Hours before the Palio channel and guess what…. They showed a clip of Drago marching to the Piazza and showed Ana Rose, Stella, and I walking in the procession! The clip was at least 10 seconds long, probably because we were right in front of all the bambini (children)! All three of us started cheering when we saw us on TV! For dinner, Stella prepared the handmade pasta that I’d made in cooking class with her yummy tomato sauce. Then we had frittata with sautéed potatoes, zucchini, and onions inside. The salad she made is a classic Sicilian dish (where she’s from) that contains oranges, olives, and onions all tossed in olive oil, oregano, and fennel – an interesting mix of sweet and salty. Then we finally had to start our homework although festivities will continue all night!

At the end of the hike in Vernazza - our destination!

Along the VERY steep trail!

At the beginning of the hike from Monterosso, looking to Vernazza in the distance

Weekend in beautiful Cinque Terre

Saturday morning all eight girls in the CET program woke up at 7:30am to head to the train station to start our journey to Cinque Terre. The trip there took a total of three hours because we had to stop in Empoli and switch trains. Unfortunately, the train to La Spezia (a town next to Cinque Terre where most of the affordable hostels are, and where we were staying) was not air-conditioned. Plus it was very crowded, and we had to stand for most of the way. Therefore, we were all ready to get off the train and start our weekend adventure. When we arrived in La Spezia, we stopped at a café for lunch first. La Spezia is a pretty large town with some cute, colorful apartments and shops mixed with some run-down buildings with a lot of graffiti. Three of the girls were staying in a hostel near the train station and our lunch spot, so we went with them to check-in and empty our backpacks in their rooms, so we only had to carry what we needed on our hike in Cinque Terre. We took the train to Cinque Terre, which was about a thirty minute trip to the farthest (fifth) town, Monterosso. Most of the train ride was in a tunnel through the mountains, so whenever we emerged and caught a glimpse of the ocean, the whole train could be heard going “Ohh!!” Once we arrived, we started hiking the trail from Monterosso to the next town (the fourth) Vernazza. You have to pay to enter each trail, since Cinque Terre is a National Marine Park, so we bought a weekend pass that allowed us to enter each town to hike and take the train between towns or back to La Spezia as frequently as we wanted. It took us about two hours to hike, although we did stop and take pictures because the views were so incredible! This is the hardest trail along Cinque Terre because it is up-and-down with a lot of steps. Plus the trail is basically dirt or stone and very narrow, and some parts were on the edge of the mountain, quite scary at times. The views along this trail were breath-taking, especially as we approached Vernazza and began seeing the town below. Since it’s summer, Cinque Terre is very crowded with tourists, but this trail is the most difficult, making it the least travelled. Plus, we started about 3:30pm, late enough in the day where a lot of tourists had already left. It was a nice hiking this late in the day because it was not quite as sunny or hot. When we first got off the train, it started sprinkling and we were all afraid it would rain. However, it stopped as soon as we started hiking and actually the little bit of rain cooled things off for us. When we arrived in Vernazza, we spent the rest of the day here, enjoying a nice, cold gelato, sitting out on the beach, and going swimming. Vernazza was beautiful, and its town was so colorful – each building a different color of pastel – green, blue, yellow etc. Each window had shutters and flowerboxes too. The water was very clear in parts, and the entire scene was so picturesque! Around 7pm, we took the train back to La Spezia and picked up our belongings from the other girls’ hostel. And then the drama of the day began… Unfortunately, five of us booked a hostel that we thought was in La Spezia but ended up being eight miles outside of the city (though Hostelworld.com advertised it as being in La Spezia). We didn’t want a hostel in Cinque Terre because they are very expensive in the summer. By the time we figured out where our hostel was, we had missed the last bus to where the hostel was located. Plus, the busses are very confusing and not marked with their destination, so we spent about 45 minutes asking each bus driver where it was headed. Each one told us different information on which bus to take until we finally realized that the one we needed had stopped running for the night. In the process of calling the hostel several times, trying to get directions and letting them know we would not be there in time to check-in by the 9pm check-in time, we asked local shops where to get a taxi. Yet, there were no taxis in the specified taxi pick-up lane. Finally, two very nice Italian girls saw our distress and gave us a taxi number to call. We waited for that taxi to arrive, only to find out that he wouldn’t let five us of ride with him and had to call a second taxi, all the while letting the meter run. So 25 euros per taxi and an hour later we finally arrived at our hostel by 10pm. You can imagine that everyone was tired, stressed (it was getting dark quickly), and hungry (we hadn’t had dinner), so paying this fee only made matters worse, since we could have stayed in Cinque Terre for that many more Euros! But we made it safely and soundly and definitely learned to do more research before booking hostels! The owners of the hostel were very nice, though, and heated up dinner for us even though the kitchen was closed. We had a nice, large plate of pesto pasta – Cinque Terre is the “birthplace” of pesto too! The owners felt so bad for our struggles of getting there that they gave us free wine and bread too. The hostel was very clean and nice, and sitting out on their balcony, overlooking the hills of La Spezia was a good way to wind down from the stresses of the evening.

Sunday morning, we decided it would be best to break up into smaller groups to explore today, especially since some girls wanted to do different things. Another lesson of the trip is to travel in smaller groups… Since eight girls brings a lot of opinions, personalities, and emotions together! Therefore, after getting to Cinque Terre around 10am, Ana Rose and I started our day in Cinque Terre’s first town, Riomaggiore. The walk from Riomaggiore to Manarola is called Via dell’Amore. It is only a twenty minute walk and is very crowded – the most touristy of any of the walks because it is so short and paved, making it very doable for tour groups. However, the views are still spectacular, looking off into the distance to mountains along the sea. The trend is to close a padlock with your lover onto part of the railing of the trail, so the walkway is lined with padlocks the entire way. Once we arrived in Manarola, we had enough time to climb the hill to the top of the town to the church, San Lorenzo. The timing was perfect because we were able to attend their 11am mass. Although everything was in Italian, Ana Rose is Catholic so she explained to me what was going on, plus she knows Italian so she summarized the sermon to me after the service. It was a humble church but very beautiful because of its antiquity. We were the only Americans in the service, and the rest seemed to be from the town. There were probably about 40 people in the service with five girls in robes at front with the priest, helping with the service. At one point, they said the Lord’s Prayers (in Italian) and held hands across the rows, with the people on the end lifting their palms upward – it was a beautiful portrayal of community. After the service, Ana Rose and I continued our journey and hiked from Manarola to Corniglia (the third town). This hike was more rustic than Via dell’Amore but was still paved most of the way, making it much easier than yesterday’s hike. As usual, it promised amazing views along the way, and only the beginning and ends of the trail were uphill and difficult. Corniglia is the only town not on the water and has a population of only 240. I would have loved to hike another hard trail (like what we did on Saturday) to the fourth town, but time was running short. Instead, we took the train from Corniglia to Vernazza to enjoy some more beach time. It was nice to relax in the afternoon, especially since today we were carrying all of our things in our backpacks. We got lunch to go and ate along the shore before jumping in the frigid water of the Ligurian Sea. The water is also very salty! I couldn’t stay in for long since it was so chilly, so we spent the rest of our time reading on some rocks along the water. We then started our journey back to Siena. Our first stop was in Pisa, where we ran into three of the other girls who had stopped for a quick visit to the Leaning Tower, so we ventured the rest of the way home with them. From Pisa we stopped in Empoli to change trains again, and we barely made the connecting train to Siena! We arrived as soon as the other one was supposed to depart, but thank goodness it was two minutes late, giving us just enough time to figure out the correct platform and run to the train! We didn’t want to have to wait another hour for the next train, especially since we were all feeling gross from the hiking and swimming and wanted to get “home” to Siena. When Ana Rose and I got back to Stella’s apartment, it really did feel like home. A combination of the hiking and the travel made us very tired, so a hot meal from Stella was very welcome! Stella ended up arriving just after us, after being gone all weekend too, and she had some hiccups in her travel as well. Therefore, we all were exhausted at dinner and swapped stories of the highs and lows of the weekend before going to bed very early (after very nice showers!). Despite the difficulties of some of the travel, it was a very great weekend, and I am so thankful to have been able to travel to Cinque Terre. It was so beautiful and the weather was perfect!

The view from the top of the tower in San Gimignano

Cooking class! Learning to make tortellini

San Gimignano

Today my Art and Architecture class took the 1pm bus to San Gimignano. After a very bumpy, twisty drive, we were all ready to get out and explore the town once we arrived around 2:30. PG (our professor) gave us a tour of all of the important sites and artwork. San Gimignano is a medieval town in Tuscany with gorgeous views of the countryside because it is on a hill. We toured its cathedral, which has colorful frescoes decorating the entire walls and ceiling inside. One side displays Old Testament stories and the other New Testament ones. These were particularly interesting because the Old Testament paintings were completed later, but they look less realistic because after the Black Death the Sienese art masters all died. Therefore, artists reverted back to Byzantine styles without 3-D illusion. Also in the cathedral was a painting calling “Annunciation.” However, it took us forever to understand what the actual name of the painting was (and we needed to know because it’ll be on our test) because PG pronounced it “on-un-CHAY-shun”! We also toured the tower of San Gimignano, which had a lot of steps to climb to the top. It was worth the effort though because the views outside were incredible, overlooking the entire city and the countryside for miles. We ended the tour in the tower and our next stop was gelato, of course. It is apparently a famous gelato place (like all of the gelaterias in Italy!), but with the warm temperatures and sun, it did taste great. We then had thirty-ish minutes to explore some more or shop around before getting the bus back at 6:40pm. San Gimignano, though beautiful, is also very touristy, so there are a lot of stores lining the stone streets and medieval architecture. After returning to Siena at 8, Stella of course had a wonderful meal waiting for Ana Rose and I. Not only did our pasta course include the gnocchi leftovers from my cooking lesson yesterday, but she also made panzanella, bread salad (basically, day old bread that has been soaked in water until it absorbs it all, combined with tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and onions). It’s a very summery salad and went well with the lemon, oregano, breaded chicken that we had for our meat course. She also made us steamed fennel, carrots, potatoes, and onions – all with garlic, olive oil, fresh bread, and wine as usual. Stella certainly takes good care of us! Lastly, all of the girls got together and planned out our travels to Cinque Terre this weekend, so I am going to bed since we are getting up at 7:30am tomorrow to catch the first train out!

Cooking lesson

This morning Elena and I were quite tired for our Italian class because we all stayed up late last night, hanging out after dinner. Marco understood, and taught as “sono stanco” (I am tired) as a result! Plus, we went with him to MeetLife Café for coffee mid-class. Despite needing a pisalino (nap), class was good again, though our material is increasingly getting harder. For instance, today we started learning articles and distinguishing between masculine and feminine/ singular and plural words. After class, I socialized with Stella and two of her friends who are visiting from the U.S., Florence and Bob. They were very nice and met Stella years ago when she used to own a Bed and Breakfast in Tuscany. They have been coming back to Italy every year since. Also, the past two days have been beautiful, with weather in the high seventies during the day – finally the temperature we were all expecting! Then at 4:30, we all met at ­­­­Fonte Giusta for cooking lessons! The cooking lesson lasted 2 ½ hours and was so much fun. Only five us of went this time around because the kitchen is small and with the four chefs, it got crowded. The chefs did not speak English, but we quickly learned the Italian words for stir, knead, cut, etc. We learned how to make homemade pasta (ravioli, spaghetti, and tortellini), gnocchi, and almond cantucci (like biscotti). While we were cooking, we sampled fresh bread from the oven with olive oil and prosciutto. The ravioli and tortellini we made were stuffed with different mixes, such as spinach and cheese, eggplant and cheese, and meat, cream sauce. After we made the pasta dough and put it through the machine, we cut it into strips, stuffed it with the different mixes, and folded into differed orgami-type shapes that they taught us. The gnocchi had a tomato and meat sauce. When we sat down to eat after making all of this food, we had four courses of pasta, all of which we made! (This was after all of the bread we ate too.) They served us wine with dinner then brought out the cantucci for dessert. It was all delicious, but we were so full afterwards that we all had stomach aches! We seriously made enough food for 20 people! The plus-side was that we all took home two full trays of fresh pasta and gnocchi. When I got home, Stella, Ana Rose, and Leno had just finished dinner, so I talked to them for about an hour, with Ana Rose again acting as the translator. However, I can tell I have learned a lot more Italian that when I first met Leno, because I understood the gist of most that he said (Leno knows no English). So that was very exciting for me! Then Ana Rose and I made reservations for Cinque Terre this weekend, and at least five of the other girls are going too. That night, we all met in the Piazza del Campo to hang out and ended up seeing practically everyone we’ve met in Siena so far, including the chefs who taught our cooking lesson this evening! Friday we are going to San Gimignano for our Art and Architecture class, and Saturday through Sunday we will be in Cinque Terre (if all the travel goes as planned!).

Piergiacomo (aka PG) - our Sienese Art and Architecture professor

Some of the girls during our dinner at Taverna di San Giuseppe

Walking tour of Siena

Siena is such an incredible place to live, and today’s Sienese Art and Architecture class illuminated the historical palaces, piazzas, and streets that I walk by each day. Siena is a relatively small medieval town, but its importance spans across political, religious, and architectural realms. However, before I explain my Art and Architecture class, I’ll mention that Italian was once again a good class. The 2 ½ hours goes by quickly because Marco involves a lot of different activities (and continues to give us coffee breaks!). For instance, today we watched video clips of scenes from our textbooks. Then he had Elena and I act them out to each other, me being the student and Elena the secretary. The hardest parts were the listening exercises. We were supposed to listen to people introduce themselves and record what names they said. Not only am I unfamiliar with Italian names, but they also spoke so fast I could hardly understand what they were saying, much less spell them correctly in Italian! But Marco was very reassuring, and he explained to me (in English to make sure that I understood) that it was very normal to have difficulty listening, especially since I have never studied a foreign language that requires listening skills. He was very encouraging and after completing the exercises, we ended the class by playing hangman with new Italian vocabulary words.

Every Wednesday in Siena, there is a market near the Fortezza, which sells everything from clothes and jewelry to plants, food, and kitchen supplies. Elena and I went after class to explore it, and we quickly realized that we would never make it through the entire market before it closed at 1pm. There are hundreds upon hundreds of tents spanning across the entire park. We only made it through a portion of the clothes and jewelry because it is also very crowded. Yet the deals are superb, and we left having purchased some items for ourselves and to bring back as gifts! I experienced the plant and food sections of the market in part because when I returned home, Stella put two plants with pretty, red flowers in our bedroom windowsill and brought back gourmet, spicy olives for us to taste – both from the market. I enjoyed the olives with her, and she made me a tomato and cheese sandwich for lunch. (By the end of the day, I’d had enough cheese to last me the rest of my time in Italy!) We discussed what her son is going to name his soon-to-be child, and she explained the history behind some Italian names. (Fun fact, many Italian men have the first or middle name “Maria.”)

At three, we met for our Art and Architecture class to go for a walking tour of Siena with our professor. The two-hour tour was very interesting, and taking notes did not seem like a chore because I wanted to remember all of the important sites. Plus, we all took pictures of the points of interest, so hopefully they will jog our memory come studying for the test! Our professor is quite funny and very Italian. I’ll attach a picture of him with this post. He said that throughout this course he’d have many “spicy stories” of popes who were more interested in politics than religions. Also, he puts stress on wrong parts of words a lot, i.e. making “political” into “poliTEEcal”, and doesn’t finish words, such as “knight” becoming “nye.” We began by going to Castellare degli Ugurgieri from the 11^th century. This was the most important political center in Siena during this time because they did not have a formal government yet. It was a huge castle during its time, and today some of the CET students live in an apartment that is inside of it. The castle is the typical architecture for a feudal society (gates, thick walls, small windows). From there, we saw Piazza Tolomei and the Tolomei family’s palace. The Tolemei’s were wealthy bankers in the 13^th century, and their palace was the first example of the new Gothic style in Siena. It had a blend of French and Middle Eastern styles. We saw many other sites, but the final, most interesting one was the Loggia del Papa, built in the mid 15^th century by Pope Pius II for his relatives, the Piccolomini family. The Piccolomini’s were one of the richest families in Siena at this time, and their palace is one of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture. Instead of being warriors or bankers, this was a family of intellectuals who viewed socialization as the most important part of life.

After the tour, Ana Rose and I went for a run in the Fortezza before getting ready for our CET-sponsored dinner. CET program directors from Washington DC were visiting Siena, and they took us to a nice dinner at Taverna di San Giuseppe. It was a quaint restaurant with wine bottles decorating the walls, old stone, and low ceilings. We were all extremely full after the rich food and many course. After bruschetta, I had a pear and pecorino salad, and for my main course, I had delicious homemade pasta with a saffron, pumpkin, and leek cream sauce (very rich, but very delicious). We also had Chianti and several of us had chocolate soufflés. I, however, was in the group who opted for gelato after dinner and enjoyed dark chocolate and strawberry flavors! The CET advisors were very friendly and gave us recommendations for places to visit in Tuscany while we are here. The dinner lasted over two hours, so needless to say, walking up the hills of Siena afterwards was quite a struggle! After dinner, we went back to another student’s apartment and played cards with John Luigi (an Italian roommate) and his Italian friends.

Classes, gelato, and "cena" - another good day in Italy!

I had another good day of Italian class with Marco. We focused on pronunciation and informal vs. formal. I forgot to mention yesterday that my Italian name is Stefania. Halfway through the class (which is a 2 ½ hour class), Marco gave Elena and I a ten minute coffee break – only in Italy do professors give coffee breaks! After class, I ate at a café near school. With my insalata came four pieces of bread and a to-go packet of olive oil (again, only in Italy!). I worked on my Italian homework, and when I got back to Stella’s, I sat with her while she ate lunch. She was very interested in hear what I learned in class and helped answer questions about my homework. At three, I had my first Sienese Art and Architecture class. Today we met in a classroom, but most of the times our lectures take place around Siena so we can see what we are studying/what our textbooks talk about. Our professor, who told us to call him P.G., is a very Italian man with a thick accent who was hard to understand at points. He is very energized by Sienese art, and in the course of the 2 ½ hour lecture, I took six full pages of notes on Siena history and how it shaped its art! I found a lot of the background information quite interesting, especially since we will be going on a tour around Siena for class tomorrow to elaborate on the points he made in class. I am only mildly convinced that he knows the story of Romulus and Remus is a myth because he found so much pride in Siena being founded by a she-wolf and spent about five minutes telling us the evidence of their existence in Rome! He evidently likes soccer a lot too, mentioning the Siena soccer stadium as the last important structure built in Siena and calling soccer the official religion of Italy. It was raining again after class, but we quickly found refuge in Kopa Kabana, for our weekly gelato night paid for by CET (making the gelato taste even that much better)! Afterwards, Stella taught Ana Rose and I how to make Tuscan ragu, but we won’t be having it tonight because it is only good enough to eat the next day. While the real meal was cooking, I did a kickboxing workout DVD, which Stella found very entertaining. She said that I looked too “angelic” to be boxing! For dinner, we had Stella’s homemade spaghetti, with a sauce that is made from fresh tomatoes, parsley, lemon, bits of tuna, and lots of garlic. We also had a salad with shredded carrots as the main substance instead of lettuce with chick peas, celery, cucumber, and tomato. She makes her salad dressing out of spicy mustard and vinegar, which is also yummy. To go with the salad we of course had fresh bread and then she made anchovies with lemon zest, oil, and onion. They were surprising good and did not taste fishy or salty at all! Afterwards, Stella showed us a music video her son Francesco made with his band Pott-Rum, and we are going to try to go to one of his concerts this summer. Buona notte per ora!

Prima lezione

After going with the other CET students to Siena’s immigration office to register our student visas, we headed to our classes, hence the beginning of my “prima lezione,” first Italian lesson. Class is from 9-11:30am each day, and one other student (Elena) who is new to Italian too is in class with me. Our teacher is Marco, who is about 40 years old. He only spoke a few English words to us the entire class, but he speaks Italian slowly, repeats himself, and uses gestures, so between the two of us we could usually understand what he was trying to communicate. He is very encouraging and patient with us. He started the class by having us call out all of the Italian words we knew, which he then wrote on the whiteboard. He was laughing at my examples because they all revolved around food, which I had learned from cooking with Stella! (I.e. pepperoncini, aglio, formaggio, pane, e cipolla). Today’s class was very basic material – going over how to introduce yourself and say where you are from. These examples helped us to learn the singular personal pronouns and conjugation of the “-are” ending verbs as well as the “esse” (“to be”) verb. Elena and I listened to CD tracks of conversations, which helped with the workbook exercises. Marco also had us act out role plays of introducing one another etc. It was a good first class, and later that day Ana Rose helped me with my homework. I feel kind of like I am in kindergarten with my textbooks and workbooks because they have cartoons scattered throughout and we’re learning such basic material – but that’s not to say that I’m not enjoying learning Italian… I am more than excited to begin practicing even the basic things that I learned, and I came home explaining what I learned to Stella and Ana Rose. Ana Rose and I had lunch with Stella (insalatone – big salad), and then we ran some errands around Siena, including buying leggings because they’re having an unusual cold spell for which none of us were prepared clothing-wise! We then went for a run around the Fortezza and ran into two other CET students along the way. I mentioned earlier that I love how quickly Siena becomes home, such as passing by familiar faces every day. After homework and showers, Ana Rose and I explored Siena some more, enjoying the little bit of sun that appeared before heading back for dinner with Stella. Tonight we had bowtie pasta with zucchini and ham, crostini, green beans, and ricotta frittata. Watermelon with feta cheese was for dessert. We talked for a long time, hearing funny stories of Stella’s past students, some of whom have become lifelong friends.

Holding up the tower all by myself! haha

With Wendy, who Ana Rose and I met in Pisa

Pisa!

Not all who wander are lost...

Sunday was a free day, which meant that Ana Rose and I took full advantage of travelling! Our plan was to go to Lucca, because we heard it is a hidden gem of Italy. However, the train schedule is very different on Sundays, so even though we did our research, my first venture out of Siena was quite the adventure! We took the 11:40am train out of Siena to Empoli (after having to call Stella on the way to the train station because we were somewhat lost! She is just like our moms and called us when we were on the train to make sure we found it!). The train ride lasted an hour, and we sat across a very nice girl about our age, who is studying to be a cardiologist. Ana Rose talked to her the entire trip in Italian, pausing to explain parts of conversation I couldn’t pick up on. We both agreed that some of the best parts of travelling are the people you meet along the way, which turned out to be exactly the case in Pisa (more to come…). We arrived in Empoli and caught the correct train to Pisa, which was only a 30 minute trip. However, once in Pisa, we had a lot of difficultly reading the train schedule and finding the correct platform for the train to Lucca. By the time we figured it out, we missed the train. Then, different conductors gave us mixed information regarding the next train to Lucca. We finally realized that the confusion was because the train schedule varies a lot on Sundays and some trains stop running altogether. In the process, we met a nice couple from Holland who invited us to get coffee with them while we waited an hour for the next train. However, since we needed to be back in Siena by 8:30 in time for dinner with Stella, we decided to just explore Pisa for the day because neither of us had been there. Thanks to my Rick Steves’ Italy guide, we had a “self-directed tour” from the train station to Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles) where the Leaning Tower, Duomo, Baptistery, etc. are. At the beginning of the 45 minute walk there, we met a very friendly teacher from Indiana named Wendy. We spent the remainder of the day together and really enjoyed getting to know one another. On our scenic route to the Field of Miracles, we stopped to have lunch at a little café. The walk to the Tower was pretty. We expected it be very crowded, but since it was Sunday, most of the shops were closed. Therefore, we ambled along quaint, quiet streets lined with colorfully painted storefronts, window boxes, and shutters. We paused at the River Arno for a picture (though the river itself is brownish, the buildings lining it are picturesque). When we finished at the Field of Miracles (passing through several piazzas), I was surprised how beautiful the tower and cathedral/baptistery were. I expected a “tourist trap” location but instead really enjoyed seeing the sights, especially since it was not too crowded. We of course took the touristy picture of “holding up the tour,” but in all honesty I was shocked at how extreme the lean was! And since Wendy is a math teacher, she truly understood the extremity of a tower at a five degree angle! While Wendy went to see a statue of Fibonacci, Ana Rose and I explored the Duomo, which has striped marble arches and columns. It was very beautiful, particularly the mosaic of Christ in the apse and the 15-foot Carrara marble pulpit (by Giovanni Pisano) that has 400 figures sculpted in it. At 5pm, we met Wendy to head back to the train station, but not after passing several restaurants crowded with Italians cheering on Italia in the World Cup game. And no day trip around Italy would be complete without gelato, so we stopped at La Bottega del Gelato (Pisa’s favorite gelato place according to Rick Steves!) for Bacio-flavored gelato (a hazelnut chocolate specialty of Italy… fun fact, bacio means kiss in Italian, so they say that Bacio is the chocolate of lovers!). We rode with Wendy to Empoli before transferring to the train back to Siena. We made it back to Stella’s at 8:30pm on the dot, just in time for a delicious hot meal. Pisa had perfect, sunny, 75 degree weather all day, but since Siena was cold and rainy, Stella made us a rice and vegetable soup, complete with crostini and prosciutto-covered cantaloupe. She enjoyed hearing about our travel adventures during dinner, just like a caring mom!

At our picnic spot: Orto dei Pecci

A view of Siena from the Fortezza

Caccia al tesoro

This morning was very relaxing since we slept in, had breakfast with Stella, then met the group in the Piazza for a picnic. Giusi, one of the Italian roommates, made us all lunch, and we walked to ­­Orto dei Pecci to have our picnic. The garden was very pretty and green, filled with flowers, and there was a small farm with goats and donkeys nearby. It was a little chilly during our lunch, and then it started to rain. We went to an apartment and relaxed, had “caffe” and dessert, and talked until the rain stopped. Then we had a “caccia al tesoro” (treasure hunt) around Siena. We were divided into teams, and each team was assigned several contradas to go find and take a picture with its specific fountain/animal associated with it. It took my group two hours to find all of ours since they were at opposite ends of the city. Plus, we got lost several times, went in circles, only to find out that there was a shortcut right where we started. However, through the game (which we lost – it was a race), we learned different parts of the city and got a very good workout power-walking up and down Siena’s many steep hills. By the end of the scavenger hunt, we were all exhausted. However, it was helpful and fun to become oriented with all of the contradas. Ana Rose and I made a quick run to the grocery store, Conad, afterwards to pick up some things for dinner. We had salad, gnocchi (premade!) with sauce, and bread to compliment the eggplant from last night and ricotta, pinenut, and spinach stuffed red peppers that Stella made us this morning since she will not be home for dinner tonight. We were quite satisfied with our meal, and enjoyed chatting the rest of the evening while planning out some potential day trips around Tuscany.

My first experience with the Palio hoopla!

Yesterday was a free day, and I was able to explore Siena some more. After breakfast, Ana Rose and I went to the Fortezza, the fort in Siena. It has an amazing view of the city and the Tuscan hills. Later that day, I went running around it (about a mile loop) and loved taking in the views and the beautiful temperature. You could imagine the history embedded in the fort walls. Siena has a lot of hills, so on the way back I could not make it up a hill near Stella’s apartment – my goal by the end of the trip? To be able to run up the big hill! Stella was joking at dinner when I told her about my goal, that she and Ana Rose would be standing at the top cheering me on during my last run up the hill! Ana Rose and I went to Upim (like a JCPenney) to get toiletries then went to lunch and got pizza near the Piazza. During Ana Rose’s class in the afternoon, I went on my run and Skyped to my parents. Stella and Ana Rose met Mom and Dad via Skype, and Stella could not believe how “bellissimo” the beach was out their window (they were in Vero). Ana Rose and I then went to get gelato, which Ana Rose treated me to since it is an Italian tradition that whoever graduates buys everyone else the food, and it was her last Italian course today before her next one starts up. We sat in Piazza Salimbeni for two hours enjoying our gelato and talking. Afterwards, Stella taught Ana Rose and I how to make eggplant, and around 8pm we had another delicious dinner together. We started with pasta and tomato sauce (made from fresh tomatoes of course!), then had carpaccio with arugula, eggplant, bread, and fruit salad for dessert. Of course you put olive oil on everything, and the fruit salad was made with limoncello. All of the ingredients are fresh and homemade, making them so flavorful! We had great conversation as usual, and after dinner Stella gave me my first Italian lesson. She is a retired Italian teacher for foreign students, so she was very excited that I knew Latin and loved teaching the similarities between the two! I should be all set for My Italian class on Monday! After dinner, Ana Rose and I got ready to meet up with the rest of the CET students. We wandered around Siena, trying to find the contrada party that some of their Italian roommates had told them about. After asking directions from several Italians, even yelling up to some who were sitting by an open window of their apartment, we finally found the Tartucca party (the Tortoise contrada). It was so much fun because we were basically the only Americans there – it is a local party in celebration of the upcoming Palio, with Italians of all ages (but mostly fairly young) socializing, dancing to the music, hanging out etc. They even had karaoke with Italians trying to sing “I can’t get no satisfaction”! At the end with met up with some of the Italian roommates of the other students and their friends, who helped us find our way home.

First day pictures

A view of Siena with Elena, the other girl in my beginning Italian class

A view of the Piazza del Campo

The first day of orientation in the Piazza del Campo

First full day in Siena

Today has been an orientation day so far. We had a tour of the main spots of the city that we'll need to know (like where classes are, the library, the grocery store, the best place to get gelato!, etc.). The streets wind about in a lot of different directions, so it seems confusing now, but I at least have a better sense of where I am going. As long as I know where the Piazza del Campo is, I can get most places! Everything in Italy is so laid back, and I've really liked getting to know everyone too. For lunch, a few of us got paninis and ate in the Piazza del Campo. We then had a few hour break for some naps/relaxation time before more orientation meetings. I put some photographs up around my room and took advantage of the time for a "pisolino" (nap). In between meetings, we went to Kopa Kabana Gelateria, the place the locals go for gelato! It was very tasty, and I got the World Cup flavor (chocolate, banana, caramel). The World Cup isn't as big of a deal as I expected, but that is mainly because the Palio is coming up in a few weeks. The Palio is Siena's horse race where the contradas compete against each other. The contradas are the neighborhoods of Siena, and literally every conversation with Siena locals ends up talking about their contrada or the Palio. There are 17 contradas but only 10 run at each race, one in July and one in August. There is a lot of pride associated with contradas and rivalries! My “family” is a part of the Drago (Dragon) contrada, and it’s a big deal right now, because they are racing in July’s race. Every weekend there are big dinners and parties in each contrada and parades every Sunday leading up to the race. Come the Palio week/weekend, I’ll have a lot more information on it!

Around 7, we went to Barche in Piazza Matteotti Glacomo, for appetizers and fruit drinks (the colors of the Italian flag) with the CET group (the program I am going through). It was beautiful sitting outside, since the weather is nice now – in the seventy’s in the day and high sixty’s at night. Ana Rose and I came back to Stella’s and met one of her friends after dinner. They spoke in all Italian, and I could pick up on a few things, but Ana Rose acted as the translator! I’m excited to start Italian classes next week so I can begin practicing. Although the classes are in all Italian (even at the beginning level so it will probably be intimidating at first). Some of us are meeting the Piazza del Campo now for vino, so ciao for now!

Arrived in Siena

I arrived in Siena after a full night/day of travel! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers because the flights were hassle-free. The only chaotic part of the day was figuring out how to get to the Florence bus station, but thankfully I saw another Vandy student who was Siena-bound so we figured it out together. I am all moved in my home for the next seven weeks, with Stella my house mom. She is very sweet and made my roommate and I a delicious Italian meal of chickpea, pasta, and garlic soup, roasted rosemary pork, roasted garlic potatoes, salad, and bread.... of and of course a glass of Chianti! After dinner, my roommate (Ana Rose) and I took a walk around the neighborhood so I could get a little bit acquainted with everything, and the Piazza (the central part of Siena) is beautiful at night. It rained in the early evening, so it was a cool, nice temperature that several Italians were out enjoying. I have a full day of orientation tomorrow and a tour of Siena, so I'll be sure to take some pictures!

Leaving tomorrow

I am packing today and getting very excited for my Italian adventures to begin. I'd appreciate prayers for tomorrow's travels, as I fly out around 8pm and stop in Frankfurt before landing in Florence and catching a bus to Siena - a lot of traveling, so I know I will be more than ready to arrive and see my home for the next seven weeks!

Going Abroad

From June 15-July 31, I will be studying abroad in Siena, Italy. I'll be living with a host-mom named Stella and will be taking Italian and Art History classes. I'll try to update the blog as often as possible and write about all of my adventures here!