Il Dolce Far Niente - The Sweetness of Doing Nothing

This week was definitely a 'down week' for our group, we took it easy as far as night life and tried to get more into the mentality that finals are just around the corner somehow, but we still had some pretty good highlights.
 

Thursday we went to Monteoliveto, a Benedictine monastery in the hills of Tuscany started by Bernardo Tolomei. There were dozens of beautiful frescos by Luca Signorelli and Sodoma, and we got to see the Abbey, which was pretty cool. Some parts of the monastery are still strictly cut off from outsiders, so we didn't see all of it, but we did get to visit the library and the pharmacy. It was crazy to think that people never had to leave that place for anything. 

Afterwards, we went to Pienza and learned about how Pope Pius II (whose family was from Siena) basically wanted his own perfect Renaissance town, so Leon Battista Alberti created it for him. Its interesting because the main cathedral doesn't have any Christian symbols like Mary or Jesus on the facade, but only the crest of Pope Pius II, which according to our professor proves that the town was to assert and boast the power of the Pope. The main square in Pienza is formatted in the same manner as an ancient Roman Theater, with a clear focal point in the center of everything, proving it truly is a perfect Renaissance town. 

This weekend, our group truly came to understand the meaning of the Tuscan phrase 'Il dolce far niente" - The sweetness of doing nothing. 

This was our last weekend to get away without having to worry about school, because next weekend is the weekend before finals and no one will want to go too far from Siena. We have been kind of burnt out by the hustle and bustle of running around big cities littered with tourists and long lines, so we decided renting a villa in Tuscany would be the perfect way to spend the weekend. It took a long time to find one that slept 12, wasn't too far, and that was within our price range, but luckily, Nicole came through again and found a great place in the Chianti Region near Monte San Savino! 

 

Friday afternoon we took a bus to Monte San Savino, and the people we were renting from sent a big van to pick us up from the stop and bring us to the grocery store. We ran into the store and proceeded to buy way too much food, and when we brought all of our bags out the guy who was driving us must have thought we were crazy to have bought that much food for 3 days.  After filling the entire trunk with our groceries, we hopped in and drove to our Tuscan paradise! As we pulled into the driveway we all started freaking out, it was absolutely gorgeous! Our own little secluded oasis - complete with an infinity-edge pool and an outdoor balcony! We spent all of Friday and Saturday by the pool asking ourselves over and over "What did we do to deserve this?!" We all decided we have to say "Thank you Mom and Dad!!"

This morning it was full on cleaning-brigade to make sure the house was left the same we found it. We realized we didn't have return tickets to Siena (oops..) and we didn't know where the closest ticket office was (double oops). We asked the lady who we rented the house from and she said that her friends could drive us back in their car for 10 euro each. We've come to realize we have a 'Study Abroad Goddess' looking over us, who consistently has been getting us out of could-be problematic situations. So, rather than paying for an hour long un-airconditioned bus ride, we took about a 35 minute car ride with the music turned way up.

So, tomorrow starts our last full week of class, Friday we're going to the beach, Saturday we're going to Florence to see Roberto Benigni's "Tutto Dante" (Everything Dante), and then next week is our last week in Italy. After this weekend of relaxation, with a chance to recenter, and again be reminded of the beauty that exists in this world and in this life, I'm ready to make the most of the next 13 days. 


"Happiness is a consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it." 

A Cultural Mix and a Trip al Sud

This past week has been an absolute whirlwind. The four day school week is so great, but the 4-7 hours of class a day gets tiering, along with trekking across Italy every weekend! It's a rough life... #problems

I'll highlight a few of my favorite moments/times from the past week:

1) The Angel Food Cake. 

Silvia invited Maddie to dinner one night while she stayed in Siena, so Madeline and I made an Angel Food Cake for Silvia, Gianni, and Molly. Gianni and Silvia had never had one before, so I was really excited to make the cake that is pretty famous in my family with my grandmother's recipe. The first hilarious thing was that Silvia had measuring cups with the US customary system because she's had so many students stay with her, she knows we struggle with the change! The next was that when I told her the oven needed to be preheated to 375 degrees, she laughed. For any of you that were wondering, 375 degrees F is about 190 Celsius. 

Dinner was great. Silvia studied in England, so her English is really quite good. She could understand Madeline when she spoke, and whenever there was any Italian spoken, Molly and I translated for Maddie. Maddie speaks Spanish, and Molly also speaks some French, so all together we had a plethora of linguistic capabilities!  

I was actually kind of nervous when I brought the cake out after dinner, but all of my worries were eased when Gianni took the first bite and said it was great. Then he asked if I'd ever put liquor on it, which is pretty common in Italian desserts. So, we had my cake and recipe from the U.S., with the usual whipped cream and raspberries, and then a little Italian twist. It was just a multicultural night, and I was so glad to have Maddie there!

2) The Local Experience

Coming from such a small hometown, I'm used to a high level of trust and familiarity with a lot of the people/shops/places at home. Siena is proving to be similar, and our group has already become 'regulars' at a few places. Every day, we go to this little pizza shop across from our school when we have a break. Its to the point that the lady there knows exactly which kind of pizza we are going to want! One day, I had ordered my slice and I only had a large bill or 1.50 in euro coins, and it cost 2 euro. I was just about to ask one of my friends to lend me 50 eurocents, but the lady said it was no problem and that I could pay her whenever we next came into eat there! I was pretty shocked, granted it was only 50 eurocents, but there are places in my hometown that would never even do that. Talking to some other people it seems to be a general consensus, both that we're always short on money and that the Italians trust us enough to be good for it another time. Also, there is one bar that we go to get coffee almost every day and he's started charging us less than the written cost, which is a great perk! 

3) From Siena to Naples, Sorrento, Capri, Positano, and back. 

I was sitting in class when I got a note from Molly saying "We're leaving at 2 because all the other trains are full. I'm packing for both of us so meet you here around 1:30." That was the start to a whirlwind of a weekend. I'll just have to give quick bullet points because we had a jam packed 3 days!

-We jumped on our connecting train to Naples so fast we didn't realize until 3 hours in that we were sitting in First Class. The overall consensus was, 'Why move?' So we didn't. First class chillin' the whole way.

-Day trip to Capri. I went to the Blue Grotto by myself, and it was absolutely breathtaking. Literally, I almost cried. I met Zoe and Molly on one of the most beautiful rocky beaches I've ever seen. The water was every beautiful shade of blue. 

I also wanted to say that my weekend was full of texts and pictures from Mom, who went to see my cousin get married! Everyone looked so wonderful, and it made me miss my family so much, especially my Stefani family! As if being in the country where the Stefanis originated isn't enough to make me miss them! Congratulazioni to Jason and Tara Stefani! Wish I could have been there!

"The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, is in its loyalty to each other."

Stefani Bell, CET Siena Student Correspondent Summer 2012