Canceled: French Riviera Trip

So upsetting: Florence4Fun canceled the trip to French Riviera for this coming weekend. Boo.

Cooking Class #2: Fresh Pasta

Tonight, I went to my second cooking class of the semester, a class dedicated to the art and styling of fresh pasta. This class was, in a word, YUM! We made two types of fresh pasta, two different sauces, and a dessert. Recipies to follow:

Fresh Egg Pasta (Pasta all'Uova)
2 eggs
50 g. wheat flour
150 g. white flour
salt to taste

Put the flour in a mount on a large wooden pastry board, making a large well in teh center of the mound. Break the eggs into the hold, add a generous pinch of salt.
Break the eggs, salt well then slowly begin incorporating the flour from the inside perimeter of the well into the mixture with a fork. Knead well until smooth and elastic.
Gather the dough into a ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest for at least 30 minutes before using.

With the pasta machine:

Cut the ball of dough into two equal parts. Working with one half at a time, flour the dough, and fold in three and roll with a rolling pin. Repeat two times. Run the dough through the machine at settings 1, 3, and 4, folding and repeating until the pasta is the desired consistency. For ravioli, finish on setting 6.

Fresh Water Pasta
50 g. white flour
100 g. wheat flour
75 g. water
salt

Prepare a well on the work surface, add a pinch of salt and slowly add the water, mixing with your free hand. Put all but a few drops of the water to avoid over wetting the dough. Knead the dough vigorously until smooth and elastic and dry to the touch. Cover with cling film or a cloth and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes. 

Follow procedure indicated previously for using with pasta machine.

Meat Sauce Bolognese (Ragu alla Bolognese)
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, minced
1-2 carrots, minced
250 g. ground beeg
1/2 cup red wine
500 g. fresh or canned tomatoes, peeled
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat.

Add the onion, carrots and celery; cook until the onion is slightly browned and the carrot and celery have begun to soften (about 2-3 minutes); add the ground beef and cook until browned.

Add the wine, cook until reduced; add the tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and cook for two hours with teh pot half covered witha  lid. If the ragu appears to be drying up, add a little bit of warm water.

Yields 4 servings.

Spinach Ravioli (Ravioli di Ricotta e Spinaci)
450 g. fresh pasta
250 g. Ricotta cheese
500 g. spinach
1 egg
60 g. parmesea
salt
pepper
nutmeg



Clean the spinach, boil it, let it cool, squeeze out the water, and then chop finely.

Strain the ricotta cheese and place in a mixing bowl with the spinach, Parmesan, egg, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Roll the dough into a thin layer and cut with the ravioli cutter.

Place small teaspoons of filling along the line of dough, leaving about one finger's width of room between them. Seal the dough along the edges, taking care to press out excess air, and to firmly close the edges.

Panna Cotta con Strawberry Sauce

6 g. of gelatin
40 mL of milk
200 mL of whipping cream
40 g. of sugar
1/2 vanilla bean

300 g. fresh strawberries
180 g. sugar

Whisk together the cream, vanilla, and sugar. Put the gelatin in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes.
Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat until hot, but do NOT boil.
Dry the gelatin and put into the warm milk; stir until gelatin is dissolved.
In a saucepan, warm the cream mixture over low heat, stirring continuously until just boiling; remove from heat and add the milk/gelatin to the cream and stir to mix.
Run individual-serving foil cups or ramekins under cold water. Shake out water, but do not dry cups.
Fill each cup with the panna cotta until full, being sure the tops are level; refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
Top with chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, or fruit sauce as desired.

My 21st Birthday!

IT'S MY 21ST BIRTHDAY! WOO-HOO!

Pompeii/Vesuvius

Note: If you're reading this post for the sole purpose of hearing about Vesuvius... don't waste your time. We didn't make it there.




Pompeii
I visited Pompeii with the EF Tours group I traveled with during my second year of high school. The only distinct memory I have of Pompeii during that trip, was the tour guide joking that he and I were married, and that this was our humble abode. Italians can be pretty creepy. Or I'm easily creeped out. Anyway, moving along...

Pompeii is gigantic! I'm sure that most of you realize and know this, but I didn't. I elected to have a tour guide show me around the grounds, and she informed us that it would take four or five days to cover the great expanse of Pompeii. Rather than spend five days there, we only spent a few hours!

One unique site that definitely sticks out in my memory was the brothel. Yes, I said brothel. There was a menu of sorts up on the walls depicting the various services that a man could pay for. There were maybe 5 little rooms on the first floor, each with a large (the size of a twin bed, maybe) stone slab that constituted as a bed. There was a large crowd waiting to pass through there, and our tour guide had to go argue with the other tour guides to let us pass through. If we had been without a tour guide, I don't think that we would've made it through!



It was also interesting to see the bodies which had been perfectly preserved due to the eruption of Vesuvius. There were several bodies in contorted positions, as well as the body of a pregnant woman, and the body of a dog!





Sadly, we were unable to visit Vesuvius that day. It's considered a national park, and the national park was closed that day, due to unforeseen weather conditions. Boo.

Positano

Visiting Positano was - by far - the highlight of my weekend trip. Quite possibly the highlight of my time in Italy so far! The day started off extremely overcast, and fairly rainy. Luckily, I had my umbrella that day. The day prior, in Capri, I didn't have the same forethought. In Positano, I was prepared. I had my swimsuit on, jeans, a tank top, a sweatshirt, and an umbrella. Of course, I was still rocking the flip flops (not optimal footwear for wet cobblestones), but when am I not rocking the flip flops!? Because of the constant rainfall, we moved leisurely from shop to shop. Literally, we moved from one store, to the next immediate one, even if we had no interest in buying anything from that store. I had purchased so many things in Capri, that I was trying to limit the number of things I purchased that day.

The store owner making my sandals!

In the end, I ended up purchasing a beach towel (a necessary purchase for the day, and one which I will use as an extra bath towel, and when I visit Milan/Greece/Amsterdam over fall break), a pair of custom made sandals with gold braiding (a must-purchase item in Capri/Positano), and a beautiful white dress (it was only 15 euro and came in very handy later in the day).

We stopped for lunch at the recommended spot for panini. We walked over to the church to sit down to eat our lunch, but Angela refused to sit with Lisa and I since there were pigeons gathering at our feet. Lisa kicked one (!!!) and they scattered, so Angela begrudgingly sat with us, only to discover that her lunch was not all that good. I was super satisfied with my sandwich. Angela and Lisa, however, were not fans of their panini. Hey, I'm easy to please I guess!

The sun had come out by that point, so we headed to the beach!

It was the perfect opportunity to use my new beach towel. It was definitely more appropriate for the sand than the little white towels Angela and Lisa had "borrowed" from our hotel. :) We laid out for a while, and built a small rock tower (we're 5 years old, it's fine), and then decided to go splashing in the waves.

The sea was beautiful, not too cold, but just the right temperature. We got dragged into the deeper part of the ocean, and at once point, I was overtaken by a wave and lost my sunglasses! Oh well. I lose sunglasses fairly easy, so I know to never spend more than $20 on a pair.

We ended the beautiful day with the long walk back up the island to await our bus. Once back in Sorrento, we had dinner, and went out as a group to a local bar. An absolutely beautiful, perfect, don't-wanna-forget it day.

Capri

Friday was extraordinary! Ahhh, Capri was just so much fun! We started off with breakfast at the hotel, around 7:15am. In order to do this, I woke up at 6:30am.  Yup, a mere three hours after I’d gone to sleep the night before! I was exhausted and decided that Friday night was not a night for me to go out. We met the bus at 8am to go to the Sorrento Marina. Before leaving our hotel that morning, I talked with two girls, Kat and Victoria, who are also on this trip without friends. Naturally, we bonded over that. They were both super sweet, and that made things instantly better. Kat has these peculiar shoes that have spots for all of your toes to go into; so funny! Those shoes were quite the conversation starter… with everyone she encountered! I forget their exact name, but it was something like Vibrant Toes. I may or may not be making that up. We hung out at the dock for a while, waiting for the ferry to arrive in Sorrento!

The ferry ride was low-key, and I stood outside on the deck watching the water. So peaceful and calm. While we were waiting to arrive, I began talking with these two girls named Lisa and Angela. I am having the most difficult time remembering names here. It is absurd. I told those two that I was alone on this trip and they said that I could tag along with them. I was soooo happy to hear that! Kat tagged along too, and the four of us made a day out of Capri.

Capri is just as, if not more, beautiful than I remembered it being. The gigantic lemons, the limone granita, the limone gelato, tutti sono limoni! It was fantastic. You might not know this, but I absolutely LOVE lemons. Basically, Capri was paradise for me. I went a bit crazy souvenir shopping that, but in no way, shape, or form do I regret it. These are the days that I’m living it up, that I’m making every moment count, that I want to remember for years and years to come. I bought a souvenir for myself; a small green bracelet adorned with the lucky bell of Capri. I’ll add the little legend in a bit. I bought something for my apartment back at Elon. I bought something for my parents. I bought a few postcards to send back to friends and family. I bought something for Molly.  I bought something for a few friends back at home. Like I said… I went a little crazy. I typically have intense buyer’s remorse… but this time, I feel completely satisfied with everything I bought. No regrets, just happiness.

The island was absolutely gorgeous, though the weather did take a turn for the worse as the day wore onward. The clouds set in, the rain begin to pour, and the smiles turned to frowns. Note: a smile was present on my face the ENTIRE day. I am absolutely in love with this whole “traveling by yourself with a tour group” thing. Everyone has been soooo welcoming to me, and I’ve made several new friends.

We went on an optional tour of the island (by boat naturally), and elected NOT to enter the blue grotto on account of the sub-prime weather. Rain, fog, and choppy waters do not make for a fun time. We shopped absolutely everywhere, as is evidenced by my purchases of the day. Kat bought an exquisite music box and Lisa and Angela both bought their own custom designed necklaces. Lisa’s had an anchor, a heart, and a cross, symbolizing work, pray, love. Angela made hers with a heart, an anchor, and a bell, symbolizing love, work, and Capri! I absolutely love my bracelet and am so glad we stopped in there.

After trekking up to the centre of Capri, we were pretty much ravenous, so we went to lunch at this adorable, if slightly overpriced, restaurant. Kat and I both ordered a spicy pizza, while Lisa and Angela ordered a Pizza of the Sea (seafood pizza, essentially). We all claimed to be absolutely stuffed, but clearly that wasn’t the case, as we later had gelato (pineapple and strawberry for me), and pastries (a pinenut cookie for me). Another gluttonous day, surprised?

We arrived back at our hotel in Sorrento around 7:30pm. I attempted to nap until 8:20pm, as dinner was being served at 8:45pm. I napped for about ten minutes, in total. :/ I went upstairs for dinner, and was delighted with the bruschetta, spaghetti, salad, and fruit. Our table asked for Parmesan, and we were instantly brought some. We asked for fries (because we saw people on the other side of the room receiving them, and soon were brought a heaping plate of fries and roasted chicken. The servers at this restaurant were so helpful and appeasing. It was a beautiful day.

I can’t believe that my birthday is on Tuesday. My 21^st Birthday. In the US, this day would be celebrated with more booze than one should ever imagine… but here, I don’t even want to celebrate it. I love my friends at Elon so much, that I can't imagine celebrating such a monumental birthday without them. Another girl on this trip (I completely forget her name) has her 21st birthday on Thursday, so we agreed that we should both go out this weekend in celebration of our upcoming birthdays. That should be fun.

Sunday… Positano!! It is supposed to rain all day. I guess time will tell how the weather turns out!

Sorrento

I stayed at home (to be honest, on skype) for a just a few minutes too long on Thursday evening, so rather than leaving right at 6:00pm, I left at 6:08pm. Believe me, those eight minutes REALLY mattered. It takes a definite 30 minutes to walk to the train station. That in mind, I hauled it to the train station to meet the Florence for Fun group. I checked in with our tour guide, and waited in line at the ATM. The line was taking too long, so I had to leave without withdrawing money. Immediately, I was told that to do the "optional" excursions, I would need to give our tour guides another 35.5 euro. Awesome. I had all of 8 euro on me. Our tour guide told me that I'd be able to withdraw money at the rest stop. Guess what? The rest stop didn't have an ATM.

Fast forward a few hours. The bus stopped and I woke up. Our bus driver apparently had never made this trip before, and naturally got very turned around. We later found out that the main road which he had planned to use was closed, and he was utterly confused as to how to use side roads to meet at the same point. After stopping and asking for directions from three individuals who appeared to be severely intoxicated, we came across a police car, which escorted us several miles before leaving us on our again. I wish that the police car had led us all the way to the Hotel Cavour in Sorrento, because then we would likely have arrived by 1:30am. Oh well! It was an adventurous evening. We arrived to the hotel around 3:15am. We had to be ready to go at 8am Friday morning. No problem, right? I can totally function on 3.5 hours of sleep.

For this weekend, I was assigned a random roommate, since I didn't sign up for the trip with anyone that I knew. I had a share a bed with this girl, which was slightly awkward for me. I don't even remember the last time I shared a bed with someone and didn't end up kicking them in the middle of the night. I guess I don't like to share!

I realized that night that it was a bit of a mistake to book a trip alone. It was a lot of fun, yes, but everyone else on the trip was with a large group of friends, so I was a bit out of my element. What will I do for the French Riviera next weekend? I need to figure that out.

So, where was I? Right. I had no money and was terrified that I'd be left behind in Sorrento, unable to pay for the excursions. However, that wasn't the case! I joined the group on our walk from the Hotel Cavour to the dock, where we boarded a ferry to reach Capri. Luckily, there was an ATM on the island of Capri, right as we got off the ferry, so I made a beeline for it, and quickly remedied that situation.

An Evening at the Firenze Opera

Yesterday evening, I went to the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino to see the production of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. I knew absolutely nothing about this musical before buying my ticket (a mere €5 for a student ticket), but purchased it on impulse, as it goes along with my goal of doing/seeing/experiencing all that I can while abroad.

Honestly, it took me a good twenty minutes of listening to the production to discern in what language the individuals were singing (it was English). I heard a woman behind me say that the production is a Southern spiritual. Right. That really explained things. If you're curious what the musical was about, I cannot explain that to you (though I bet Wikipedia could help you!). I could tell you, however, that the music was beautiful and captivating. Typically, it's difficult for any one thing to hold my attention, but that didn't prove to be a problem that evening.

Dr. D'Amato (my GST professor) told our class that later in the semester, we'll have the opportunity to go to an opera. He also told us that Porgy and Bess would be a play. Porgy and Bess consisted of an orchestra performing, with a large choir, and four individuals singing opera-style. No acting, movement, or interaction between the individuals whatsoever. I'm curious what the actual opera will be like!

Book it, Baby!

This afternoon, I went to Florence for Fun (a local travel agency) and booked two weekend trips!

Amalfi Coast:
I leave in the evening of September 23 to go to the Amalfi Coast for the weekend. According to our itinerary, we will arrive in Sorrento late Thursday evening. On Friday, we'll take a ferry to the island of Capri and spend the day exploring. On Saturday, we'll travel to Positano, and on Sunday, we'll explore Pompeii and Vesuvius. The itinerary doesn't specify how long the drive is, but for the way home, we're scheduled to leave at 5:00pm, and expected to arrive in Firenze around midnight. So... 7 hours??? Yikes. I'm so excited to have so much time to explore these beautiful cities.

French Riviera:
I'll leave Florence in the morning of October 1 to go to the French Riviera for the weekend. I really and truly hope that we experience gorgeous weather while we're there! Several of my classmates are visiting the French Riviera this coming weekend (when I'll be at the Amalfi Coast), so I'll be sure to ask them what type of clothing I should bring (other than a bathing suit!), what weather to expect, etc. Weather.com can only help so much! On this trip, we first visit Monte Carlo in Monaco, and then check-in to the hotel in Nice before exploring the town. On Saturday, we'll travel to St. Tropez for the day. On Sunday, we'll explore Cannes before heading back to Florence, with a schedule arrival time of midnight.

I am so excited (I know that I keep saying that over and over again... but it's true!) for these trips.

BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENTS EVER. Thank you, Mom & Dad!!

Five Weeks In, Nine to Go

Today marks the beginning of my fifth week of classes. We arrived in Florence on Wednesday, August 18, and began classes on Monday, August 23. I'm shocked with the realization that four full weeks of classes have passed. Sixteen lessons in Italian language, eight lessons in GST, eight lessons in Italian Politics, my first exam covering Italian language,  a field trip to climb the Duomo in Florence, a field trip to the Museum of the Duomo, a weekend trip to Pisa & Carrara, and a weekend trip to visit Siena. So much has occurred, and that is only the list of things which pertain to academics!

I am so happy that I have so much time left to explore. As of tomorrow, I will have only 9 more weeks left in this country! One third of my time in Italy... is over. The memory of visiting Italy while on the EF tour in high school is a bit of a blur: two weeks spent in a whirlwind tour of Italy, spending a day or two in each city, seeing the tourist highlights, and moving on. This time around, I truly have time to soak in the sights, and I plan to do just that. Nine more weeks, 63 more days... I plan of making the most of it.

Chianti - Exploring the Vineyards, Tasting the Wine

Through FlorenceForFun, I traveled to Chianti with three of my friends: Lauren, Elsa, and Jess. It was an amazing trip, and I am so happy that I decided to visit Chianti through FFF. Although traveling to Chianti through FFF was a bit pricier (€40) than it would have been if I'd arranged the trip myself, we were provided with two hilarious tour guides, granted permission to tour/hike an expansive vineyard in Panzano, and go to a vintner's home for a private meal and wine tasting. This may in fact have been my favorite day I've spent in Italy!

We learned that Chianti is predominantly made with sangiovese grapes, and is ruby red in color, though it changes slightly during the aging process. I was shocked to learn how extremely the color of wine can vary. According to our guides, white wines range in color from green to yellow to brown. Brown wine is something I could be apprehensive to taste.






We were also instructed on proper wine-tasting technique. However, they served us two glasses of per course (4 courses in total), and very few individuals in the group seemed to be taking the time to Look, Smell, and Taste. I bought a small 750mL bottle to bring home to my parents. I'm not the biggest fan of red wine. However, I wasn't that big of a fan of white wine before this semester, so who knows if this bottle will make it home... just kidding!


Overall, I had an absolutely amazing day in Chianti. I can't wait to book the rest of my trips for the semester!

My friends are weird :)

A Gluttonous Day

As promised, after reviewing the Italian test we took yesterday, Enrico and Fede took both classes to the Diner on Via dell'Acqua. It was so amazingly delicious. Authentic Italian food: not so much. Delicious American-style comfort food: most definitely.

I'm really excited that I got an A- on my first Italian test. I really hope to get an A on the next one. The more I practice my Italian with actual Italians (read: when I go out at night, to eat, to shop), the more I grasp the language.

An American Diner... in Firenze?

To celebrate our classes doing so well, we went to The Diner, which calls itself an American-style diner. On their menu, they had some of the foods which I've been craving, like pancakes, waffles, hash browns that really taste like hush pupppies (!!!), milkshakes and fries!

I was absolutely stuffed, or so I thought...

Chinese Food... in Firenze?

While relaxing at home, Ally got a call from one of our other roommates, inviting us to meet them at a Chinese restaurant. Fried rice is one of my favorite foods, and I've never been known to refuse Chinese food of any sort. There, I had the most amazing Pineapple Chicken I've ever had in Italy.

In Firenze, a kebab is not really a kebab.
Later that night, the food-fest continued. I went out with some friends, and midway through the evening, I decided I really wanted a kebab. My roommates had all gone to get kebabs for lunch one Friday after class (I don't have Friday classes and usually sleep through lunch) and raved about how delicious they were. I didn't want to miss the trend, so I had my mind set on eating a kebab right then and there. Luckily for me, the kebab shop was the next store over from the bar... literally.

When I think of a kebab, I think of meat-on-a-stick. Gross sounding, yes. However, that is decidedly not what a kebab is in Italy. Now that I've eaten one, I remember skyping with Luke and hearing him say again and again how much he loved the kebab he was eating... that looked nothing like a kebab! A kebab in Firenze is basically a wrap. A super delicious wrap, I mean. Ally ordered it for me "molto piccante," and spicy it was. Unfortunately, it also had onions, so that meant I had to trek back to my apartment to brush my teeth. It was a really fun night out, and I think that the kebab had a lot to do with that.

Gluttonous day: OVER

Homemade Meal

Super blurry picture of Anna

Technically, most of what I prepare is a homemade meal. Dinner tonight, however, was especially homemade. When I "home make" meals, I'm mean to say that I'm boiling store-bought pasta, mixing it with roasted peppers, onions, and garlic, and topping it off with store-bought arrabbiata sauce (you know how I like things spicy!).

Super blurry picture of the food!

Anna has proven to be a domestic goddess (I'm exaggerating) and cooks up the most scrumptious dishes every night. Last week, she decided that she would treat the apartment to her cooking. This is not written with sarcasm. She prepared cheese lasagna and eggplant parmesan. So delicious. Cooking at home is much more economical than going out to eat (I know that I'm stating the obvious). Each of us ate to our fill, and only had to pay €3. Super awesome deal.

I have my first Italian test tomorrow, so I'm going to go study a bit for that. Wish me luck!

Rainy Firenze

Monday morning: looking gloomy

My beautiful city... wasn't looking quite as beautiful as normal this morning.

Walk to POL class

If you know me at all, you know that I'm a fanatic when it comes to checking the weather. I checked the weather for Monday on Sunday evening, right before I went to bed. Forecast: RAIN. I checked the weather when I woke up on Monday. Forecast: RAIN. I walked home from Italian class on Monday and thought to myself: wow, it looks like rain. I even took a picture!

Walk home from POL class

Somehow, I managed to leave my apartment time and time again... without an umbrella! Whoops. As such, I had to endure many inqueries asking "vuoi comprare un ombrello?" On my walk home, one woman exclaimed, "sei freddo!" Yes, I was very cold! Thankfully, the forecast is sun, sun, and more sun for the rest of the week.

Italian Politics: Final Paper

Today, we had to submit our final research topic. Mine is as follows.

Provisional Title: The Link Between Silvio Berlusconi and Corruption within Italian Bureaucracy

Broad Theme: For this research paper, I’d like to study the link between the current Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi and corruption within the Italian Bureaucracy. Berlusconi has been implicated in many political scandals, and I believe he would make for an excellent research topic. I’d like to focus on the hazy dealings involving accusations made against Berlusconi magically being dropped.

Resources I’ve found so far:
• http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/apr/08/the-corrupt-reign-of-emperor-silvio/
• Papi: Uno Scandalo Politico (Papi: A Political Scandal)
by Peter Gomez, Marco Lillo, and Marco Travaglio
• Silvio Berlusconi : television, power and patrimony
Ginsborg, Paul.
London ; New York, N.Y. : Verso, 2004.

Case Study Chosen: I’m still looking for a specific case study.

Will Consult: I’m going to consult academic articles, online newspaper articles, and any textbooks that I can find. While searching for information on this topic, I’ve found that the vast majority of literature is in Italy or German, so I will have to search diligently to find books about this subject matter that are written in English. I will not be conducting interviews because my Italian is very rudimentary, and this is an extremely controversial topic.

The main sections of my paper:
1) Introduction to Berlusconi, as well as a brief summary of the reputation for corruption that Italy currently holds.
2) A brief summary of allegation and accusations made against Berlusconi with the end result included.
3) A focus on the bribery allegations as well as the impact of the legislative changes passed by his administration during his legal trails.
4) The link between corrupt actions and Berlusconi’s ownership of three of the seven national television channels.
5) A brief mention of other corrupt political actions linked to Berlusconi.
6) Draw conclusions about allegations that Berlusconi is a corrupt politician.


Does anyone have any thoughts on my paper topic? Too broad? Too specific? Not interesting?

Missing - $40

I can be pretty anal about some things in my life. Dirty dishes. Clothing on the floor. Not finishing the food on my plate. Keeping track of my money/expenses. 

It seems I've failed. My first week in Italy, I was fastidious about logging all my expenses into my little Excel spreadsheet. The second week, I'd wait a day or two to enter the amounts into the spreadsheet. The third week, I didn't enter any amounts into my spreadsheet, and didn't keep track of my receipts. Yikes! This has resulted in my not knowing what the hell happened to €30. New goal: record daily expenditures EVERY DAY. I feel like I just lost $40.

Weekend Trip: Siena

View of Siena

Today, we on the second GST/Art History field trip. Destination: Siena.

Museo dell'Acqua

We began our field trip with a visit to the Museum of Water. Yes, we toured a museum which exists solely to educate visitors on water. A quick Google search told me that the museum cost 1.8 million euros (roughly equivalent to 2.3 million USD) to build. In small groups of 15, we were led through various exhibits in pitch-black darkness until the room was illuminated with the next exhibit's projections.

Aqueduct example

The outside of the museum led me to believe that it was an older building, yet the inside is incredibly high-tech. Touch screen exhibits, with moving graphics, projections, and fluid responsiveness made sense when I was told that the museum just opened at the beginning of 2010. The explanations were conducted entirely in Italian, so I wasn't able to understand much of the presentation (or the 3-D movie), but I understand that the purpose of this museum was to educate people on how the location of the water sources in Italy shaped the lives of Sienese citizens.

This made me think of Aladdin :)

We had a break for lunch, so we wandered around in search of a restaurant. Along the way, i passed this gem of an eatery (a Kebab shop, no less!). I absolutely love the Disney movie Aladdin, so I had to take a photo.




 

Our lunch spot: La Taverna di S. Giuseppe

We kept walking, and happened upon a quaint osteria called La Taverna di San Giuseppe. The others at my table ordered wine and proceeded to get fairly drunk, but I refrained from drinking. It's five o'clock somewhere, yes, but in Siena, it was only 11:30am! Two individuals ordered bruschetta which was delivered with zucchini and cheese; not what we've come to expect when ordering bruschetta!

My delicious pasta

I ordered a delicious pasta dish with spaghetti, olive oil, garlic, chili peppers (I love spicy foods!), and bacon. Amazing. After a week or so of pasta, I began to feel 'sick' of it... now, however, I'm discovering that I love it, so long as I try new variations of pasta every time!

 Panforte

We walked back to the Fonte Gaia in the Piazza del Campo. On our way, we passed a bakery with the sweets for which Siena is known: Ricciarelli and Panforte.

"Keep an eye out for the shewolves...
they're everywhere!"

Our tour guide Jeremy gave the group a brief summary of the Romulus and Remus story, explaining the significance of the she-wolf.

Don't take Pictures! Whoops.

We entered the Piazzo Pubblico where I immediately began snapping pictures. Whoops. No photos allowed! I still managed to snag about six photographs. I hope I didn't do any damage to the artwork!

View from atop the Duomo di Siena

We climbed the stairs (sidenote: I really had no idea how much stairs are a part of everyday life in Italy. Yes, I take the stairs a lot at home... but here, I take 120 steps to walk up to my classroom everyday. 45 steps to walk up to my apartment. At home... I take maybe a total of 120 steps in day. And yes, I'm using the term "steps" in reference to stepping on stairs, not total movement. I'm not THAT lazy!) to the top of the Duomo di Siena where we partook in this breathtaking view. Professor D'Amato attempted to take a group picture, but his forte is most decidedly engineering, and not photography!

Duomo di Siena

As much as I adored the views from atop the Duomo, I found that the view of the Piazzo Publico was just as breathtaking from below.

The Cathedral of Siena

We toured the interior of the Cathedral of Siena, as well as the Museum of the Cathedral of Siena. Prior to this trip, I had never thought that the artifacts within the cathedral were not the original. To know that the stainglass I see in the Cathedral is not the original work of art, but rather a replica, was a bit disheartening. It was interesting to see the orignal works of art in the museum! One exhibit was protected with wall sensors to prevent an individual from getting too close to an artifact.

Italy's Oldest Bank:
Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, founded 1472.

We had an hour of free-time to explore the city, buy souvenirs (which I did!), try Siena's famous sweets, stop at Grom for some gelato, and generally sight-see for a bit longer. We met as a group in the courtyard for the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena before making the long, and hilly trek back to our bus.