Lunch with the Family
I just finished lunch with my most parents, their son Massimo, his wife Michaela and their daughter Aerie. They where the first of my host family's family that I met when I had only been in Italy for a short while, almost three months ago that weekend I came back from Cinque Terre. It's strangely fitting that I should be eating with them again on my last weekend in Siena. This is officially my last Saturday in Siena and after sleeping away its morning, I have had a leisurely afternoon lunch with my family.
They are so great; I am really going to miss them. Of course leaving them isn't the same as leaving my own parents but in some ways it is harder to do. With one's own parents, you always know that you can go back home and see them, or call and easily talk. They will always be in your life. But with my family here, I can't easily do any of those things. I can't easily come visit again, I can't easily call and communicate on the phone, not only does that cost a ton of money but I'm sure my Italian skills will drastically decrease once I leave. Who knows when I will see them again after this next week? I hope I can keep mildly in touch with them, at that I do see them again on a return trip to Italy, but none of that is certain. People were right when they said at the end of three months you would finally feel comfortable here, in Italy, with your friends, with everything. They were right. Now as I have to leave to go home, I feel comfortable with my speaking skills, or at least the idea that they have improved and could continue to improve. I feel comfortable with my host family. I can easily hold basic conversations with them and talk about my days and thoughts. I am super glad I did this home stay. The past few days I've been hanging out at the mini residence Paradiso a lot and its fun, very nice to be able to hang out with people and talk and go out, but at the same time, I don't think I'd want to have to be there all the time. It's comforting to know my host family is here for me if I ever need them. I always have someone to say good morning and good night to.
Back to the lunch though, it was very nice. When they first got here I was thinking, why oh why did I say I was going to be here for lunch, because there was lots of activity going on and talking and laughing, which is great, I just didn't know how I fit into it all. Then my host mom Laura came into my room all happy and excited looking and told me to come with her and look at something. She led me into the boy's room on the opposite side of the house and pointed out the window to a beautiful rainbow. It was huge and totally complete. She pointed out that there were actually two even, one smaller and faint one echoing the large one. I was really happy to be included in this event, as the whole family was coming in and looking. I didn't feel like an outsider but like a shy member of the family.
At lunch I was able to understand most of what was said, and Michaela remarked that I seemed much better at Italian now than when she first met me months ago. That made me happy to hear. I was even able to have some polite conversation with she and her husband about travel in the US and such. Massimo said he had only been to New York when he was 21 but would like to see the Grand Canyon as he has see pictures of it and likes the look of the wide open spaces. They're just all such nice people, I wish I could speak better Italian or was more confident in it, but at the same time I've made so much progress just to get where I am that I can't complain. I'll just have to come back! Their daughter was still a little afraid of me like last time, but not nearly as bad. She's been running around the whole day without pants on, only underwear. She kept walking behind me when I was eating and staring at me. Her mom started laughing and said that she was admiring my long, pretty hair. How cute! It doesn't look that great right now, but at least someone likes it. Blonde hair is pretty rare here, and my hair has gotten pretty long, its fun to know it impressed a little girl.
Now it's almost three and I think I'm going to walk into town for a bit and try to do some Christmas shopping. I am pretty tired now but I think I need to leave the house sometime today. I would like to hang out more with the family, but I don't want to intrude too much on their family gathering, plus, I think they want to catch up and relax and even if I do understand what they're saying, literally, who and what they are talking about won't really effect me or make much sense. Laura is very particular about her ways though and would never let me help do anything in the kitchen. She told me today thanks but no thanks when I offered to help, and that in the kitchen it was better with one, otherwise there is too much confusion. (Sorry Mom, no learning to cook!) So if I wasn't helping to clean up now and I wasn't able to partake in the conversation I don't know what I'd really be doing…. So I should probably go to town!
Adventuring in Italy with Andy Part 1
It's a good two weeks since Andy was here and I am just now finding the time to write about our journeys together. It's very strange to look back on that time right now, as I only have one week remaining in Siena, and to think that I anticipated it for so long and now it is over. I hope I can remember everything that happened while he was here…
The Friday night before he arrived I went to the Tea Room with a couple of friends and ended up staying out pretty late, which was ok because my bus to room didn't leave until late morning. Then, I couldn't sleep at all because I was so excited for Andy to arrive. I felt like I used to feel as a kid when I knew we were going to Disneyland or Christmas was the next day, so excited and unable to sleep because of the excitement. But the next day, I don't know if it was a side effect of the late not or not, I woke up with a stuffy nose. By the worst luck ever I ended up with a cold right when Andy arrived. I caught my bus to Rome all right and spent the next three and half hours in a half sleepy daze. I didn't feel well, it was cloudy out and I could hardly concentrate on anything but the fact that Andy would be there that night!
I arrived in Rome around one and marveled at the flashy train station, then wandered the streets for a while trying to find the B & B in vain. After half an hour of wandering I found it and checked in. Then I was so tired and felt so bad, I was going through Kleenex's like crazy, that I took a short nap. The whole time I was flashing for hot to cold so it was very uncomfortable. Around four I decided to go walk around a bit by myself and visited a Church near the train station, walked down one of the main streets of Rome and ended up meeting a couple of friends at the Trevi Fountain. They were exhausted from a long day of sightseeing and we hung around the Fountain for a long time. After parting from them I headed back to the train station to catch the train to the airport where I was to meet Andy. After a quick snack and forty minute train ride I was at Leonardo da Vinci airport. Andy's flight wasn't supposed to get there until close to 9 and it was only 8:30 so I decided to head into the airport and meet him at the gate instead of at the train stop like we had planned. The airport was deserted at this time of night and after short while I figured out what arrival gate he should be coming there. I stood behind the bar just outside the gate looking anxiously through the guarded door that led to baggage claim, trying to catch a glimpse of him getting his luggage. Then I suddenly received a text message from Andy, turns out his flight had gotten in early and he had started towards the train station already. He turned back towards the airport and I started back towards the train station and we met each other half way. It was so strange seeing him at first. It wasn't like he looked that different, his hair was short, he was thinner and had some nice, new clothes on, but besides that he was the same. It just couldn't get over the fact that it was just strange to have him in Italy. It was like he was out of place, like he belonged with me in California but not in Italy. It was just a very strange feeling all together. But of course I was glad to see him! I was really glad in fact (it was hard to see him leave in the end.)
We arrived back at the train station in Roma and made our way to the hostel, which I now knew exactly where it was. We settled into the room a little and then headed out into the Roman nightlife. By this time it already after 11 and I felt pretty awful health wise, but I really wanted Andy to see some of Italy that night. We ended up back at the Trevi Fountain and I was really happy to see how stunned Andy was by its beauty. He was very impressed with everything in Rome actually and I was really happy to see that. I held out as long as I could but eventually went to a Farmacia and bought some cold medicine. I wish I'd do so earlier because I think it helped a lot. Sometime after 1am we arrived home and settled into a deep sleep. I was surprised how upbeat Andy had been the whole night, no traces of jet lag or anything and was disappointed that I had to be sick and couldn't match his vigor.
The next day we awoke early, got our free breakfast of juice and toast, and check out of the hostel. We had to store our luggage at the train station for the day and I grossly under estimated the amount of people who would be doing the same so we were met with a huge line at the baggage center. That caused us to just miss seeing the Pope in Saint Peter's Square, although we did hear him utter "buona settimana" (have a good week) before he went away. We looked around Vatican Square for a bit but it was really hot in Rome and we soon where carrying our large wool jackets. I was still going through Kleenexes like crazy and when I look back on things now, don't think I was thinking very clearly. Head colds are the worst.
The rest of the day we walked about Roma. Saw the Spanish Steps (weren't very impressed) saw the Pantheon (were totally impressed! They had the tombs of old kings of Italy as well as Raphael's!) and then frantically made our way to the train station, jumped on the subway to the bus station and found our seats on a very crowded bus to Siena. Andy crashed at this point, slept the entire way, while I listened to music and slept as well.
Arriving in Siena the weather was definitely colder, being much farther north, and it was raining. It had rained a little on Saturday in Rome but Sunday it was beautiful and clear. We checked Andy in to his really cute mini residence (conveniently close to my home) and went to this pizzeria near the both of them for dinner. It was really good dinner, we got pizza was mozzarella and basil on top, along with wine and bread. The people there were really nice and took us in even thought it was crowded and late. The only thing they were offering by that time was pizza and that was fine with us. I've noticed in Italy that while restaurants aren't officially closed, once it gets late at night they will only offer pizza any more, probably because most of the cooks have gone home and pizza is the only easy things left to make. We made plans to meet the next day before my class for a quick breakfast.
Bright an early at 8:00 Monday morning we were eating at a café from the mini residence. Café latte and croissant, as was the usual breakfast menu. Then it was time for me to go to class. Andy came up to the room with me and met some of my classmates and teacher. Then I gave him a map of Siena with a walking trail on it and sent him out into the city. Class was hard to get through because I felt so sick, which made it hard to think straight and concentrate. I was also worried about my test later that day and my oral exam two days later. Andy and I met up again at noon and I took him to one of our favorite cafés for lunch. We had really good sandwiches and pasta while I studied for the test I had in an hour. After my second class I showed him the Campo and we sat there in the cold until it was time for my last class. Andy was super impressed with everything and was very calm and understanding even though I was being annoying and grumpy, worried about tests and being sick and all. That night we had a light dinner at another of my favorite pizza places and Andy tried the nutella pastry I had been telling him about. The one with nutella inside and on top, covered in powdered sugar. He totally loved it and I was very happy for this. I knew I would convert him to a nutella lover as well!
The next day Andy set out with the map again while I was in class and this time came back super excited about everything he had seen in Siena! It was just so in awe of the city and its small medieval streets and beautiful views. He said he was ready to move to Siena and live there. It was so cute to hear about all of his adventuring that morning (he had actually managed to see parts of Siena I hadn't seen) and to look at the pictures he had taken. That afternoon we wandered leisurely through Siena, had a great lunch at this restaurant I knew of, Osteria del Gatto, of cheese appetizers, wild boar and pasta. Even though it was cold and rainy we saw some great views of Siena and the countryside. It was really beautiful and peaceful. Around four we went over to the Duomo, which was almost completely uncovered at that point. (They had been doing restoration on it for entire time I had been here and it was only at that point that they started to take down the scaffolding.) I had my internship at Santa Maria della Scala that day and Andy was able to go with me. The docent I work with did a lot of speaking in English that day for Andy and also for the mom of the other girl I work with, whom was also visiting over Thanksgiving. We spent almost two hours in the archeological section of the museum and by the end I was exhausted and barely had the strength to show Andy the rest of the museum and explain the frescos to him, but I did. It was pretty cool that he was able to come with me though and get a free private tour of the museum.
That night I had Andy over for dinner with my host family. That was fun. I played translator all night and it always took we awhile to remember that even simple phrases like "how do you like Siena?" or "everything going well?" needed to be translated. My host parents even kissed Andy on both cheeks in true Italian tradition and called him Andrea, since Andrew is difficult and almost impossible for them to say. My host mom had made a huge and fancy dinner for us. We had three different types of appetizers, a huge oyster pasta, and then salad and pork prepared in three different ways. Although I felt bad about it, this was the only dinner I didn't finish all of. It was just too much food! Andy couldn't finish either. I felt almost sick taking the last few bites I was so full! It was good, but not like her usual cooking. It was a little fancier than usual and I think I like the plain stuff better. There was also the usual bread and cheese. And after the meal there was still dessert to come, a fruit salad with sugar and… I don't even remember what else! Mario was drinking a little of some hard liquor that night and offered Andy some. He tried a little shot of it, didn't like it, so they offered him some lemon cello, which he also took a little shot of and liked even less. Thinking back on it a few days later I realized it was like he was talking shots with my host family! (In a way.) Very funny!
The next day I had my horrible oral presentation (I was preoccupied, tired and sick) and Andy again set out with the map and explored Siena. He came back just as excited as the day before! During the break between classes we got lunch and checked out the market. (Andy helped me pick out a nice coat.) Then he came to class with me because my teacher saw him and invited him to class. We learned about the mafia that day and Andy said he found the lesson very interesting. After class we jetted over to the Duomo to actually go inside. I told Andy all the history of the Cathedral I could remember and showed him everything inside. He was again super impressed with the beauty of the Duomo, but I don't know how one couldn't be. I told him the story of the mysterious crypt underneath the Duomo and he wanted to go in but we didn't have enough time because we had to head over to the City Hall for my art history class. That day our teacher took us on a small tour of Siena's city hall and we were able to see beautiful old frescos and have her explain them to us. Andy was again able to go on this free tour.
After all that, we got some chestnuts in town, ate a Pizzaland one more time (had another nutella pastry) and headed back to my place to pack and catch the bus to Florence. We successfully waved down the buss on the street and it stopped for us, I was very proud of that, and listened to a radio recording on the hour-long ride to Florence. We got there around 9, had some trouble finding our hostel, but eventually made it there. It was on a nice enough street, super close to the city center, literally like five minutes away, with a view of a Church right outside the window. The stairwell was a little creepy though, and we think we saw some people smoking pot when we walked in. The B & B was super cute though. The woman who runs it was sitting waiting for us, showed us our room and then talked with us for awhile after. She was very talkative and nice if not a little strange. She was on the computer and kept asking us how to do things on it which was amusing. I was disappointed to learn that breakfast wasn't included in the reservation, since I had thought it was, but we decided to have a good breakfast the next day and pay the extra money (Andy said he couldn't take another café latte and croissant, he needed more.) The room was super cute, with white linens (which the woman told us not to sent anything on for fear of stains, which was kind of strange) and green accent pillows. We went to bed early that night since we were both so tired.
The next day I was awoken earlier than I wanted to be by the sounds of people talking loudly and metal clunking around outside the window. The noise was constant and seemed like it was never going to stop so I eventually got up and looked outside the window. Lo and behold there was the Florence market! I didn't know when I made the hostel reservations that we were staying on the street of the outdoor Florence market, which is set up and taken down every day. It's not a small market either; there are hundreds of vendors lining many side streets. It was kind of cool to have the market at our feet, but than also really annoying because it made it impossible to go to sleep before 11pm or to sleep past 6:30am because of the constant noise of taking down and setting up the booths. If course Andy thought it was very cool though and was thrilled when the Church across the street started ringing its bells that morning.
The breakfast was amazing. There were fresh rolls, homemade jams, yogurt (oh how I'd missed yogurt,) nutella spreads, cereal, juice and fresh cappuccinos and tea. And it was all so perfectly laid out. There was no expense spared. Every spoon for every different dish and cup hand its own tray, everything was so cute!
To be continued...
Sorrento and Capri
There were a couple of exciting/shocking/crazy things that happened last weekend. The first of which was at the very beginning of my trip down south.
After much debate the weekend before I decided it would be all right if I returned to the South of Italy to see Sorrento and the island of Capri with a bunch of schoolmates. ("Returning" meaning, going to places near Naples, were I was for a week five years ago, so its not like I'd really been to any of these places before.) Eleven of us set out together on Friday afternoon, all dreading the horribly long train ride of six hours to reach the central station in Naples. The ride was long and boring, but the train was nice and traveling a long way on a train isn't nearly as bad as traveling a long way in a plane. We arrived in Naples at around 8pm and were immediately on guard, making sure to closely watch all our stuff since everyone had been telling us how dangerous Naples was and that we better pay attention at all times. We used the bathroom and I was very happy to be able to use my travel toilet paper for the first time! Every other bathroom I've been in here has had toilet paper but this Naples one didn't! Oh yeah for the travel toilet paper!
After that the first really exciting/shocking/crazy thing happened. My friend Mike wasn't feeling very well and wanted to use a nicer bathroom then we had been in so he said he was going to go into one of the hotels located right outside the train station and use the bathroom really fast. I said ok and that we would meet him at the ticket window where we were buying our tickets for the connecting train to Sorrento. After some time he finally called and Sameer went to meet him. I was a little stressed because we had just missed the connecting train and had to wait another half hour for the next so I didn't notice at first that Mike was holding his lip when he walked up and what he said didn't make much sense at first. He had been beat up by three Italian guys. Yes, really, in the 15 minutes we were in Naples he was literally beat up! He had gone into a hotel bathroom without asking because he felt like he was going to throw up and while he was in there someone started pounding on the door. He opened it and before he knew it he was being pulled out of the bathroom and head butted in the face. Shocked, scared and angry he pushed back and was thrown to the ground where the guys proceeded to kick him repeatedly and yell at him. The whole time he didn't know what he had done wrong or why the guys were yelling at him. Then the shoved him out the hotel door and yelled at him while he walked away stunned. Luckily Mike had enough sense to not fight back, although he said he wanted to, because he knew they had the upper hand and that there were no police in sight. It is seriously shocking that this happened and quite crazy. Hard to believe it really happened but it did. What a story to tell huh?? We can't understand why they would have done that, if they were some kind of unmarked hotel security, if they were mafia guys, if they just saw his California t-shirt and didn't like him because he was American… we don't know. It's not like they took any of his stuff either… Needless to say, after that everyone, especially Mike, was pretty shaken and ready to leave Naples as soon as possible.
The ride from Naples to Sorrento was pretty easy and took around 40 minutes. Half way through the trip one of the girls I was traveling with said she really didn't think she cold hold it anymore and she had to pee right then or she was going to pee her pants. None of us were very smart and we didn't think of getting off the train to go in a bathroom at one of the stations on the way. No way. Instead, she decided to pee in the back car of the train into a bottle. Luckily there was no one else around in the car and we closed her up in there. Pretty disgusting, huh? After all that, we finally made in to Sorrento and found the way to our hostel. We were so happy to finally get there; by then it was around 11pm. I was pretty worried too because I had stupidly forgotten my passport, which usually you have to present every time you go to a hostel or hotel, some kind of anti terrorist law Italy has. Thus, I was really worried I would have to go to the police station and have them certify that I was a US citizen who was allowed to be in the country. Lucky for me, they didn't ask for our identification or our money that night! I was so, so lucky and so dumb for not brining my passport! Next time I will for sure remember!
We didn't get to bed until 1am that night because after we checked in we went out in search of dinner. This restaurant was nice enough to take 11 people in at close to midnight even though they were in the process of closing. We had delicious pizza, bread and water. It was a very satisfying meal, as was the meal the next morning. Our hostel came with breakfast included, and it was a wonderful breakfast. The place was family owned and run so in the morning there were the older Italian ladies making drinks and preparing the rolls. We were served hot croissants, a roll, could get cereal, fruit and any kind of warm coffee we wanted. They took our order for coffee and even brought it to us. I also got to drink orange juice out of beautiful wine glasses. It was wonderful and filling! The place was just cute overall, our room was cozy and had a warm heater, and they had a GIANT dog named Spike and a little ciwawwa named Lola.
After breakfast we walked down to the main port of Sorrento to catch a ferry to the island of Capri. The shoreline of Sorrento is beautiful as you can look north and see Mount Vesuvius and the Naples port in the near distance. It was a beautifully clear day too so you could see everything. We ended up running the last distance to the ferry and missing the 9am anyhow so we had to wait to for the 9:45. There we met Jerry. Jerry was an old Italian man who spoke perfect English. He was born in Naples and now lives on Capri. He offered to take us around the island of Capri for 20 euros each in a private bus, providing us with transportation, some bits of information about the island, a lift ticket to the top of the island and cable car ticket to the bottom. He was kind of quirky and funny but nice. After some discussion we decided to take Jerry up on his offer. Since tides were high and choppy the famous Blue Grotto was closed and it would have been difficult to explore the numerous grottos around the island with a choppy ocean. (I'll have to go back and do this someday.) So we decided Jerry would be a good choice.
The ferry ride over was fun, hair flying everywhere because we sat on the top deck. Once we got to the island we climbed into the tiny bus that Jerry was taking us around in. First stop was the smaller city of Ana Capri where they have a chair lift up to the tallest point on the mountain. The buses on the island were so funny! They were so think because the streets on the island were so small and curvy! And the rode was so close to the ledge the whole time… but the view of the bay and the island was breath taking from so high up on the mountain. At Ana Capri we all got on the chair lift to the high point, it was a fun ten-minute ride up.
As I walked up a few stairs to get to the viewing point I knew I was in for something amazing. And it truly was. It was one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. Before me stretched an endlessly clear blue-green ocean. But the way the sun was shinning off of it was the most amazing. The sun created this pale, cream-colored glow all over the surface of the sea. It seemed as if sun and ocean were almost one I the same. It was the most beautiful and soothing sight I have ever seen. I stood transfixed watching it for some minutes. It was fun watching as everyone came up one by one from the chair lift. As soon as they saw the view their expressions were priceless, filled with immediate joy and excitement. It was there that I suddenly felt and realized how much I loved Italy and this trip. I was so glad to be there and to witness such a beautiful sight. It affirmed in my mind that I have to come back to Italy again. It is such a beautiful country and there is still so much to see of it. I realized then how much it all means to me.
Everyone was so happy for the half hour or so we stayed up there. We took lots of pictures from different views. It was simply stunning up there, with the island spreading on behind us, then the coast line beyond that and the crystal clear water everywhere else. It was one of the best moments of the trip.
After that we had a quick lunch and happened to run into some other girls who were from our program who were also there for the weekend. We had a quick look in this fancy designer store there and I fell in love with the beautiful wood tables and chairs, as well as the super expensive porcelain figurine lamps. Then it was down to the main town of Capri. There we got to sample some Lemon cello at a store Jerry took us too. It's such a strong drink! But famous in Capri because that's where it originates from. We also got to try some lemon and chocolate flavored chocolate. That, was really good so I had to buy some. Then it was time for our tour to be over. We said goodbye to Jerry and took a picture with him. Most of the group decided to head back to Sorrento while four of us choose to remain on Capri a little longer and hike up to the Roman ruins on one of the hills.
The "hike" wasn't really a hike. More like a semi-strenuous walk through some beautiful Mediterranean neighborhoods. Ali and I were talking about how baffling and strange it is to as that people actually live in places like the towns we've visited in Italy. It's almost incomprehensible to us how these beautiful places we've been can be someone's reality. There are no places in the US like the ones we've visited here. Here its like we're living in a fantasy world, like Disneyland, because places like Disneyland are the only places at home that even come close to capturing the feel and presence of these towns. I can't quite explain it but its amazing where I'm living and traveling and so, so different even just architecturally. The Italians have it right though, with all these cities that you are totally able to walk about without problems.
The Italian villa was pretty cool, not much to it though but a lot of ruins. Still it was nice to see, and there were more wonderful views. We had to pay two euros to go in too. The guy that took our money was this really old, scruffy looking guy. He had on an old, overly large coat and a beanie, out of which stuck crazy, long gray hair. The table we had to pay at was literally just a folding table, with a chair, and he kept the money in an old tin. I wanted to take a picture of him more than of the ruins! He could have been running a racket up there too, for all we know, who knows if he was official?
After the villa we headed back down to the town to catch the ferry. The hike down took far, far less time then the hike up so we thought we had plenty of time to catch the cable car down to the fort. But, there were these HUGE tour groups waiting for the cars! (I am so, so very tired of tour groups. Everywhere I go in Italy there are the same annoying tour groups blocking the walkways, the museums, the churches…. It is time for theme to be done for the winter!) There is no way we would have had time to catch the car and the ferry so we decided to walk down to the ferry since it was only a 10 minute bus. Our walk turned into a run and five minutes later we were at the port. Sadly, the ferry we ran to catch was sold out so we had to wait another hour anyhow. Thus we decided we should use our cable car tickets and rode the cable car back up to the town, decided to not get off when the doors opened but to stay on (this is probably technically illegal) and ride the car down again. We had extra time so we went and sat by the dock, waiting for the ferry. It was dark by that time so we didn't have much to do. This old man started talking to us, telling us he lived on the island, talking about Naples and such. He was really nice. Actually, everybody we met down south was really nice. They were so much more open and friendly than the somewhat snotty Tuscan's.
When we got off the ferry in Sorrento there were some stray dogs running around backing and such. (The south is famous for its stray dogs and apparently in Italy it is normal for a family to just abandon their dogs when they go on a trip for the summer! Needless to say, stray dogs are a real problem in Italy!) We didn't think anything of them and started walking up to the town of Sorrento. One of the dogs, a big, sleek black male one, ran by us as we walked. When we turned the corner there he was, waiting for us. After that he stayed with us the whole way up to the town, about a 10 minute walk. Every time we started to fall behind, he would slow down and wait for us. It was like he was guiding us or something! It was all very mysterious and the superstitious side of me came out. We tried to go in a clothing store in the town, but the dog still didn't leave, instead he tried to come in with us and when he couldn't he stood in the door like he was waiting for us so we left quickly. Finally we got to a beautiful proceliem shope that we didn't stop at, but he did. There he finally left us. I think he wanted us to go in the shop though! I think of should have, perhaps it was my destiny or something! Or maybe the shop owner had trained him to bring customers back to his shop! This is highly unlikely but fun to imagine. But we left the dog and wandered around looking at the really good stores Sorrento has (Siena just doesn't have much) until we met up with the rest of the group for dinner.
That night for dinner I decided I was going to be really adventurous and have seafood. I thought Dad would be really proud of me. So I ordered pasta with scampi, fish and squid. I was thinking, ok, I've eaten all of these things before, how bad can it be? Oh it was bad. The scampi weren't the little shrimps cooked in butter like I was used to, they were giant shrimp, with heads and eyes and legs and tentacles! I was immediately grossed out. And the fish, the fish was a whole fish, with skin, fins, head and eyes. Looking at them on my plate I was actually physically grossed out. I don't think I've ever been actually physically grossed out by food, but this got me. It was their eyes I think. Little beedy black things on the scampi, pale white on the fish. The shrimp was ok, no heads to speak of, but this weird crunchy texture. I tried eating the scampi, but I couldn't figure out how to break into him and once I did a little he tasted like a mouthful of salt water. Not good at all. So I gave up on him and moved on to the fish. I piled a bunch of pasta on his head so I couldn't see him and then ate the back half of him, which was actually pretty good. Overall though, not an enjoyable meal. I barely ate any of it and then paid like 15 euros for it!
The next day we headed out early to Pompeii. The day was dark and gray and we were really happy that we went to Capri the day before when it was perfect, gorgeous weather. We stopped at Conad and bought some snacks and then bored to the train to Pompeii. Strangely enough, we bumped into the other girls from our program yet again. By the time we got to Pompeii it was pouring. Luckily I had brought my umbrella although many people hadn't. Some of them ended up getting pretty wet.
Halloween
Last night was the Festa di Halloween at the Enoteca Italiana. It’s strange think that Halloween has already come and gone. It doesn’t feel much like Halloween. The weather has been so strange here, cold one day, hot the next, that it’s hard to think of it as November already! Halloween isn’t very widely celebrated in Italy either. Stores didn’t have very many decorations, tons of candy in shiny wrappers wasn’t being sold, and there weren’t hoards of kids trick or treating. Only in the past couple years has Halloween started becoming popular in Italy, probably due to US influence, so it’s a pretty knew thing here. How strange to me, who grew up loving Halloween. The candy, the costumes, the friends, it was all great! But, there were a few stores with decorations up and some masks to buy, but nothing compared to all the decorations and costumes you can find at Target. I did see a few kids out with their parents in town last night, but their costumes were pretty plain, black capes and pirate hats.
The study center was able to organize a Halloween party for us UC students at the Enoteca Italiana last night. Originally we had to pay to get in, but then the Enoteca decided to open up the party to Italians as well, and we all got our money back. It didn’t start until 10pm and lasted well into the night. I walked there with this guy Alex who lives farther down the street from me. We were supposed to meet at 10, but he got his times mixed up at arrived at 9. Not having my number to call and ask why I wasn’t outside, he actually rang our door, talked to Mario, and came all up. I was listening to headphones in my room and missed all of this. The next thing I know Mario’s knocking on my door and there’s Alex standing next to him. I’ve never had anyone over, I didn’t even know if I was allowed to, and now here’s Alex who’s gotten himself invited in! I was really surprised but it was cool. Mario was really nice to him and didn’t mind at all if he was there. I wasn’t dressed at all so I told Alex to make himself comfortable and went and changed. I had a really hard time coming up with a costume since I didn’t want to spend much money and I didn’t have much too work with. I decided to go with the classical witch and more a black shirt, black shirt, black stockings and black boots. I went for a very classic look and topped it all off with a black jacket and black witch hat. I think I looked very witchy. Alex was Ron Burgundy/Will Ferrell from Anchor Man. He does look a lot like him so it was pretty funny.
We walked over to the Enoteca, thought no one was there yet so we sat in the Fortress for a while. It was a beautiful night so that was really nice. Then we saw Brooke, one of the Study Center coordinators, and her boyfriend and decided to go inside with them. Only to discover there were tons of people already there, in the back of the building, many of which had been drinking a lot before hand and were now working on finishing off the free wine and snacks. It was an interesting experience, the party, lots of people were very drunk and I saw a different side of many people. It will be a little strange seeing them tomorrow. People had really cute costumes though, for only coming up with them that day. There was a group of girls dressed as gondoliers from Venice, some cats, pirates, a Ninja Turtle, Mafia Gangsters and of course witches. Then the dancing started. Usually I don’t like to dance but I kind of forced myself to try and it ended up being kind of fun. Italian guys are very sleazy though and so the whole time we were just trying to get away from them. It was a very American party though, with very American music even. The Italians don’t seem to like to dance as much either, they just kind of stand around and watch which is a little strange. It was cool though. Nice getting out and doing something. I didn’t feel left out either, because everyone was there, even all us home stayers. The only bad thing was that someone took my hat! I took it off to dance because I was hitting people with and when I went to get it later, it was gone!
Basketball in Siena?!
So I’m just back from seeing an Italian basketball game. It was Siena vs. Berlin. It was a really fun and interesting experience. It’s always fun to go to any event, especially a sporting event, in Siena because everyone is always so enthusiastic and totally behind their team. It was no different tonight.
The stadium was packed with people, and the Siena section was totally filled with people weaving green and white banners, their was a drum that a guy beat throughout the entire game, lots of yelling, scarves waving and songs being sung.
The indoor stadium was actually pretty near my home stay so I walked there and back. It was nice being around so many Italian’s who were there just to support their team. I really like the feeling of being part of the community and participating in something special to Siena. The stadium was pretty big, and as I said, pretty full, as was the snack bar and parking lot. We walked in right when the teams were being announced and found some seats near the top, but still in perfect view of the court. The Siena team is green and white, with a duck as their mascot. I was surprised to see so many black guys on the team, just like in the US. My friend Alex was saying a lot of players from the US who just can’t make the NBA come play in foreign countries like this.
Basketball was actually surprisingly very different in Italy than in the US! First off the, key was in the shame of a triangle, with a wide bottom and smaller top, and the three point line wasn’t as far away. As far as actual rules when, goal tending was allowed, and there were lots of times when balls were slammed or knocked away from the baskets. The teams seemed a lot slower, less aggressive, and I guess just overall less polished than American teams. The players didn’t seem to be quite as cocky-aggressive as they are here. And everyone was a lot smaller. No big Shaq here. Both teams made a lot do dumb moves too, lots of missed shot opportunities and just poor shooting overall. And although they were less aggressive, there were a lot of turnovers and people falling on the floor. Also, the center took the ball out a few times and even dribbled under the basket! I’m not saying these guys weren’t good, because they were, but just not as super good as I’m used to, or maybe not even that, they just played a slightly different game. Siena won though! That was really cool! Nice to see everyone so happy and singing pride fully the song of Siena.
The cheerleaders were also a lot different here. They were more like dancers than cheerleaders even. And they were so petite! Most Italians are already so, but they were especially so. And they weren’t provocative at all. Instead, they looked more like little girls and their outfits seemed very 80’s inspired. They looked like real people, they danced well, with lots of amazing splits and turns and jumps and flips, but they all had different hairstyles and colors, and they weren’t plastic looking like the cheerleaders at home. Like I said, their dancers weren’t sexual at all, they were cute and a little strange. One included a ballet dancers, a… something dancer on a table, and a hip-hop dancer. But that was the only hip-hop in the whole performance as that type of music and dance is not nearly as popular here as it is at home. The rest was just lots of jumping and such. Oh, but it was great, two girls actually fit themselves through the hoops in one stunt, I was truly amazed! I don’t think I would fit through a basketball hoop but now I’m tempted to try… And they were wearing leg warmers for most of the stunts!
It was a really fun experience though and I’m really glad to have been able to go. The study center got us tickets for only 1 euro too so that was great!
Bologna Trip
Bologna, the city that created “bologna,” is where I traveled last weekend. The Bologna trip was an excursion run by the study center so everything was planned before hand. They bused us there, showed us around and fed us. Half of the students in the Siena program where on this trip, while the other half had made the journey two weeks before. We had to get up early Friday morning to make the bus at 7:30 from in front of the blue office. That meant a nice walk for me in the semi-dark morning streets of Siena. It was really strange being out that early, the streets were empty, and there were neither people nor cars about. And it was really cloudy which only added to the gloom.
The bus ride to Bologna was three hours, including one stop at an Autogrill for a snack break. I splurged and finally bought the iced tea and nutella snack pack I had been eyeing since Venice. But I saved it for later because my host mom had already packed me a lunch for the trip. The countryside up to Bologna was beautiful; it changed a bit from Tuscany, becoming flatter the higher north we went.
Bologna is a big city, and that was apparent as soon as we arrived. There were lots of brown and orange buildings and lots of graffiti. I liked it already. Siena is great, but it’s nice to get into a big city once and awhile. I like the cities being flat and open, there were even trees visible and medians down the middle of the street! Bologna is not a normal tourist town, but a city full of students so I was excited to see what it had to offer!
After we left the bus we had to walk 10 minutes to our hotel. The street we had to walk down to get there happened to be the number one shopping street in the city and was full of tantalizing shopping destinations. We vowed to return later that day. Our hotel was just off the street down a little side street, it was called the Holiday Hotel. It was pretty nice; I shared a room with Ali and Jessica that had three little beds. It was actually just nice being in a hostel instead of a hotel for a change. The bathroom and the more elaborate decorations are the biggest difference between the two.
After settling in we made our way to a local restaurant where we were provided with a HUGE lunch. (One of many huge meals to come…) We had appetizers, a first plate and second plate, dessert AND café! I was stuffed afterward. It was good that right after we had the two-hour walking tour of Bologna. It was a really interesting tour done by a local woman. She was nice but a little strange. She had studied at UCLA for tour years a long time ago and said the American university system was based more on knowing facts and dates than analyzing and understanding. Frankly she sounded a little snobbish, like European schools were so much better than that. I kind of wanted to tell her my major was all about analysis and I think the guy I was with wanted to tell her something similar as well. I think we were both a little offended. Other than that she was nice though. On the tour we saw two of the seven remaining towers of Bologna, which were built by rich families as protection, out of the 40 there once were. We also visited the University of Bologna, the oldest university in the world! That is why Bologna is such a student hub, people come from all over the world to study there, and have been for centuries. The building we visited was beautiful, covered in family crests and frescos. We got to sit in the room that was once used for anatomy lectures. It was full of statues of famous doctors all carved out of oak.
We then headed towards the City Hall and Duomo. Underneath the City Hall they had recently done some excavations and found remains of ancient Roman structures! So now when you walk into the building the floor is all of clear glass and you can look down on the Roman structures. Excavation is still going on to see what else they can find. The Duomo also has an interesting story. It is only half done. The Duomo was commissioned by the people of Bologna and was to the one of the largest, if not the largest, Church’s in Italy. But, Bologna was taken over by the Vatican and Pope for some time and the building was stopped. The Pope didn’t like a certain someone in Bolognese history and therefore wanted everything done his way. He had a building built right next to the Duomo that not only took away the space that was to be dedicated to the Duomo, but also took away the time and money needed for construction. Now the outside façade is not finished. The bottom fourth is complete, with marble finishing and statues (marble that had to be imported because it is not found in Bologna, rather there is lots of red stone around, typical of the area, which is why red became the color of Bologna) but the top three fourths are all made of uneven, uncovered brick. It’s quite a sight and something you don’t see very often on Church’s! Even the inside is unfinished. So instead of being the gaudy, beautiful Church that is overflowing with colors and things to look at, the inside is pretty plain.
Our guide left us at the Statue of Neptune and then we were free for a few hours before dinner. So we went shopping! Bologna had wonderful shopping, with tons of stores to choose from. H & M was the collective favorite. It was cheap and very cute. I ended up buying a really nice long black jacket with big buttons on the front. I’m very glad to have found it. After our marathon shopping it was time for the group dinner. It was at this really cute jazz restaurant where they actually had live jazz music playing! After dinner we wandered about Bologna until heading in for bed.
The next morning it was off to the Parmesan Factory! The bus ride there was beautiful and it drizzled the whole way. I really like it when its all rainy and green out, it reminds me of driving in the hills during Christmas time at home. The factory was really interesting. We all had to put on these cheesecloth like white coats to begin with and then were led into the room where the milk was being processed in large vats. Then we got to see and feel some cheese. And then, oh and then, we got to see the storage facility for the aging cheese… it was amazing! I’ve never seen so many wheels of cheese in my life! There were literally thousands; all being aged a certain amount of years. Each wheel cost around 500 euros or over $1000 in the US! Each wheel is also marked with official Parmesan cheese markings, to signify it has been tested and deemed a grade a brand cheese. We got to see how the cheese is tested too, they use a hammer to pound the outside of the wheel and see if there are any air holes inside. If there are, that’s bad. They sell the bad stuff to factories like Kraft and stuff! I have to say, seeing that much cheese was pretty amazing…
Then we got to go to a Vinegar Factory. It was this little country looking home where they raise grapes and brew vinegar in barrels. Our guide there was this cute little old Italian man, who liked to do all these sounds effects while he poured the different kinds of vinegar for us to taste. He was really nice! He’s also part of a noble family that can be traced back to the day when the titles of noble Italian families were given out. Tasting vinegar might not sound like much fun, but it was, because it was sweet and wonderful vinegar. There were varying degrees of sweetness, depending on how long it had been aged (the longer the sweater and more expensive,) there was white vinegar, vinegar liquor and vinegar chocolate! We didn’t get to try the chocolate though. Then it was off to another big lunch, then back to Bologna for some more shopping and then a dinner of our choosing. A small group of us ended up at this restaurant that was recommended in a guidebook that turned out to actually be really good. The owners were really nice and our waiter was named Fabio, he was really cute actually. Then we did some more wandering around Bologna, we just had fun goofing around and taking pictures in the main square. There were so many people around it was really nice. The whole city seemed to be lit up even thought it was past 11:00. We didn’t stay out too late though because we had another busy day ahead of us.
Sunday we left Bologna and the hotel behind to visit the Ferrari museum! I’m not much into cars, but I have to say, the Ferrari’s were beautiful. They were all shiny and red. We had a tour of the whole museum; I’m not sure what I learned besides: Ferrari’s go fast and have won a lot of championships. But it was still a fun place. Then it was back to Siena. Whew. It was a long weekend but since we got back earlier than expected in the afternoon, and the rain finally stopped, I went for a quick run. It was actually pretty nice and relaxing. All and all, a good weekend.
Land of the Gondola
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Venice was amazing! I don’t care what anyone has told you before about it being hot, stinky, and filled with mosquitoes and rude people. None of that was true! The only real stereotype I had heard about Venice that is actually true is about how expensive it is, it was very, very expensive compared to other parts of Italy, BUT it was so forth it!
Since last week was a three-day weekend Ali, Jessica and I were able to leave on Thursday afternoon instead of Friday. Unlucky for me, my language class that day consisted of an interesting but long tour of Siena, all on foot, which ended at the Duomo. I was supposed to go down to the train station right after class, after stopping at my home stay to drop off my books. The Duomo is about 15 minutes from the Study Center and the Study Center is about 25 minutes from home. So, I had a lot more walk time added onto my trip. Exactly an hour after class ended I finally made it to the train station. I realized I had been walking at that point for pretty much three hours straight! But things were easy from there, we had about a half hour to wait for our train to Florence and then it was off to Venice!
The train ride took about 5 hours, a little longer than it had to because of a slow train to Florence and a small layover, but we arrived in Venice around 7:30. While, not exactly in Venice but right outside of it. We weren’t able to find a hostel actually inside Venice for Thursday night so we ended up taking the only place that wasn’t full, a campground 20 minutes outside the city on the main land! But the bus to the campground took another 45 minutes or so, so by that time we were kind of worn out. And yes, it seriously was a campground, with tents and trailers and everything. We splurged though (spent an extra 3 euro) to have a three-person trailer with our own bathroom. It actually wasn’t too bad. Comfortable, and it had a heater, which was good because Venice was a lot colder than Siena (farther north you know.) Looks like it might be a fun place in the summer time too, it had a swimming pool, bar, restaurant and soccer field.
The next morning we woke up early to take the free bus to the center of Venice and check into our next hostel. At first Venice just seemed large and imposing, but as we walked through it more and more it grew on me. Our hostel for the next two nights was part of a Church actually, and helps fund the students that attend the school the Church runs. It was really nice, quiet and out of the way, with big rooms and comfortable beds. The only bad thing about both these hostels was that they didn’t supply any towels so we ended up using our sheets as towels after the first place and then not showering at the second! After we check in and put our bags down we headed out into Venice.
A little background on Venice before I go on. Venice is as island port in the Adriatic Sea connected to the main land by a land bridge. It is composed of around 118 individual landmasses that are divided by waterways, some small some large, and connected by numerous bridges. Venice is known for its gondolas and Carnivale masks, but also for the Palace of the Doge (the old time head of Venice who was a pretty powerful and independent city in Italy for a long time), San Marco’s Square and Cathedral, the Grand Canal, the Rialto Bridge and its glass and lace making islands of Murano and Burano. The image of the fierce winding Lion is also the symbol of Venice and San Marco. Venice has actually been slowly sinking though, and for 260 days of the year San Marco’s Square floods. Steps have been taken and procedures are underway to keep Venice from sinking even more.
Now back to where I left off, I had to bring up that little bit of history so the next part of my story would make sense. On our way to San Marco’s square we saw lots of beautiful Carnivale masks, stores (Gucci, Dolce and Gabana, a Ferreira store) and passed many fresh smelling bakeries on the way. When we finally arrived in San Marco’s we were a little confused at first because there were so many people around and they all seemed to be concentrated in a very small area. As we soon noticed, that was because San Marco’s was flooded. The entire middle area, where the trademark pigeons usually hang out, was full of water gurgling up from the sewers. And the front of the Church was even flooded! San Marco’s was beautiful, the Venetian’s built it in the shape of a Greek cross instead of following the traditional Church design so it has five domes on tope, numerous statues on the outside, and the very famous gold mosaics (!) that cover the outside! We decided to wait to go in the Church, and had to push our way across these very narrow bridges filled with anxious tourists to the other side of the Square. You had to walk on the bridges in order to not get wet, although some people just took their shoes off and waded through the water.
We then tried to buy a 24 hour pass for the water taxis around Venice so we could go check out the islands, but that particular Friday, everywhere in Italy, there was a bus strike going on, which apparently included the guys running the water taxis and we were unable to buy the tickets! So after that defeat we wandered around a little, trying to get lost. That was when we started talking to this pretty cute gondola guy. He said he would take the three of us around for 90 euros. We said no, that was too much and we wanted a ride for 60 euros. He said he couldn’t do that because the guy he worked for wouldn’t allow it, so we still said no and walked away. Then the large, balding older man next to him said he would take us for 60 right then. So we decided to go with (too bad not the cute guy) and climbed into his gondola for a half hour ride. It was really nice, very relaxing (it actually made us quite sleepy) and very pretty. We weren’t out in open water but stayed inside the city so the water was nice and calm. We supposedly saw Vivaldi and Casanova’s houses. We asked our driver to sing but he said he smoked and had a bad voice, he suggested we sing instead but we just laughed and said no (this was all said in Italian as well.) Now I think our ride was a little short for what we paid, only around half an hour, but I think overall the experience was worth it.
After getting charged and extra three euro each for a “sitting fee” at the café we had lunch at, we were grumpy and decided to go in a museum. We visited the Museum of the Doge of Venice (the head guy back in the day) and spent hours there looked at his palace filled with countless ceilings of gold, giant paintings and rich furniture. Finally it was time to head back to our hostel and rest before the evening.
That night we bought tickets to see an orchestra performance in this small theater right off of San Marco. The performance was a tribute to Vivalidi and consisted of arias from ten different operas by Puccini, Verdi, etc. It was really exciting, and wonderful to hear. There were opera singers there and everything!
The next morning that we visited the Cathedral of San Marco. The mosaics were beautiful, covering the floor, ceiling and walls, but the Church was very touristy, which detracted some from its grander and prestige. It was sad to see it flooding though; hopefully they can fix that problem soon. After that we were able to buy our 24-hour water taxi passes because the strike was over. We boarded the water taxi, an old looked, low to the water boat that makes frequent stops around Venice and headed to the island of Morano, known for its glass making. The glassmakers were moved to this island hundreds of years ago because of the danger of their furnaces. Back in the day things could easily burn down. After a short ride we arrived at the island. It was very cute, not nearly as tourist packed as the rest of Venice, so it was a really nice change of pace. The morning we had also gone to the grocery store next to our hostel and bought fresh bread, cheese, salami, orange juice and chocolate so we could make our own lunch and save money. We had our little picnic on the island and it was very satisfying. There were tons of glass shops on the islandAfter going in countless glass shops we hopped back on the water taxi to head to Burano, an island known for its lace making. Equally cute, perhaps more so because all the houses and stores were painted in bright pinks, oranges, purples, reds and blues (think typical Italian postcard.) After exhausting all the stores there we made our way back to the Venice’s city center.
After a quick trip to the hostel to drop off our new purchases, we walked to the train station to get on the water taxi that would take us all the way down the Grand Canal to San Marco. This was an amazing half hour ride! It was just about dusk when we got on. The sky was painted with clouds and soft hues, and the lights of the city were just coming on. We were able to get seats right in the front of the boat and with a cool breeze in my face I looked with awe at the beautiful buildings we passed on either side. The lights were twinkling inside and out and I was able to see the chandeliers and people inside each beautiful. We got to San Marco right as the sun was setting. What a beautiful ride.
The rest of the night we wandered around and went to bed early so we could get up really early the next morning, check out, go to the three remaining museums our tickets got us into and buy masks all before out train left at 1:30.
Surprisingly, we were able to see all three museums! One contained artifacts, coins, etc from Venetian times, the other was an archeological museum with Greek and Roman statues and the third a library. The library was really cool because it had this exhibit of these huge prints a guy had hand made, with Italian ink in the traditional style, that pictured six Italian cities, Venice included from the air. They were very beautiful. After the museums, Jessica and I found so beautiful masks to buy and we headed to the train station.
The return ride was uneventful, we made our own lunch again so that was good, and were happy to be home for dinner that night! Venice was a great trip that I had a lot of fun on and am very glad I was able to go on!
I want some cheeeeeeese.
Wednesday, October 4, 2006
Cheese Factory update! So last Monday I got to visit a Cheese Factory with my Food and Wine class! Does that sound like a lot of fun? Although it wasn’t that interesting to watch cheese solidify for half and hour, the cheese was good to eat!
As our last excursion for Food and Wine we went to a cheese factory/sheep farm near Siena. The area was located in a different area of Tuscany than we had previously been visiting. It was miles of farm land, so there were no big trees, only rolling hills alternating between shades of brown and green for as far as the eye could see. (I’m not sure exactly where it was located because we were supposed to be going to this place called Asciano but the woman who runs it fell off her horse and is in the hospital. (!))
As we stepped off of our Mercedes bus we were met with a few flies and large bails of hay. I felt like I was home. Really though! I felt really at home at the farm, it totally reminded me of Lisa’s house because of the hay and large animals, but also our own house because it was out in the middle of nowhere were there weren’t very many people around. It made me really happy.
While I felt at home though, the large majority, if not all the other students, felt very out of place. On this trip especially I was reminded of how rich the people that go to UCs usually are. Or sheltered. Or are city folk. Anyhow, since this is a cheese far they had lots of sheep around because the type of cheese they make is made out of sheep milk. So we went in the barn and saw the female sheep and their babies. These were ewes that had just been born a few hours or days ago and everyone freaked out over how cute they were! Everyone wanted to pet the babies and take pictures and ooh and ahh. I was laughing to myself the whole time, thinking how much I felt like I was at the fair again, and how fortunate I am that seeing farm animals doesn’t become a big event or illicit shock in me. I was glad I knew something of how farms worked, even if it is just a little bit. Because after they were done looking at the babies, everyone noticed the flies and the slight smell and things they were stepping in. People were even afraid of the friendly farm dog!
After the viewing the sheep we got to see where they were milked (Andy think OC fair demonstration!) and how the milk was taken to the vats. We had to board the bus again to actually go to the factory and eat the cheese. Before that though, we went to the pasture to see the rest of the sheep herd in action. The husband and wife, who spoke only Italian the whole time, and who had been showing us around, let our entire group into the pasture with the sheep.
The sheep were scared of us and wouldn’t get close at all. So, some brave or rather crazy students, thrilled to be that close to live farm animals, started walking and running towards the sheep, trying to get close to them. That only made the sheep run away, and pretty soon the entire herd was running around in different directions while ten crazy students chased after them. Then the herd turned, and ran up to us students who weren’t chasing them. Then they almost got out the open gate but the husband and wife shooed them back. That only made the entire herd start running in a circle around us! Seriously, we were in the middle and the sheep were running in a complete circle around us, without changing direction, like a cat chasing its tail! After much hilarity the sheet changed course, and proceeded to trample some of their young in the process. The babies were ok though, and after that we finally left to go see some cheese!
The sheep were the most exciting part of the trip though, as at the cheese factory all we did was see lots of cheese and hear about how it is made. Then we watched a live demonstration on how to make cheese and literally stood there for half and hour watching a bowl of milk solidify into cheese. It was quite torturous to watch. But! After all that we got to sample four different kinds of cheeses! The set up was really nice, in a beautiful room with big windows, and we also ate tomatoes and bread. So that was nice.
All in all it was a fun but long trip for a Monday after school!
Pisa
Monday, October 2, 2006
I can now say I’ve seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa! Pisa was a nice little day trip, there’s not a whole lot to do in the town but took at the tower. Saturday morning I got up early and walked down to the train station to meet Jessica and Ali. The ride to Pisa was about 2 hours and we had to switch trains in Empoli. There we had a half hour layover so we explored what little of Empoli we could before we left again. Since Jessica is from Orange County she knew what I meant when I said I had the really strange feeling that we were in Old Town Orange! Empoli looked just like the City of Orange, with orange flowers, a turn about and everything! It looked like a cute little town without much going on.
Pisa was definitely a bigger city and definitely a tourist attraction. It was also really dirty, especially compared to Siena and even Florence. There were some nice clothes stores on the main strip (one called Zara that I want to check out again in Florence, they have in South Coast Plaza, where the clothes are really expensive, but here it is much more affordable for some reason) but not much else. I have to say I wasn’t that impressed with Pisa, just because it was infiltrated with so many tourists, but the tower was very, very impressive!
The Leaning Tower actually leans, quite a bit too! It’s funny looking because I guess when they were building it they realized it was leaning half way into the construction and started building the top half straight. So the bottom is really crooked and the top is straight! Its really big too, bigger than I expected, and when you look at where it meets the ground you can really tell how slanted it is. Apparently it is slowly falling more and more and they are trying to put as much weight in the other side as they can and employ as much mechanical know how to keep it from falling!
There was also another large Cathedral to look in, a Baptistery and multiple museums. After taking the typical tourist photos, us holding and knocking down the tower at various points, Ali and I bought tickets the Cathedral, Baptistery and one museum. The Cathedral was worth it, very grand and beautiful inside, but the other two places were not worth the money. They just didn’t have much to them. The museum was very bare and kind of repetitive, so that wasn’t much fun, and I usually like museums.
After all that we boarded the train for Siena. Since we are all home stayers we all wanted to be home in time for dinner! We were planning on going out in Siena that night, but were too tired after a long day. The night before we had also sat in the Campo people watching and stare gazing until after midnight. That was actually really fun and relaxing. The next day I explored Siena on my own. It as a beautiful day out, and I had this urban trekking map of Siena that I was following that took you to the hard to reach parts of Siena. It was a slow, relaxing weekend.
Things I’m finding I really like about Siena:
Sunday October 1, 2006
- That you can always find friends in the Campo. No matter what time of day you’re there, 3 in the afternoon or 11 at night, someone you know is going to be there.
- That there’s a white swan named Romeo in the small pond in La Lizza.
- That in the far end of La Lizza there is a little carousal and one small building that has carnival toys for sale. And that on late Sunday afternoon’s parents take their kids there, sit in plastic chairs and watch them go laughing around the carousal.
- That between 1 and 4 in the afternoon almost all the stores in town close to take a siesta. The same thing on Sundays, for the entire day. (Except for the one farmicia that must be open at all times.)
- That when there’s a soccer game in town the entire town walks to the stadium to support their team, which is ranked worst in the top division in the country. You can see white and black (Siena colors) scarves and police (riot control) around all afternoon. There seems to be no in the center of town when one of these games is going on but when its over, everyone is out shopping and eating.
- That at the grocery store you can buy milk chocolate candy bars from Germany for only .66 euro. When they’re on sale for only .6 euro.
- That there are Churches around every corner.
- That the bus station is underground always has a line and always has grumpy women working at it. Today when I asked for three bus schedules I actually made the woman laugh.
- That vespas and cars have the right away. If you hear them coming, move to the side. But at the same time, if you want to cross a busy street, you’d better go for it and stare the car down until it stops.
- That it seems on Sunday afternoons all the old men and women of Siena dress up in their finest clothes and go sit and walk on the park like walls of the Fortress.
- That people sit in the Campo at all times. And that open bottles of wine and hard liquor are always around and permitted.
- That Friday night while sitting in the Campo with friends I saw a guy playing a bagpipe, and a girl and a boy doing Scottish dancing Riverdance style. We dubbed it “only in Italy.”
- That they actually have a kabob place. “Ethnic food.”
- That when you stick with speaking Italian, even when you know the workers speak English, you feel like you accomplished something and that you seem maybe a little less tourist like.
- That Sunday afternoon you are sure to find friends in the Internet train.
- That Siena is located in Tuscany and has gorgeous landscapes surrounding it.
- That nutella exists and I have discovered it. (This applies to something I like about Italy in general.)
- That even though lunch is not included in the deal, when I’m home on Sunday’s my host family expects that I’ll eat with them for lunch and always include me.
- That last Sunday I met their son, his wife and their little daughter while we ate le lasagne (we Americans say lasagna but that is wrong) and then I learned in class the next week that le lasagne is a very typical mean for a Sunday lunch.
- That Friday’s our Italian class combines with the other Italian class and we go out into La Lizza and play games for the last half hour of class.
- That we listen to music in class and sing along. I’m obsessed with “Stop! Dimentica” and “Le Sere Nere” by Tiziano Ferro.
- That you can walk everyone and people do. And that people are always around and sit talking with friends at bars. (Bars are like cafes, not like the American connotation of bar.)
- That you can get a pastry filled with crème for .8 euro at Bar Costa.
- That I get a two course meal, plus bread, plus cheese, plus dessert, plus fruit every night.
- That every Wednesday starting at 9am and ending at 1pm there is a market in the old fortress. It’s HUGE and only lasts a day. Impressive.
- That Mario, my host dad, likes to joke with me. He always asks if I’ve had a gelato for the day and if he doesn’t I tell him.
- That he pinches his mom’s nose during dinner sometimes.
- That every night when I go to bed and every morning when I wake up Laura (my host mom) is there to say “ciao” to and to kiss on each cheek.
I’ve already been here a month!
A Typical Long Monday
September 29, 2006
Last Monday was a long day. Not only did I have school in the morning and afternoon but also directly after class ended at 6:00 we had an excursion. The excursion was actually part of our Italian Food and Wine class and we thought it would be during the actual class, but instead it was directly after (they failed to tell us this important detail until that morning.) The excursion was to a local winery called Enoteca (enoteca actually just means “wine cellar” in Italian, so you can find enoteca’s all over, but this is the most famous and special in Siena.) It is located inside the old fortress and is within walking distance of the school. Our teacher, Antonio (who is also the Director of the Siena Study Center Program as well as heavily involved with our theater class) seems to know everyone in town, especially those connected to wine making, and of course knew the man who was to be our server.
Our group of forty students, all still carrying their backpacks and books, shuffled into the Enoteca and filled up the tables in the back of the room. Each seat had three glasses in front of it and some crackers for palette cleansing between tasting. We were also supplied with this gigantic book listing all the different kinds and qualities of wine designated to be official wines by this Italian wine organization, as well as given a map of where to find all the different kinds of wine in Italy.
Before we could start the tasting we were instructed on how to open a bottle of wine. The key is to not make a “popping” noise or to twist the cork so much that it crumbles into the wine. First the professional guy opened a bottle, flawlessly, then two guys from class tried. The first did ok on his own but the second guy needed help getting the cork out! Both were funny though, because instead of twisting the corkscrew, they twisted the bottle! Then our teacher had to show off his mastery of wine bottle opening.
The wine was good, just like last time, but stronger. We had to take note of the acidity and the different smells the wines triggered in our mind. The last glass was the best; it was some kind of sparkling white wine. It tasted just like sparkling apple cider with a hint of alcohol.
After that was over I had only about an hour until the theater class. The same for the other two guys who were also part of both classes (coincidently, now that I think about it, both Sacco and Bryan were the ones who opened the wine bottles as well, strange…) So Antonio invited us to dinner with him. Thinking it might be fun to eat with our teacher, we agreed. Getting to the restaurant was quite the adventure. He drove us in his little car to what seemed like was a place far out of the city, but in fact wasn’t. To get there though we had to leave the city, and then come back at it from a different direction because most the streets inside Siena’s walls are one way! The little restaurant he took us was really good. We got some kind of pasta type dish, more wine, and he paid for our dessert. It’s always fun when teachers take you out, and its probably a good idea to get to know Antonio. He already remembers me just from these events. He’s a strange guy, likes to talk about his life a lot, but nice. He lived in the US for 13 years and just moved back to Italy to take this job in Siena two years. He studied at UCSB and got a Master’s in Piano Performance. He also has degrees in Philosophy and Musicology. Interesting right?
Dinner made us really late to the theater class though, for which I felt bad, but we were with the teacher so what could we do?
I keep mentioning the theater class and now I’ll explain it. I’m going to be in an Italian play. Six of us students, with the help of our teacher Antonio, are working with an Italian director, Luigina, to put on “la nuova casa” (the new house) a new Italian comedy. The entire show will be in Italian. In order to put on a good show, we have to translate, learn to pronounce everything correctly and most difficult of all, learn where and when to stress our dialogue. It should be difficult but not horrible. My part is pretty small so I’m not too worried. Our rehearsals haven’t been going too well though because we still don’t know what we’re saying and we don’t have a translator most of the time, so things are really tedious. Anyhow, on Monday we had some mini auditions and we got to see the theater we’ll be performing in. It’s beautiful! It’s a cute little thing, in an old building, but the stage, although small, is adorned with carved angels and arches. And the curtains are red! It should be a beautiful performance space.
That said, the day was long. I didn’t get back home until 11:00! Luckily my teacher was able to give me a ride home as well. Then I still had homework, and then Andy called! (Which was a pleasant but unexpected surprise!) What a long day though, out of the house at 8:30 and not back until 11:00!
Studying... Ugh.
September 28, 2006
I feel as if today was a pretty productive day. As usual I had class from 9 to 12. Class was actually ok today, I felt like I understood more than I usually do. Tomorrow we have a test though, ugh. I don’t feel like studying anymore! I’m not sure I’ve really studied that much but I’ve tried. I just can’t study for too long at one time… I just get bored and tired of it. It also seems like there is so much, at times I don’t even know where to start.
Anyhow, back to my day. Most of class was taken up with reviewing, which was good and made me feel as if I might actually know a little more about Italian than I thought. Although for a short period I was completely confused, as I think were most of the people in class. After class finally ended, I had five and a half hours until tutoring time. I used the Internet for a bit in the study center, sent a few quick messages, and then went to this café with Jessica to get some lunch. On the way we stopped at the Blue Store. I had no idea what this store was although we had been meeting in front of it for excursions for the past three weeks. Turns out it’s a big office supply store, so if I ever need pens or notebooks or whatnot I now know where to go. After that we went down to the Bus Station (to buy the tickets you go underground, then you are actually under the buses which stop above you) to get a schedule for the buses to San Giminogino.
Then it was off to the café. I spent a little more for lunch than I had planned but I had a really good pasta salad with pesto. Yummy. All the food here is yummy and that is really bad! I’ve totally gained weight! I eat so much for dinner that now I’m used to it and get hungry throughout the day. I think eating is also a comfort thing for me. Because when I get upset or lonely or bored I eat. I guess it just gives me something to do.
After lunch I wandered with Jessica a bit, we got some gelato (crème and almond – yum! And I hadn’t had any since Saturday!) and went to the tourist center in the Campo to see if they had free maps of Siena (they didn’t.) We split up at that point; she went to shop while I went to the library to study. Yesterday was my first day at the library. It’s really nice. Seems like any other typical library expect that its all stone and brick and the inside slopes downward so the farther you go in, the farther you go down. It’s a nice place though and I did get some studying done for a bit. Then I got tired of studying and started reading “Let’s Go Italy!” a travel book I’d borrowed from the Mini Residences. It was actually really interesting and I want to buy one of my own now. I found one in a bookstore later that day but it was 30 euros, which is almost 40 dollars, so I’m not sure if I’ll get it or not. But it gives detailed lists of nice hotels, hostels, restaurants and attractions to see in every major city in Italy.
After the library got old I used the Internet again at the study center before it closed and I headed over to my tutoring session. We went over prepositions. Yuck. Now I’m back in my room, waiting for dinner to arrive and putting off studying. DON’T WANT TO STUDY! But, I really probably should. I tell myself that AFTER dinner I’ll do so. And I probably will. I admit, I’ll be glad when I go back to Irvine and don’t have to talk a language anymore!
All in all, today was good though. I didn’t get too bored at anytime and felt pretty good the whole time. I’ve just got to boost myself into a GREAT mood! And I need to get excited about where I am and what I get to see! You think after all these years of imagining a foreign country now that I’m in one I’d be a little more excited… I wonder what’s wrong with me… just a little homesick I guess.
Well, that was probably a really boring read. I need to get better at telling stories. I feel like I haven’t written in so long and its really reflected in my writing. I always read back over my work and think it just sounds like a really boring recount of the day. I don’t need to be quite as exact as I am, more fluidity between parts of the day would be good, no? Ok, now I’m just rambling.
The beautiful Cinque Terre.
September 24, 2006
I’m back from Cinque Terre! What an amazing weekend this was! What is Cinque Terre you ask? It’s a national park and protected marine area located on the western (Mediterranean) cost of Italy. It’s called Cinque Terre, I think, because of the five coast towns that are all within walking distance of each other. The towns are literally perched on the sides of the hills and cliffs that make up the coastline. The farmers that first started these towns somehow managed to cultivate the uneven terrain of the hillsides into fertile farmland. Today, Cinque Terre is famous for the many vineyards perched on the hillsides that still continue to produce.
I started out for Cinque Terre Friday afternoon with a big group of girls from school. Although I was ready to leave right after school got out at noon the rest of the girls hadn’t packed so we didn’t end up leaving until around 3:00. We had to take the train from Siena to Cinque Terre and just getting to the train station in Siena was bit of a journey. Then we settled in for a four-hour train ride. We had to change trains three times before we reached the southern most town of Cinque Terre, Riomaggiore. It is a beautiful place! Right on the edge of the ocean, from the train station you can look out at the sea. We arrived right around the time of sunset so everything was very hushed looking and clear.
Besides looking at the sunset, we were preoccupied with finding the bus we had to take to our hostel. After waiting for an hour for the bus, we discovered we had actually missed the last one from Riomaggiore to our hostel, which was located about 20 minutes away in the hills. So, we had to get back on the train, go back one station and run to catch that last bus leaving from that station to our hostel! We just barely made it! I didn’t really know what to expect as I’d never stayed in a hostel before, but it was really nice. It kind of seemed like a big dorm with really small rooms. Each room had four beds with sheets, blankets and a pillow, as well as private cabinet that locked and a table. I roomed with two girls I knew and the fourth person was an Australian girl who had already been traveling Europe for four months! There was also a room where you could watch TV, play board games, etc and a terrace for eating breakfast. There wasn’t anything going on at the hostel because it was kind of remote, but we did find a place to eat before heading to bed around midnight.
Saturday my friend Ali and I got up at 6:15 so we could catch the 7:20 bus back to Riomaggiore and begin our hike. The rest of the girls decided they would just hang at the beach all day but Ali and I really wanted to hike all five towns because that’s what one does when one is in Cinque Terre! We got to Riomaggiore around 8:00 and the town was still really sleepy. We ate breakfast at the train station, I even had a café with milk, and wandered around the town for a couple of hours looking in shops, checking out all the fresh fruits and vegetables, looking at souvenirs and buying snack food while we waited for our friend Mike to join us. Around 10:30 we started out on the trail.
At first there were tons of people around, tourist groups and old people included and we made it to the second town, Manarola in no time. To get there we had to walk on the “Via dell’amore” (the walk of love)! The ocean was beautiful and the trail clung right to the side of the cliffs, you could look down and see the water slowly crashing against the rocks below. And the water of the Mediterranean was so clear! I have never seen water so clear and blue. You could see the rocks on the sea floor and even fish swimming around. It was so inviting I just wanted to jump in! (But we were saving that for later.)
On our way to the third town the trail got a lot harder and all the tourists disappeared. We also ran into a bigger group of UC students who came up behind us and stuck with them the rest of the day. After a long hike up and up and up (switchbacks galore) we arrived in Corniglia, the smallest of the five towns. We had wanted some gelato there but they didn’t have any so we pressed onto Vernazza. The hike got really difficult at this point; it was really steep uphill for a lot of the way. Half way to the fourth town there was a little bar along the trail so we stopped to rest while some of the group bought water and snacks. There we also separated from Mike who has bad knees, so he could rest for a longer while.
Two hours after we left the third we reached the fourth town. This was a bigger town with lots of hustle and bustle! There we ate a little, I got my gelato, and rested before the last stretch of the hike to Monterosso. (There is also a train that goes from town to town so if you don’t want to walk you don’t have to. We wanted to walk though because the whole time you are walking you are right next to the ocean surrounded by green trees and vineyards!)
The last part of the trek was the worst though! It was really steep and we were all tired at that point. An hour later, we reached the last town, which was the largest and most happening with actual beaches to lie out on! That was about 4:30 in the afternoon. The group stopped right as we got into town and ordered drinks. Most people got Pinocolats. Then they ordered a round of some kind of Italian shot for everyone. I told them I didn’t want one but they insisted I had to take one after walking eight miles! So I gave in and had my first shot. Not much to it, I didn’t really taste anything and it was gone in a few seconds. I think it gave me a headache though.
Anyhow, Ali and I went and checked the train schedules at that point because (unknown to me the day before) we didn’t have a hostel reserved for Saturday night and decided it would be better to return to Siena that night.
Then we hit the beach! Yay! I swam in the Mediterranean Ocean! The water was beautiful, you could see your feet clearly and it wasn’t very cold at all! The rest of the group was staying the night and partying until late. They tried to get us to stay with them, and it was tempting to stay in Cinque Terre another night but we left anyhow. I’m wondering now if it would have been better to stay, although all they were doing was drinking and sleeping so I can’t imagine I missed much. After saying bye to them Ali and I ate dinner and left on the 7:45 train to Siena. We ate at a cute little restaurant with an ocean and view and only paid 7 euros. Food and transportation is definitely cheaper here but communication and clothes are more expensive.
Ali and I made it back to Siena around 11:30 last night. And guess what? When we went to buy train tickets, the place as closed! We didn’t know what to do, but we were able to buy tickets to La Spezia where the lady told us we could get off and use a ticket machine. But if we had done so we would have missed the connecting train! She also said we could pay on the train so we decided to chance it and stay on the train. And guess what? No one ever asked us for a ticket so we basically got a free ride! Not that I ever want to do that again, but it was cool! Earlier in the day we had found money on the ground, which we realized was fake later in the day, so this was the pay off for that.
I kind of wish I had stayed longer but it was beautiful while I was there. I will have to go back someday.
My First Wine Tasting
September 20, 2006
On Wednesday our Food and Wine Class had our first excursion to a winery. It was a pretty good time. The whole thing only took three hours but the bus ride was only 20 minutes into the beautiful Tuscan countryside. Our bus was a Mercedes too! Very stylish, it was a shiny light green color. Anyhow, we rolled into Dievole winery, pilled out of the bus and made our way inside to meet our tour guide. We started with a white wine, called Bianco di Malvasia, with bread and olive oil. Usually I don’t like wine, but I actually liked this one, it was very good actually. Our teacher was with us the whole time, a group of about 40 people, and along with the tour guide explained to us how to taste wine, which is what we were there to do.
First, hold the glass by the bottom of the stem, three fingers under the base, two on top, so as to not change the temperature of the wine in the glass our dirty the glass with finger prints. Next, hold your glass up and look at the wine. It should be clear, with nothing floating in it. Then you swirl the wine around in your glass, stop doing so and hold it up again. You should be able to see drips on the inside of the glass. The more drips and the smaller the more alcoholic the wine is. Then you swirl again, stop, stick your nose (literally) in the glass and take a deep strong whiff. Depending on the wine you should be able to smell other kinds of foods, like nuts and fruits. That’s because the wine triggers the sensors in your brain that associates smells with foods. (Weird huh?) Then you take a sip, swish it around in your mouth to clear your palette, and then finally take a real sip. If your mouth feels dry the wine has more tannins in it, swish it in front of your teeth and you can really feel the dryness. Also, depending on the wine you should eat your food before, after or during the tasting.
Whew.
We then went down in the wine cellars and saw the vineyards while we learned more about the wine making process. We tried five kinds of wine; four were red and also ate salami, cheese and dark chocolate. By the end a lot of people, we included, were pretty tipsy! I didn’t like being tipsy on a school field trip. I even dropped all the change out of my purse, turned it over to stop the change from falling out and dropped all my bills on the ground! So dumb! The wine was good though! Beautiful little vineyard too.
Florence!
Friday the 15th was school and our replacement test. Hopefully I don’t get moved down to level 3, although I think I could benefit from that. Level 4 Italian is hard and there is a lot of stuff we were supposed to have learned in Irvine but never got to. That makes it really difficult. Anyhow, after that I Ali, Niki and I tried to go eat at the Italian student mensa (cafeteria) but for some reason it was closed. So we wandered a bit until we found a cute café and got some sandwiches. That night I went back into town with to meet a big group of girls. They were all dressed up to go out on the town and I had normal clothes on! How lame was I! But oh well, we went to this bar called the Red Barron, apparently a big hang out for Americans and sleazy Italian men. Oh joy. It was ok, kinda dark and cramped. I ordered my first alcoholic drink ever though! (Aren’t you all shocked!) A Pinocolat. It tasted good because I couldn’t even taste the alcohol! And it didn’t affect me at all. Once the dancing started I was ready to leave. The music was some weird Indian techno too so that wasn’t super cool. It was really bad music. Two guys from the program ended up walking me back the entire way to my home stay, which was really nice. It was after 1:30 in the morning so I’m glad they were there!
Then yesterday I got up early again and hopped on the bus to Florence for the day! A big group of us left together and then split up when we got there. The bus ride was really nice, through the Tuscan countryside again, and only an hour long. It dropped us in the center of Florence, at the bus and train terminal.
With just my first glimpses of Florence I knew I loved it! It is a beautiful city! I can’t wait to go back numerous times, I already know I get to go with Mom and Dad so that’s exciting! The streets are wide and flat, not like Siena’s at all, and the buildings are bright and cheerful!
Our first stop was candy stores were where gaped at the marzipan treats shaped like fruits! We didn’t get anything and continued onto the Duomo. It was breathtaking! I couldn’t stop staring at its beautiful exterior. The greens, and whites, the detail, the statues, it was amazing. One of the most beautiful church’s, of the most beautiful structures, I’ve ever seen. Inside was beautiful as well, but a little dark due to the rain blocking the light. We didn’t climb the dome, I’ll save that for later, but it supposed to be amazing at the top, with 3-D paintings even. Apparently the church was built before the technology for a dome was developed, the builders knew someone would figure it out eventually, and they did!
We met up with three of Ali’s friends from old schools and walked with them towards the Uffizi Museum and saw the imitation David. We did a little shopping on the way too. I bought a scarf! The guy said “for you, special price!” And then proceeded to ask me out that night! I declined his offer but did by the scarf for 5 euros. Then it was onto the Ponte Vecchio. As Dad told me, it has always been famous for the jewelry that is sold there (and is still sold there today.) Ali’s friend, who is an Art History major, told me after World War II almost all of the bridges in Florence were blown up by the Italians to keep them from the German’s but they couldn’t bring themselves to blow that one up. And a good thing!
Then Niki, Ali and I wandered around the streets of Florence for the next few hours. It started to rain quite a bit so it got a little hard to walk around, but it was still enjoyable. We didn’t see too many tourist attractions, or any really, but it was still a beautiful city. With lots of shopping, we did look in some stores and I found beautiful shoes I wanted to by at Coin, Italy’s department store like Macy’s.
Around 7:00 we met up with some other UC students at a Mexican restaurant we had seen earlier. Yes, Mexican! A lot of the students were craving Mexican so they had to eat there. The place was actually pretty cute and we were lucky to get a table because they were all reserved. The food was good, spicy and warm, but not exactly what I’d call Mexican! I got a Margarita too (it was half priced during happy hour) that was pretty good.
As the night rolled to a close Ali and I found ourselves saying goodbye to the rest of the group who were staying in hostels and started walking for the 9:15 bus to Siena. The last one. We left the restaurant around 8:35. It was at most a 20 minute walk. We got lost. We got really lost. It was pouring rain. We ended up asking every person we saw on the street “dove la stazione di treno?” (where is the train station?) as we ran by. We gave up on our umbrella. Her cards and money fell out of her pocket onto the ground. They got wet. Our sandals were soaked. Finally we made it to the station with only 10 minutes to spare. We had no idea were the bus picked up so we proceed to run around the station asking people where to go. No one knew. The bus was supposed to leave in 3 minutes and in a desperate attempt we ran a little farther outside the train station hoping to see the blue Siena buses. And guess what? We did! But it was leaving so I waved at the driver and he stopped. He said this wasn’t the bus to Siena but the one pulling up behind him was. Whew! There was a group of people waiting and they all chuckled at the drenched American girls. It was fun though. Like a scene from a movie. It wouldn’t have been funny though if we hadn’t made the bus!
