Funghi, Feathers, Florence...Oh My!

Well, I haven't written in about two weeks now. Since my return from Rome and San Gimignano, we've just been spending most of our time hanging around Siena, exploring the city a little more. This is probably the best part of living here. Siena is about the same size of the city that I live in back in the U.S. Exploring and searching for new restaurants or cafes or favorite lunch spots really isn't all that difficult, as it probably would be in a larger place such as Milan or Rome. In those cities, it would be impossible to see everything there is to see during the four months we have. Here in Siena, most of us have found our favorite places to grab a cappuccino before class or a bite to eat afterwards. For instance, just today when I went to get my morning cappuccino before Italian, I went up to the bar in the mall next to the school. I walked in and the older barista said “Cappuccino, bella?” and of course I responded with a big smile, “Sì!!” They know my order and I love it! It helps too that there’s a really cute younger barista there that smiles at me every time he makes my cappuccino. LOVE IT!

This past weekend, a few of us reserved spots for a mushroom festival type of thing. It was in this placed called Vivo D’Orcia, about an hour and a half away from Siena. This is one of my favorite places I have visited thus far. We got off the train and took a bus for about thirty minutes that winded up a mountain to the very top, where we got off. From there, we followed the group to a small, outdoor patio. It smelled like summer grilling but they were actually roasting chestnuts on an open fire!! I wrote that in italics because it’s just like the song! It reminded me of Christmas and Christmas carols and now all of us just want to sing Christmas carols all day long. After we wandered a little, we made our way onto the “mushroom tour” where we walked through the woods and saw all types of mushrooms - edible, “not recommended,” deadly/poisonous and everything in between. We left our group after walking through the woods and wandered around on our own for a while. We chose from a few dishes offered and ordered lunch, all of which came with some kinds of mushrooms. Once again, we walked around on our own post a fulfilling lunch complete with vin brule (a hot, spiced, red wine with fruit) and delicious dolci. Walking through the woods, we stumbled upon a waterfall. A WATERFALL! There were actually a few but this one in particular was incredibly beautiful. It was small but hidden in the middle of the lime green colored woods. We were all thoroughly exhausted but satisfied with everything we had done and seen that day. Definitely a success.

Also this past week, we got our down feathered blankets that CET so gratefully lets us use while we’re here. It’s beginning to get pretty cold and our apartments are not heated as much as they are at home, so we are always freezing, walking around the apartment in sweatpants, sweatshirts, and socks. Thankfully, these blankets keep us warm and toasty throughout the night. The thing is, though, that feathers are everywhere! They fall out of the blanket onto the floor and are stuck in our scarves or on our clothes. We never figure this out until halfway through the day though. I’m sure the Sienese locals have a good laugh at that. This week we all took our midterms. After studying for a while for each class, I am confident I did well enough in all of them to receive good grades. I sure hope so at least. We just knew that once midterms were over, we were off to our first field trip to Florence and then fall break!

Today in Florence, we visited a bunch of churches that, if I were not a part of this program, probably would never have visited. We saw Brunelleschi’s San Lorenzo, orphanage, the Medici Chapel/Palace, Brancacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine, the Duomo, a female monastery, the tomb of Donatello, and San Marco. Inside all of these places, we saw original frescoes by Masolino, Masaccio, Benozzo Gozzoli, and Filippino Lippi. I think next time we’ll hit the more well known spots such as Santa Croce, the Uffizi Gallery, Santa Maria Novella, Palazzo Rucellai, maybe go inside the Baptistery and stroll along the Ponte Vecchio. I’m also hoping we can have more time to walk around the markets; we had a few minutes and found a bunch of stands full of fresh and dried fruit and of leather goods. I might just have to find a hostel and stay overnight so I can actually explore more! I mean, who wouldn’t want to stay in Florence longer?

Lastly, I leave you with my upcoming fall break trip. It is currently 10pm while I write this, hoping to finish before heading out extremely early tomorrow morning. We are waking up at 3:30 am, walking to the train station, and taking that to Pisa, where we will catch a flight to Brussels! From Brussels, we are going to Amsterdam immediately for two nights, then back to Brussels (complicated story as to why we are doing this J ). After Brussels, we are heading to southern Germany, right in the middle of the Alps, in a place called the Black Forest. Lastly, we are going to Prague for a few nights and flying into Milan. I’m really hoping we’ll take the time to wander around for a bit and see the Last Supper. We’ll be there in Milan, so why not? The best part of this program definitely is all the travel both within and outside of CET that we can afford to do. If I were not participating in the CET program this fall, I don’t think I would ever be able to make it to the places that I already have. Anyway, I’m leaving you here for now and I’ll be back in touch after my whirlwind trip through Europe!

Melanie Bianco

CET Siena Student Correspondent, Fall 2010

Roaming around Rome...and Some Other Excursions

It’s been almost two weeks since I’ve last written and let me just say, there’s a lot to tell! Shortly after I posted last, we went on a bike tour of the Crete Senesi, the clay hills just outside of Siena. We got on a bus early in the morning and rode for about an hour to a small, gorgeous town called Buonconvento. We got off the bus and immediately were greeted with what felt like a small hometown, complete with Sunday market and country homes. This town contrasts Siena completely, in that everything was shorter. It felt so much more open and airy and I really began to see the other side of Tuscany, without the massive medieval buildings that constitute Siena.

After a short wait for our bikes, we hopped on and began our journey. In total, the ride took about three hours, with a stop in the middle, atop a hill with a castle and fig trees, for lunch. I love fresh figs so a couple of us decided to pick a few and they sure were tasty. It helped quench my thirst because I forgot to bring a water bottle :( Anyway, we biked through the clay hills on gravel covered roads and witnessed some incredible scenery of the true Tuscan countryside. The most difficult part was trying to make it up the steep hills. I failed and ended up walking after a certain point. Once we finally got to the top of the highest hill, we saw the expanse of hills, homes, vineyards, and small lakes. A few of us decided to try the tiny green grapes used to make wine. They definitely tasted like wine grapes - very sour. After we descended from the top of the hills, we returned the bikes and had a few hours to wander around the market in Buonconvento. Of course, I ate a slice of pizza and bought a pair of handmade twisted copper earrings (I couldn’t help myself). The next day began the first week without having Italian language every day, so we were very grateful to be able to sleep in!

This past weekend we had our first traveling seminar to Rome! I had been to Rome once before a few years ago and fell in love with it, so I was very excited to return and see all the sights again. I spent the night before packing and finishing an internship application that was due until 2:30AM and had to wake up at 6:00AM. We got to bus station at 7:15 and departed for Rome shortly thereafter. We arrived a few hours later, checked into the hotel and rested in the lounge there for an hour or so before heading out to our first tour of the trip. We visited the Colosseum and the Roman Forum; it felt incredible to be standing in such historical monuments - you know, being a history major and all. That day was also one of my roommates' birthdays so after the CET sponsored dinner, we explored the nightlife of Rome and had a great time.

The next day proved to be a very long and tiring one, but oh so worth it in the end! We visited the Vatican museums and all it has to offer, seeing original paintings by Raphael and Michelangelo, and obviously including the legendary Cappella Sistina. Being in the same room that Michelangelo once occupied was so surreal for me. After we exited, we went inside St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest Christian church in the world. Inside it, they have the body of the Good Pope, John XXIII, who I just read about for my cultural history class. That was awesome to see the real body on display in the center of the church. We had a little free time before going to the Senate, so we stopped for pizza and gelato once again and walked over to check out the market in Piazza Navona – it was huge! There were so many talented people painting and drawing.

Since it was our last night in Rome, we decided to meet up with the Florence CET group for a nice dinner. We went to L’Ambasciata D’Abruzzo, where everyone enjoyed meals of wild boar, filet mignon, veal sirloin, risotto, pasta with mussels and desserts of tiramisu, panna cotta, fresh fruit, and chocolate mousse. Oh, can’t forget the wine either. About half of the group decided to go out again but I was thoroughly exhausted from the day and was starting to get a little sick, so I went home and hung out with a few of my roommates and enjoyed a quiet but fun night in the hotel. We got up early, packed our bags, visited the Vatican Historical Museum, saw the tallest obelisk in the world, and THEN, saw the steps that Jesus Christ walked up to his trial before Pontius Pilot. That too felt surreal. People are only allowed to walk up the stairs on their knees. We left that afternoon for Siena and were home by dinnertime :)

Last but not least, we traveled to San Gimignano today with our Sienese Art and Architecture class. You’ll be with me when I say that San Gimignano is like a miniature version of Siena if you’ve ever been to both, which I highly recommend! When we got off the bus, we realized we were actually very high up, surrounded by an expanse of beauty. After our lesson, we climbed what felt like a thousand steps to the top of the highest tower in the Town Hall. We were in awe – we could see for miles and miles around us. I still wonder if some of what we saw was Siena. Later, were free to wander about for a few hours. We went into the leather shops, ceramic shops, gelaterias and cafes, and all spent a little too much money, even though it was cheaper than Siena. We hopped on the bus home after quite a long day and slept until we got home sweet home to Siena :)

Check back soon for updates on possibly Cinque Terre, wine tasting, Florence, and my fall break adventures!

Melanie Bianco

CET Siena Student Correspondent, Fall 2010