It was a rainy Easter Sunday morning and we were just finishing setting the table. I had returned home from my spring break- a wonderful trip to Madrid, Barcelona and Geneva- the night before. Most of our group had also made their way back to Siena and I thought it would be a festive and special way to celebrate the holiday by having everyone over for an Easter brunch. I love cooking, especially for friends, and so I was more than happy to spend my morning peeling potatoes and chopping onions. By one o’clock the food was on the table and we were ready to eat: two frittatas with fresh mozzarella, asparagus and tomatoes, a heaping bowel of crusty hash browns, as well as a typical Italian bread cake called a Colomba (with nuts and dried fruits-in the shape of a dove!).

As we gathered around the jammed table, we quickly began to divulge our spring break highlights- the snake charmers in Marrakesh, the beaches of Southern France, or the out of this world baklava in Greece. A particularly wonderful story came from my friend Tiernan who accidently booked a hotel in Athens, Georgia! (Sorry Tiernan, that needed to be shared). We sat there for hours laughing and telling stories of the people we had met, the places we had seen and the adventures of traveling. For me, I had decided to spend the last two nights of break traveling solo in Geneva, Switzerland. It had been an interesting experience, and it hadn’t helped that on Good Friday practically everything was closed! I was definitely glad to see some friends after my long journey home to say the least.

One of the greatest parts about being in Europe is the traveling-I hop on a plane for a few hours and I can be in Paris, London, Vienna, Berlin! However, we can honestly all agree that its always nice to come back to Siena- bending that curve on the bus from Florence, and seeing the Duomo in the distance, is quite a wonderful feeling. We all felt like we were back home, and it was nice to be with our family away from home for the holiday.

Ciao!

Alex Johnson

CET Siena Student Correspondent, Spring 2010