The Tea Room

Last night, 11 of the 14 of us crowded around a rather small table at the Tea Room, a fun tea place about 100 feet from my apartment. Its super dark, and it's pretty much a remodeled old brick basement-type place but I really liked it. We each got a pot of tea and a slice of cake, and it was delicious.

It was hard to get good pictures inside because it was dark, but really the point wasn't to take pictures, so you can imagine from the little bit I can show you :)

Cute though, eh?

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I also want to talk a little bit more about the fortress. I've been trying to run regularly up there. I think I've been doing pretty well considering that I spend most of my weekends away from Siena. I was told that one time around the fortress is 1km. This means, that to do my normal 3 miles, I have to go around 5 times. I don't usually make it five times, but whatever I do is good, and it's always gorgeous.

Check this out:

These pictures were (obviously) not all taken on the same day. I go at different times of day depending on my class schedule, so the view changes slightly. It's good because as stunning as it is, running in circles can get a little bit boring.

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Also, random fun fact for the Jewish readers out there. Apparently, my contrada is the historically Jewish contrada. I thought that was pretty cool. What are the odds? The synagogue in Siena is right near my house but I haven't ventured there yet. I would like to check it out at some point but I've still got a bit of time.

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Purely for entertainment value, here are some selfies that I took with Angelica last week. I thought they were pretty cute.

I feel like there was more I wanted to share, but this is all I can think of right now. Don't worry though, I try to keep my updates relatively frequent.

A presto!

Progressive Dinner and Milano

Last Wednesday (yes, I know, I've gotten a bit behind), the apartments had a progressive dinner. Since I don't have my own kitchen that I could prepare something in, I helped Monique and Molly make the ravioli for the main course.

We really did make ravioli. From scratch. For 10 people.

It was a lot of dough, and we all felt like we had gotten a pretty good work-out by the time we were done (you have to roll the dough out very thin in order to keep the pasta from getting too chewy) but we thought it was worth it.

After about two hours of preparing the ravioli, we left them sitting on those two, very full plates and headed over two Grace, Natalie and Christine's apartment. We started with bruschetta and wine and got really excited about the upcoming courses.

Then we all put our jackets on, brought the remaining wine with us, and headed back to Monique, Angela and Molly's apartment. We cooked the pasta and served it with delicious tomato sauce Angela prepared for us.

Needless to say, we were pretty proud of the final product.

Lastly, we walked very enthusiastically over to Sam and Dana's apartment for dessert. Dessert is really important, obviously, and there was a lot of build up to it. They decided (not surprisingly) to prepare tiramisu, which was a perfect ending to the evening. Their roommate, Guisi, had taught them a few weeks ago how to make tiramisu, and we were not disappointed. It was delicious. 

All in all, it was an extremely successful evening...one that ended with some very hasty packing for Milano.

Oh, also, I made Camilla take a selfie with me.

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The next morning, all 14 girls in my program met Camilla and Chia at 7:40am to walk to the train station to go to Milan. It was raining, and the walk was long, but we were excited for the adventure that was to come.

Once we reached the train station, and were all safely on the train, we all promptly fell asleep, or at least did some serious resting. 

I'll skip over the rest of the traveling details, because they're really not very exciting, and jump straight to lunch. We only had about an hour and a half to eat before we had to meet up for our next activity, and we were all super hungry, so we decided we would walk in any direction for 4 minutes to see if we could find anything to eat, and if not, we would go to the restaurant right in the hotel. We ended up having Chinese food for lunch.

It wasn't bad, but we all commented afterwards about the portion sizes. In America, we're used to Chinese food served in large portions that we usually reserve for when it's necessary. Italians are a little bit more reasonable about the whole thing, although, I'll admit, I wasn't completely satisfied at the end of the meal.

Milano is one of the fashion hubs of the world. While, I'm glad I went on this trip and experienced a new place, fashion goes way over my head. It was still interesting going to the different exhibits though. Definitely a new cultural experience.

We went to see a temporary exhibition about Coco Chanel, and then to a museum that used to be someone's home. They clearly had quite a bit of money, but I'll admit I don't remember a lot of the details of the tour.

I did enjoy the architecture quite a bit. Our tour guide stopped at a number of different buildings and they were all super pretty. Milan is a much more modern city that the other places we have visited in Italy, but there are still a lot of really cool buildings that are still older than what you'll find in America.

I think one of the things I appreciated most about this trip, was that they planned breakfast and dinner for us. Thursday night we went to a restaurant and had an (almost) full Italian meal. We skipped the appetizer course but we had the first plate, second plate, and dessert. In Italy, first plate is usually the pasta course, and they you have meat. It's delicious. 

By the end of dinner, I was pretty ready to have some quiet time back in the hotel. I headed back in anticipation of another busy day.

But we did see this on the way back...

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Friday (I was confused about what day it was the entire time) was filled up with a walking tour in the morning and a visit to The Last Supper in the afternoon. We started at the Duomo, definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

I don't know how much you know about architecture, but this is a Gothic Cathedral if I've ever seen one. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but it was pretty spectacular. Picture a really really big church, and then double it because you're probably underestimating the vastness of it.

Later we climbed up to the top of the Duomo.

We visited this adorable little gem, tucked away somewhere in Milano. The disadvantage of having a tour guide the whole time, was that I rarely had a sense of where I was. We learned the subway system pretty well, and I was really impressed with the 14 of us for traveling so well together, but we visited a number of places in Milan that I wouldn't be able to find again. 

From here, it looks like a curved back, right? The architect who built this, wanted to create the illusion of a shape that didn't actually exist. I thought he did a pretty good job!

This is what it looks like up close. I thought that the illusion was super interesting, and a cool tidbit about the church. Also, it's just pretty, so there's that. 

I want to talk about food a little bit more. Food was definitely one of the highlights. For lunch on Friday, we went with Christine's friend to this pizza place that was definitely the best pizza I've ever had. Alessandra studies in Milan right now so she knows all the best places to go.

Isn't that a beauty? I love that in Italy it's socially acceptable to eat pizza on a daily basis. I don't eat it every day but it's certainly a much more common occurrence than at home. But come on, it's beautiful and delicious so who wouldn't want to eat it everyday?

Also, while we're on the subject of food, we had some truly spectacular gelato in Milan. I didn't photograph it because it was too anxious to devour it, but we found places with some super fun flavors. I tried both salted chocolate and chocolate with orange gelato. They were awesome. 

After re-carbing, we went over to see The Last Supper. We couldn't take pictures inside and we had to schedule a 15 minute slot to go see it, but I'll tell you, it was so worth it. I didn't expect it to be such a powerful experience, but it really was. For some reason, seeing this particular painting in person was so much more amazing than the other famous pieces that I have seen in other places. 

I think part of it was the sheer size. We were moved as a group into one big room. You could tell that at one point, the entirety of it was covered in paintings, but only The Last Supper and the painting on the opposite wall were preserved. We had fifteen minutes to look at the painting, and I spent all fifteen of those minutes staring at it. I can't really explain all the thoughts and emotions that I experienced during those fifteen minutes, but it was amazing. 

Ok, I'm realizing how long this post is getting so I'll try to wrap it up.

That night, dinner was amazing....obviously...

And then Saturday morning we had another walking tour before we had to hop back on the train to return to Siena.

We visited a really amazing cemetery. Even though cemeteries can be kind of sad sometimes, I actually find them really peaceful. And you can learn a lot about a culture and a society from them, so that part of it is really interesting. I'm gonna pick a couple of pictures from this part and leave you on that note. 

Pay attention to the photograph of the sculpture depicting The Last Supper. I couldn't photograph the actual painting for you, but it was neat to see this sculpture in the cemetery.

Walking Venezia

It's official. I have a new favorite place. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend the weekend in Venice for the first days of Carnevale. It was truly magical. Last time we did a weekend excursion, we filled it up with tons of sight seeing. I loved that, but I also loved this trip which pretty much involved walking around the entirety of the city, just to see what we would find.

We used our handy map quite a bit, blending in quite well with all of the other tourists in Venice. But we really did walk around the entire island. Of course, there were a few highlights, so let's see how well I can organize my thoughts.

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When we arrived at the bus station, we hopped on a people mover, to get us over to the island. Yes, it really is called a people mover. I'm not sure the best way to describe it, but it's kind of like a suspended subway. Once we figured this out, we walked over the first of many bridges. I was in heaven. The island is gorgeous and I absolutely adore water. We kept stopping to take pictures, but really my first priority was to check into our hostel, put my stuff down and use the bathroom.

But look, it really is that stunning. And we had perfect weather all weekend. It definitely added to the happiness.

We got gelato and a cappuccino and made our way to San Marco. You can't go to Venice without spending some quality time in San Marco. And it is definitely worth it.

Oh, that's me. In Venice. Casual.

Monique described San Marco as regal. I think that's a really good way to describe it. It's really very different from other European squares I've seen so far. But it was beautiful. I can show you some pictures I snapped when we were back at night time too...it's a whole different look.

Isn't it regal?

I don't have a real clear sequence of events to explain, so hopefully all of this makes a little bit of sense, but mostly I want you too look at the pictures and become 100% convinced that you need to get on an airplane immediately to go to Venice...just so we're all on the same page.

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Saturday, we hopped on a vaparetto (water taxi) and went over to the island of Burano. This was fantastic for a number of reasons:

1. I love boats.

2. Burano was actually adorable and beautiful.

3. We ate a delicious lunch at an adorable restaurant suggested by Sam's father.

4. I took lots of pictures of water.

5. I love water.

6. I bought a new scarf...no surprises there...

Is this not the cutest little island ever? We spent quite a bit of time walking around here. Burano is known for it's lace so we saw lots of shops selling different lacy things. Super beautiful. (Murano is one of the neighbor islands that's known for glass...just for reference.)

This is Monique, Angela, and Sam right outside of the restaurant. We were literally right on time for our reservation so we were pretty pleased with ourselves.

And even the menu was adorable. 

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After Burano, we headed back to the main island to continue the Carnevale festivities. Of course we had to buy masks.

Look at those! Aren't they amazing?? There were masks everywhere. We went for more economical versions, but still super pretty.

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Even though we were out pretty late Saturday night, we still wanted to get up to go see the parade on the Grand Canal. It was definitely worth it. So many beautiful colors and lots of people, and it was just a really happy atmosphere.

This is the bridge that we stood on to watch the parade. Rialto. It's pretty famous...no big deal.

From this excellent vantage point:

And lastly, I'll do anything for a view. We went up the bell tower, for a truly stunning view of Venice. By that point in the weekend, we had been to most of the island already so it was cool to be able to look out and say that we had walked all over. Also, we could see the water, and all the buildings, and just generally feel on top of the world.

I would say this was an EXTREMELY successful weekend. But I'm super exhausted and we only have three days in Siena before we head off to Milan so I'm going to stop for now and go to sleep but I hope you enjoy all of the glorious photographs!

Mmm...tastes like Nutella

Wednesdays are my busiest day during the week. I have three classes at IES, two of them back to back, and then I go to the last two hours of Italian Sign Language at the Siena School for Liberal arts. This results in a whopping eight hours of class but tacking those two hours of signing at the end is totally worth it.

I am realizing that LIS is going to get really hard, fast. Missing the first hour is a huge disadvantage and I'm going to need to do some practicing on my own. Maybe I can find some videos online...the internet is a beautiful place.

The other six hours of class can be a little bit difficult to get through. I have Renaissance Art and Presence of the Past with the same professor, in the same room, one after another. Yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised that I was actually engaged for the entirety of the classes. They are interesting topics, but four hours is a long time for anyone.

However, Thursdays are field trip days. Today, both classes will take a walking tour of Siena to see some of the objects that we've talked about in class. I'm excited for this opportunity to see things in Siena from a different point of view, and visit some of the places that I haven't been to yet.

Do you know the story of Romulus and Remus with the she-wolf? The she-wolf with the nursing babies is an important symbol of Rome. We also learned how it's an important symbol of Siena. Yesterday in class, we talked about the history of this, and why we've all noticed tons of these she-wolves around the city. There is a difference between the Roman she-wolf and the Sienese she-wolf, which is in the direction that the head of the wolf is pointing. The Sienese she-wolf turns her head towards the babies in a more nurturing way, which the Roman she-wolf looks straight out, focusing less on the babies.

I'm not going to go into a ton of detail, both because I don't want to bore you, and also because I don't feel like standing up to find my notes right now (sorry) but you can look up the stories if you're interested. There is so much history here in Siena...and everywhere in Italy for that matter!  And it's all so present in daily life.

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I guess I should probably talk about the title of this post. Four hours of class requires something to help me get through it. Yesterday I chose chocolate. The particular candies that I picked were nutty and...well...tasted like nutella. Being a strong supporter of this creamy delicious substance, I have no problem with it, but it is literally everywhere. The nutella flavored gelato is particularly delicious. I also put nutella in my yogurt in the morning, cuz that's great. 

It's interesting to me how commonplace nutella is here in Italy. I know that it was here before it made its way to the United States, but everyone is so chill about it. Not in America though. It's kind of like an obsession. There are buzzfeed articles written about nutella. Really though, calm down. Just come to Italy and eat it daily and no one will blink twice. Really. I eat it daily. 

il permesso di soggiorno

So, the process of getting a permit to stay here in Siena is finally complete. Well, not complete, technically, because we won't get the actual document, probably until we're getting ready to leave, but the application process is done.

I think you've already heard about parts 1 and 2, so now for parts 3 and 4. Yesterday morning, we met in the Campo to go to the police station for fingerprints. Ok, fine, whatever, right? Well...we did that, got a piece of paper from them...and then had to go to another police station to do that again! Yes, we marched from one police station to the next to get our fingerprints taken twice. I felt like a criminal. I think what put me over the top was that they did palm prints at the second location too. What do they think I'm going to do, pick something up with my palms and subtly leave a store with it? It's fine. It was just another experience with Italian bureaucracy. Even though my Italian is minimal at best, I think I'm still getting a pretty good feel for how it works....you have to jump through a lot of hoops.
Lucky, we have amazing RA's who are here to help us.

The part where this story gets mildly interesting, is where I turn the topic of discussion from the actual permit to stay, to talking about umbrellas.

Bear with me.

So (shockingly), it was raining yesterday morning when this all went down. We all had our umbrellas up, but mine was a super cheap one that I had gotten on a whim at the beginning on another, yes, rainy day. The wind was strong...and the umbrella died. It was sad.

But...

it did give me an opportunity to buy a new one. I know. So exciting. It is though...look at how cute that is. (Also, bonus shot of the apartment building.)

Ok, not really, but what I did enjoy was the little conversation I had with the guy who sold it to me. There's a little (mostly) outdoor shop right off the Campo that I walk past literally every single day, but I had never really stopped to look or talk to the man who works there. But I did see that he had umbrellas, and it was raining, and mine broke, so I stopped.

"Quante costa?" (How much?)

"This is five, this is eight..."
"Parli Italiano! Voglio imparare." (Speak Italian! I want to learn.)

Sometimes it's a little bit frustrating when people speak to me in English. It's a reminder how terrible my Italian is, but I'm working on it. Normally I wouldn't say anything, but he seemed friendly. And, it sparked a fun little conversation about which one to buy, how I'm a student here, about learning Italian etc.

We used a fun combination of English and Italian and he corrected my grammar every sentence so that I could learn. I think one of my most used phrases is: "Come si dice ____?" (how do you say____?) It comes in quite handy. I'll learn a new word, and probably forget it 10 minutes later, but it's the use and the repetition that is helping me learn. 

I'd say overall, it was a successful interaction. Plus, I got a groovy new umbrella out of the deal. Don't think too much about my use of the word groovy. I don't know where it came from. I don't think I've ever used that word before...ever.

Anyway, I also have a few more pictures that I can post. I'm trying to balance the word to picture ratio. Lemme know how I'm doing :)

I took these pictures when I was out for my run. Really, I'm not very fast so I have to stop sometimes to walk anyways, and well...look at the pretties! The second one is at the very end of the run, after I've come pack into the city. I just liked it.

Those aren't my clothes, but this is a common sighting here in Siena. There are washing machines (although they take about two hours to run) but there aren't dryers. Everyone hangs their clothes out in various places. They can get very creative. Also, in my apartment, there are often socks, shirts, etc. perched on the heaters. It works very well!

And lastly, this is my door. The doors in Italy are just so much nicer than the doors in America. It did take me a couple of days to figure out how to get inside but I have now learned all the quirks of the lock and now I'm a master.