Things have been really fun. I'm going to miss this city a lot and the friends I've made here. I haven't posted in a while so I'll try to recap the Cinque Terre trip and the past weekend.
Cinque Terre was very beautiful. I wasn't expecting to see so many lemon trees everywhere. I went with three other friends and we stayed in Monterosso, one of the five and in my opinion the best one. It was also supposedly the one geared towards young people so that might explain a little even though it wasn't exactly a hotbed of activity. I enjoyed it a lot though, the beach, the sea, and salty air. It was really safe and pretty. There were a couple of free beaches so we just hung out at those and ate some seafood (which is harder to come by in Siena). Also we had a lot of pesto because Liguria is known for it's pesto especially and also it's lemon honey/ lemon products.
We stayed atop this hotel which was above about 10 flights of outdoor stairs and was run by a brother and sister named Jerry and Cherry (I'm not kidding). They were quite nice and also ran a enoteca/ regional food store where we ended up going to pay the room bill, kind of weird but we went with it/ it worked out well because they charged us less than we though we would get charged for a pretty decent room even though the state of the bathroom wasn't great. It had a cool view though/ we could see the ocean. Also the terrain is steep so at night we could see headlights driving through the trees way up the rock inclines towards the sheltered houses.
We only got to go to three of the terres: Monterosso, Vernazza, and Rio Maggiore. There's a convenient train in between all places. The whole trip to get to Cinque terre only took about 3 hrs, less than what I was expecting but we had to transfer trains three times. Cinque terre is really beautiful because it's on the sea and I loved all the greenery/ loved the lemon trees. I would definitely recommend it. It wasn't as touristy as I thought it might be and everyone seemed decently friendly. I might have had the best gelato ever there. I think I got mango and also melone. The flavors were more fruity than Siena because they are closer to the ocean/ it just seems right.
This past Saturday the school had a final exhibition where we all go to show our work, the girls from the creative writing classes read their stories, photography and paintings were put up, all the book art things were put out, there was music/food/ company/ etc. It was fun. My host came for awhile which I thought was really nice of her considering in the morning she had had to go to Florence for her son. She was also nice enough to make the whole school these great cookies. They were like shortbread but folded over different fillings: jam, choco/ricotta. She is really good at cooking/ baking. Yesterday she made her own tagliatelle again= fantastic. The home stay turned out to be a good thing. I'll miss her.
After the exhibit a few of us went out for dinner/ drinks at Due Porti and the "shot bar." It was then it finally started to set in that the semester is coming to an end. I have one more full day at school (the final dinner is tomorrow) and then on Wednesday I go to paris and then Istanbul with Maryann (and then home!). ahhhhdfjtujtutfgf
I'm also going to miss my friends here so much. It was great that it was only 11 people in the program since we know each other well know but it's a shame that just as we've become comfortable with each other we have to leave.
Sunday some of us went to the Siena-Palermo soccer game at the stadium. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and Siena won 1-0. wooooop
Monday, May 11, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
buon weekend
This weekend was great. Yesterday there was a class trip to Assisi with Art History. The bus ride is only about 2 hrs from Siena. It was nice to be able to see San Francesco (probably my favorite church in Italy) again (first time was with parents when they visited) but I couldn't really enjoy it this time because the Art Hist teacher kept trying to talk to us about the paintings but then the guards would come over and scold her. This happened at least six times. Other than that it was good. There happened to be a wedding in Assisi while we were there so we got to see everyone waiting outside the church for the bride in their purple ties (purple is big in Italy).
Both Abi and Julissa's 21st birthdays are this week so we threw them a joint surprise birthday party at the school last night. A good time was had by all.
Then today Molly, Julianna and I went to the book art teacher's studio in the country. I like to call her "the book maker". The book art teacher is a really interesting person. We got to see where she makes and restores books for clients. She has a great setup up, three rooms of space for working and showcasing her pieces. All three of us went there to make "magic wallets" and had a great time. On the way to her studio we passed these huge fields of yellow flowers that went on forever.
We also had lunch at the studio and she made us a great lasagna, spinach, gelato, strawberries. Her neighbors happen to be a bee keeper and his friend (named Matteo and Nacho) who is a traveling "gypsy" in some sense and they ate lunch with us too They had a supremely cute and well behaved huskie with them. The bee keeper even brought over homemade MEAD. It was totally unlike what I expected it to taste like considering when I think of mead I think of medieval times or dandelion wine. It was very light and similar to champagne but more honeyish. Then in between working on our wallets, we got to go next door where they were making the bee houses for the bees who are arriving next week (i'm not sure how they know this). They were gracious and gave us a whole explanation of the process and we even tried the honey/ the pollen pellets which I suppose are healthy for you even if they do taste kind of dry.
Great weekend of new things/ experiences/fun
Both Abi and Julissa's 21st birthdays are this week so we threw them a joint surprise birthday party at the school last night. A good time was had by all.
Then today Molly, Julianna and I went to the book art teacher's studio in the country. I like to call her "the book maker". The book art teacher is a really interesting person. We got to see where she makes and restores books for clients. She has a great setup up, three rooms of space for working and showcasing her pieces. All three of us went there to make "magic wallets" and had a great time. On the way to her studio we passed these huge fields of yellow flowers that went on forever.
We also had lunch at the studio and she made us a great lasagna, spinach, gelato, strawberries. Her neighbors happen to be a bee keeper and his friend (named Matteo and Nacho) who is a traveling "gypsy" in some sense and they ate lunch with us too They had a supremely cute and well behaved huskie with them. The bee keeper even brought over homemade MEAD. It was totally unlike what I expected it to taste like considering when I think of mead I think of medieval times or dandelion wine. It was very light and similar to champagne but more honeyish. Then in between working on our wallets, we got to go next door where they were making the bee houses for the bees who are arriving next week (i'm not sure how they know this). They were gracious and gave us a whole explanation of the process and we even tried the honey/ the pollen pellets which I suppose are healthy for you even if they do taste kind of dry.
Great weekend of new things/ experiences/fun
Monday, April 13, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
fare "trekking"
Today's "relaxing walk" with my host turned out to be a 7-hour, multi-mile hike through the woods with a large group of French and Italian people. We trekked between Casciano and the town of Murlo, up and down hills, over a stream, and through the mud, literally. Some of the people on the hike spoke French, Italian AND English which made me feel like I should be a lot more skillful with language but they were all very nice. This small Italian group invited their sister city in France to visit them and trekking was one of the activities. Despite the steep inclines etc. it was a good walk. The weather wasn't too hot and there was a cool breeze. I'll put up pictures next time
Really excited to see Hannah for spring break in Greece. I can't wait sdkgjhksjdg!
Really excited to see Hannah for spring break in Greece. I can't wait sdkgjhksjdg!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Maremma
This past weekend the school took us on an overnight trip to Maremma, Italy. The bus ride wasn't that bad, about 1.5 hrs, and Maremma was beautiful. It's a town to the west of Siena on the water and they have a lot of natural parks.
First, we stopped at the Abbey of Sant' Antimo where we got a very educational and somewhat long winded tour from one of the monks though he was very nice. There was amazing light coming in through the windows and we got to see a little tomb downstairs.
Next was lunch in Montalcino, a cute little town near the Abbey, before heading out to the Banfi Castle for a wine tasting. We didn't see many people there at all. No one really walking around except us but I guess they were all inside taking their mid day siestas. Everywhere we went, the views were fantastic but Banfi Castle especially because there is a lot of surrounding land and large windows. We tried three different red wines that are made in the region and although I'm not a huge wine person, I thought they were all delicious. After we had some time to walk around and take it all in before leaving for the Agriturismo (called Case Cordovani) we stayed at for the night in Magliano (Toscana). The rooms were comfortable and had MTV (including some Italian music videos) and outside each door was a tiny painting of a different animal. I stayed in the horse room.
The Agriturismo the school picked was GREAT and there was even a white bulldog there to greet us at the door. Before dinner we all took a "Turkish/ steam bath" which included a steam room/shower and somewhat cramped but fun sauna which was very refreshing (never done that before). It was a good thing we rested before dinner because it was HUGE. I'm talking like 10 different courses. The agriturismo was similar to the one we stayed at during orientation in that they make all their own cheeses, cured meats, pasta etc. This meal was probably the most food that I have ever eaten in one sitting. I'll just list what we had each so you get the idea: 2 or 3 appetizers including cured meats, wine, cheese, 2 pasta plates (lasagna and other), potatoes with rosemary, home made sausage, lamb, cake. I know I'm forgetting something but you get the general idea. It was basically madness and breakfast was fantastic too including chocolate cake and cookies with home made jam, basically it's okay to have cookies for breakfast in Italy. If you are ever in Maremma I recommend this place.
After breakfast we drove out and before taking a 3.5 hr trek through a park near the sea which was about 8 miles I suppose, we stopped in a makeshift mini aquarium. The hiking trails were kind of weirdly marked and very steep (we all had long pants and jackets because we thought this was some kind of leisurely walk through the forest, we were wrong) but the weather was very warm/ it was beautiful out. We had our packed lunches at the top where there was a panoramic view of ocean and land. The water here is so greenish-blue and definitely beats the Atlantic. It was great exercise and definitely worth it in the end for the view. Even though the water was cold, I had to put my feet in, just because so we sat on a dock after the hike and got some ice cream.
We were all pretty tired by then but the last stop was at Monte Liveto Maggiore, another church but it had a mini museum, an ancient farmacista, and a library with ancient books. Then we all fell asleep on the bus ride home. Such a fun trip.
From far away
A comfy cat outside Banfi Castle
The view from the castle
Our tour guide demonstrating how alabaster is perfect for holding light
Streaming sunlight like lasers
Inside
Sitting on the docks
The view from the hike
First, we stopped at the Abbey of Sant' Antimo where we got a very educational and somewhat long winded tour from one of the monks though he was very nice. There was amazing light coming in through the windows and we got to see a little tomb downstairs.
Next was lunch in Montalcino, a cute little town near the Abbey, before heading out to the Banfi Castle for a wine tasting. We didn't see many people there at all. No one really walking around except us but I guess they were all inside taking their mid day siestas. Everywhere we went, the views were fantastic but Banfi Castle especially because there is a lot of surrounding land and large windows. We tried three different red wines that are made in the region and although I'm not a huge wine person, I thought they were all delicious. After we had some time to walk around and take it all in before leaving for the Agriturismo (called Case Cordovani) we stayed at for the night in Magliano (Toscana). The rooms were comfortable and had MTV (including some Italian music videos) and outside each door was a tiny painting of a different animal. I stayed in the horse room.
The Agriturismo the school picked was GREAT and there was even a white bulldog there to greet us at the door. Before dinner we all took a "Turkish/ steam bath" which included a steam room/shower and somewhat cramped but fun sauna which was very refreshing (never done that before). It was a good thing we rested before dinner because it was HUGE. I'm talking like 10 different courses. The agriturismo was similar to the one we stayed at during orientation in that they make all their own cheeses, cured meats, pasta etc. This meal was probably the most food that I have ever eaten in one sitting. I'll just list what we had each so you get the idea: 2 or 3 appetizers including cured meats, wine, cheese, 2 pasta plates (lasagna and other), potatoes with rosemary, home made sausage, lamb, cake. I know I'm forgetting something but you get the general idea. It was basically madness and breakfast was fantastic too including chocolate cake and cookies with home made jam, basically it's okay to have cookies for breakfast in Italy. If you are ever in Maremma I recommend this place.
After breakfast we drove out and before taking a 3.5 hr trek through a park near the sea which was about 8 miles I suppose, we stopped in a makeshift mini aquarium. The hiking trails were kind of weirdly marked and very steep (we all had long pants and jackets because we thought this was some kind of leisurely walk through the forest, we were wrong) but the weather was very warm/ it was beautiful out. We had our packed lunches at the top where there was a panoramic view of ocean and land. The water here is so greenish-blue and definitely beats the Atlantic. It was great exercise and definitely worth it in the end for the view. Even though the water was cold, I had to put my feet in, just because so we sat on a dock after the hike and got some ice cream.
We were all pretty tired by then but the last stop was at Monte Liveto Maggiore, another church but it had a mini museum, an ancient farmacista, and a library with ancient books. Then we all fell asleep on the bus ride home. Such a fun trip.
Sant' Antimo on a beautiful day
From far away
A comfy cat outside Banfi Castle
The view from the castle
Our tour guide demonstrating how alabaster is perfect for holding light
Streaming sunlight like lasers
Inside
Sitting on the docks
The view from the hike
In the aquarium
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