Horses, Pienza, Solar Eclipse etc.

Every week here offers new experiences and while Siena might seem a bit small and quiet, there is always something going on and little surprises which gives this medieval city it’s charm.

Sunday:
So this Sunday my host mom mentioned over breakfast that there would be an event with horses in Piazza del Campo. Since I’m unfortunately leaving before the Palio I jumped at the chance to get a little taste of what it would be like. Even though it wasn’t anything near the scale or have any of the tradition which the Palio has, it showed a little bit of the attachment the Sienese have to their horses. After the first parade of adults  the children followed, first with the beginners on their ponies and then the intermediate riders. After their tour around the Piazza del Campo they passed by the Duomo before going into the countryside.

Wednesday:
After hearing so much about the Piccolomini family, we took a quick, afternoon field trip to the birth place of Pope Pius II, the perfect renaissance town, Pienza. We viewed the Piccolomini palace where the Piccolomini family lived up until the mid 1900s and was the home of Pope Pius II. As pope he contributed greatly to the public works of Siena and did much to improve the small town where he was born, including building a grand cathedral and creating a piazza in the center of Pienza. The views of the countryside from Pienza were unbelievable and we saw the sunset on Tuscan hills on the bus back to Siena. Heading back to the center we were surprised by a large chocoloate exhibit set up in Piazza del Campo. The air smelt like chocolate and all the sweets looked amazing!

Thursday:

Thursday was another day of field studies. For my Italian class we took a trip over to the newspaper Corriere di Siena and met with the director, who explained the different structure of Italian newspapers and how the paper was strucured and made.

After we went with my next class to the headquarters of the Monte di Paschi di Siena, one of the oldest banks. Our professor had some connections, and we were lucky enought to get a private tour, since it’s normally not open to the public except abound the Palio. The works of art inside were incredible and we were able to go to the top of what was the private tower of the Salamei family. We couldn’t take pictures inside but my favorite part was the archives. The entire room was covered in old books and records dating back hundreds of years which was incredible to see. One note which was my favorite part was a hand written note from Giuseppe Garibaldi, one of the leaders of the Italian unification saying that he was unable to pay his taxes.

Friday:
Solar Eclipse day! It was only around 60% at its peak but it was still incredible to see. The University of Siena organized a viewing event where they had telescopes, projection screens and protective glasses for people to safely watch the eclipse without causing permanent eye damage. Too many people came for us to get our own glasses but we were able to see it at intervals with the telescope and a shared set of glasses which probably was better anyway since the sun seemed especially strong. Borrowing someone’s dark cover I was able to get a photo though the sun was still too bright though the in the reflection you can see the sun mostly covered.

My friend Juliet had a bit more luck here are couple of her photos.

Pisa and Viareggio

So my entire experience here was been so incredible it is hard to imagine it getting any better and then a day like today comes along to make it even more perfect. Our perfect day started with a quick train ride to Pisa. while it definitely was super touristy like everyone says, it was interesting to see a city with a more renaissance rather than medieval feel to it. And just like everywhere else we happened to find a little market with fresh food and cheese samples. Looking at the tower for the first time it is hard not to laugh that this architectural nightmare where nothing went as planned became world famous… and the fact that its this short little tower and is leaning so much. After taking a ton of tourist pictures we made our way back to the train station and continued on our way to Viareggio.

Viareggio is known for its giant Carnevale parade with giant floats and is considered one of the biggest celebrations in Italy. While our plans to go for Carnevale didn’t pan out, but I’m so happy we got to go there today. Looking at the forecast this morning it looked a little unsure whether our beach plans would work out but we hoped for the best and decided to give it a try anyway and it couldn’t have been better. 61 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny skies as wee pulled into Viareggio. After a small snack and exploring another outdoor market we wandered down cute little streets lined with palm trees until we got to the beach. It was so amazing just to sit and relax on the beach while taking in the view of the sea in front of us and the snow capped mountains in the distance. Careful to avoid the train strike this evening we left right before sunset and made it back to Siena just in time for dinner. I could not picture a better way to spend a Saturday!

Italian Food

So where do I begin with this one. Well to start off there is no better food on this planet than Italian food. Other than the amazing meals my host family makes me, there are so many great food options to choose from. Of course you have the the pizza, pasta, cheese and prosciutto which Italy is famous for but you also have other options that you can try out like Italian hot cocoa, which comes in so many different flavors and is so rich and thick you need do use a spoon to drink it, or  Frittelle in the Piazza del Campo, or a million other treats local to Siena. So along with our wine tasting at the end of orientation, IES has been giving us opportunities to take a peek inside how this magnificent food is made. A few weeks ago we woke up early on a Friday, our day off from classes, to go to an Italian bakery. Inside the kitchen we were able to see how they made crostate, ricciarelli (which they gave us dough to try at home), panna cotta and other types of sweets. We also got to see how they made frittelle (sweet rice ball snacks that are a specialty around Carnevale) and pizza dough. Since they make their bread fresh every day, they start around midnight the night before and since we obviously didn’t get there that early they showed us where they make it and explained the process.

We also had a cooking lesson with IES for dinner this week. We made zucchini lasagna, bruschetta, pollo con patate and tiramisu. It was so much fun cooking together and we were all so full afterwards.

Barcelona, Spain

So the past weekend I had a small vacation from Siena and went to Barcelona to meet up with my friend Steph. For only spending a few days in Spain I got to see a good amount of the city and get a taste of the culture and experience the Spanish night life. Barcelona isn’t like any other city I’ve seen before. While it definitely has modern aspects the architecture on the buildings that have been preserved isn’t really identifiable and reminds me a bit of a Dr. Seuss- like world. This combined with the diverse group of tourists and the street performers and musicians everywhere definitely added to the unique feel of the city. After getting in late Thursday night, first thing Friday morning I went to find the Sagrada Familia only to realize it was right down the street from my hostel. While the lines were really long and I didn’t get a chance to go inside, it was really spectacular to see this grand cathedral that was started hundreds of years ago still being constructed today.

After Steph and I walked around a bit and made our way down to the beach stopping to take pictures along the way.

Saturday after an amazing piece of banana bread at Brunch & Cake…

I wandered around the city from Las Ramblas and the Mercat Boqueria…

to the Gothic district, seeing the famous Barcelona cathedral…

to Plaza Catalunya…

and all the way to Park Guell ending with a panoramic view of the city.

After we went down to the water to see the sunset before getting dinner near the Arch de Triumph.

Sunday morning, earlier than I would want to ever wake up, I checked out of my hostel and took a train to the airport catching a beautiful sunrise as my last look of Barcelona before flying back to Italy.

After a very long day of travel I made it safely back to Siena just in time to see the sun setting behind the Tuscan hills.

Castiglione del Lago

Saturday we went to Castiglione del Lago on Lake Trasimeno. The train ride though the Tuscan countryside into Umbria was spectacular. Every time you’d look out the window there was something to see, from the farms with sheep, to little towns tucked away in the rolling hills. We had a quick stop in Chiusi where we had just enough time to explore their little street market and grab a quick lunch from one of the fresh food stands. Another short train ride and we were there.

The Lago Trasimeno was stunning especially with the blue sky reflecting off the water and the medieval fortress and the city looking out over the lake. After taking a ton of pictures we made our way up and entered Castiglione del Lago. We went into the Church of Santa Maria Maddelena and explored a little bit before heading to the fortress.

Scattered around the city there were these very cute little statuettes sitting on windowsills.

After seeing the fortress we had a very nice merenda of wine, cheese and a chocolate mousse desert. Right before heading back to the train station we managed to watch the sunset on the lake.