Mafia, Cannoli's and Cooking, Oh My!

Last week Thursday we left Siena and went to Sicily for our Italian Cultural History class. It was quite the trip! We had to leave early Thursday morning to catch a bus to Florence, hopped on a bus to the airport, flew into Rome, sat in the Rome airport for a couple hours, flew from Rome to Catania. However, the Catania airport is closed due to construction on the runway so we flew into the Military base then took a bus to the airport, then another bus from the airport to the hotel. It was a hassle but we did it and all got there in one piece! It was a grand total of 11 hours traveling time. Once we arrived at the hotel my suitcase, the one dad and I had to buy when going to London, completely broke... it was not funny. All the wheels went rolling down the steps and it was a disaster, really embarrassing actually... so I had to buy ANOTHER suitcase. Let’s hope this one holds up! That night we went to dinner with the other CET students that are studying in Florence. After dinner we went right to bed! We were really tired!

Friday morning we walked to the WWII museum, which I really liked. We got to see the uniforms, we sat in an anti-raid shelter and felt what it would have been like during the bombings, wax figures of Roosevelt, old guns used, we heard stories from men that were alive during this time period, etc... It was really neat to learn about the invasion of Sicily during WWII. Of course, we had a worksheet to fill out during the tour... school. ;) We went to lunch at a little restaurant we found and it was DELICIOUS! After lunch I had a chocolate cannoli...I couldn't get over how good it was, oh my word!! After lunch we had a two hour class, a 15 min break after, then a 2 hour meeting with an Anti-Mafia Organization. That was really neat to hear how they prevent the Mafia from taking over all the shops in Sicily. Fact: over 80% of the shops in Sicily pay money to the mafia. Also, every $10 I spent there, $8 of it went to the Mafia in some sort of way! Unbelievable isn't it?! That night we went to dinner and found dessert with some of the girls from the Florence group. We had a blast with them! They were a great group of girls! I'm bummed we met them so late into the program because we would have been able to take trips with them if we had known them beforehand!

Saturday morning we were back in the classroom for another 2 hour lecture about food and how most of the Italian traditions come from the Arabic culture. After class we went to the fish market with a lady and her family. They own a bed and breakfast in Sicily and let us come and have a tour and have a cooking class with them! It was great! Then we had a little bit of free time to eat lunch so the same girls from Florence and us Siena girls went to find the famous Sicilian dish, arancino. It's a big ball of rice that's fried but has other mixings inside. So yummy!! Oh my goodness! I think I gained 15 lbs there! Then of course I had to try the pistachio cannoli... ;) After lunch we hopped on a bus and went to the bed and breakfast! This was a really neat place. It was family owned for many years, dating back to the 1600's. It was absolutely beautiful. The cooking lesson was great. They use sardines in EVERYTHING!!! Not a fan. I did try them but meh... so nasty!! A fun fact is that Oprah Winfrey stayed at this Bed and Breakfast once. Like anyone really cares... 

Sunday morning we had another lecture in the morning then the rest of the day was free. We flew back home (aka "Siena") Monday but we didn't get back until late that night. 

DIECI

We don't get weekends in Siena very often because we travel so much (I'm not complaining),  so last weekend we had a roommate dinner that Sunday night, which was a blast! We made homemade gnocchi in a sage and butter sauce and in a vegetable concoction! Yummyyy!
 

 
This weekend Frances invited me to go with she and her mom to Lake Como (where George Clooney owns a home). I was so excited because this weekend was an Italian holiday so we had a four day weekend and I was going to be alone in Siena. Literally every person I knew was leaving town!! Thank goodness for Frances!! We had a great time! We stayed in this beautiful villa overlooking the lake. The mountains in Switzerland were just to the left of the villa! Literally absolutely beautiful and breathtaking! We arrived in Milan Friday morning and toured around Bellagio for a bit then headed to Lake Como. Saturday we toured the towns and shopped. We had lunch in Lake Como where I was proposed to by the waiter... super awkward yet hilarious. He tried putting his ring on my finger but I declined. The language barrier wouldn't have worked ;) Then we headed back to Bellagio and made dinner at home. Frances and I tried a sauna for the first time and we both hated it. We lasted for about 5 minutes then got out as fast as we could! It hurts your face and I couldn't breathe... I don't know how people find that enjoyable at all. Sunday morning we packed up and headed back to Siena! It was a great time! 
   
Next week Thursday we head to Sicily for five days for class! I'm really excited for that because that's actually where I wanted to study but the program didn't run this semester due to lack of interest. Other than that, not much else is new here. Yesterday marked the 6 weeks left in Italy. So sad! I can't believe time has gone by so fast! I am excited to go home and be with my family over the holidays though, there’s nothing better than that! 

I decided to put together my top ten everything thus far. I haven’t gotten to go everywhere and see everything I’ve wanted to but I think this will give everyone a good look at what there is here and how much I’ve loved being here.

We only have six weeks left… I cannot believe it. Where did the time go?! Time certainly does fly when you’re having fun!

Here are my three top ten lists!

Places:

1. London
2. Lake Como
3. Siena
4. Cinque Terre
5. Barga
6. Castiglione
7. Florence
8. Montalcino
9. Arezzo
10. Pisa

Food:

1. Pizza
2. Gelato
3. Biscotti
4. Gnocchi
5. Pesto
6. Pasta
7. Risotto
8. Upside down chocolate cake
9. Cheese
10. Meat platters

Things To Do In Siena:

1. Visit the piazza
2. Visit the Duomo
3. Visit the Piazza Pubblico
4. Walking and exploring
5. Shopping
6. Trying out all the ristoranti possible
7. Trying out all the gelaterias possible
8. Night life… get to meet Italians our age
9. Contrada parties
10. Climb the Tower (Torre del Mangia)

(There’s so much more but I only choose my top 10!)

Aimee Crouch, University of Iowa

CET Siena Student Correspondent