We’ve been here less than a week and already it feels as though we’ve been here at least a month…in a good way though. The faculty and professors have kept us so busy with orientation, outings, and intensive Italian courses that we haven’t had time to think about hardly anything else.
I can’t remember when I’ve walked this much in my life—I’ve got blisters on my feet but it has been good because it keeps off any extra weight from the pasta and other carbs we have had for almost every meal. The food in the Villa is great and I definitely think the kitchen has the Olive Garden philosophy “When you’re here you’re family”…minus the $40.00 check at the end. The gelato here is amazing…so much so that I don’t think I’ll be eating much ice cream when I get back to the states because I’ll be spoiled. There are literally gelaterias and coffee shops (called bars in Italy, f.y.i.) on every corner. The city looks exactly how you’d expect an Italian city to look…old antique buildings, windows with brightly colored wooden shutters, balconies with vines and flower boxes—with laundry hanging outside to dry.
The first night we were here we went to an overlook called Piazzale Michelangelo…which is an amazing place to see the skyline and lights of the city and the Duomo (famous cathedral.) In the middle of the “square” there is a copy of Michelangelo’s “The David.” (The original is in a museum in Florence.) The next night we went to the train station to learn about how to purchase tickets and figure out which trains to take for al of the traveling we are going to be doing. After that we went to get gelato in the center of down town where all of the streets are used as sidewalks and the city comes alive with people walking around enjoying the beautiful architecture and people watching. After gelato we explored some more, realizing that it was an Italian holiday and that is why everyone was out and about. Which is also the same reason we stumbled on a Renaissance marching band dressed in full regalia and another musician playing an instrument I had never seen before—I’m guessing something crossed between a cello and a guitar.
In the spirit of keeping this entry shorter rather than longer, the next events of interest were the two outings we made on Sunday to Sienna and Santo Gimignano. Sienna is probably one of the coolest cities I have ever been to. It is divided into 17 "contradas", which are basically just different sections of the city, with each section having its on crest, color scheme, and mascot. Every year, twice a year (July 2 and August 16), they have a horse race in the town square called “il Palio.” Each section of the city has a rider and whoever wins gets bragging rights until the next race. The Piazza del Campo (town square) is completely filled with people and they cover the bricks with sand to make a track to protect the horses’ hooves—so the piazza looks completely different during the race.
The city is walled and all the buildings are connected—with little alleyways branching off here and there—and new shops and cafés to discover around every corner. One gets the feeling that he or she could spend a year or more there and keep discovering new little bits of charm and character every day—a new balcony you’ve never seen before—a little apartment stuck in a nook that you never noticed. The only way I can explain it is that it has a very antique yet Disneyland feeling at the same time. Like it’s really old and cool—but it still feels “fake” because it’s almost too cliché. One feels like “Every Italian poster I’ve ever seen shows a scene like this…but I didn’t know it looked like this on every corner.” (Hope that makes sense.) Santa Gimignano was just as cool because it was similar—but more medieval looking—with 15 towers that still stand in the town—the only ones left of what were once more than 70. In enjoyed the many sweeping vistas and panoramas of the Tuscan countryside—vineyards, olive groves, villas and all. It also had a unique torture museum that I wish I had time to visit—and a cathedral with amazing frescoes and paintings—everything inside was so ornate that the whole thing was overwhelming.
Finally, over the past few days—starting on Monday—we’ve been immersed in intensive Italian language classes. I can’t deny that it has been very difficult and mentally draining. It starts with breakfast at 7:30 and then two hours of class in the mornings. Two hours of an “uscita” (outing) where we go into the city and try out our Italian. And two more hours of class after lunch. Many Italians speak very little to no English—which means you have to give it a try even if you feel incompetent—which in a way is a good thing because it motivates us to really learn the language. During the outings we are escorted by students from one of the local universities, which has been the best part of the whole experience. It is really fun because they speak very little English and we speak little Italian—so it feels like such an accomplishment when we can actually have a conversation with them. But, yesterday some friends and I tried to bargain with a shopkeeper on the price of used bikes for about twenty minutes. That was interesting—we ended up not buying them because we were definitely getting ripped off—and all he would say is “mi dispiace” (I’m sorry).
This weekend is the first weekend we have the opportunity to travel on our own, so a couple of friends and I are going to a place called “La Cinque Terra” – The five villages. We’re taking a train and then doing the “touristy” thing by hiking between all five of the villages. It’s on the coast, so it should be a nice time to enjoy the end of summer here before it gets cold. Planning travel in Italy is definitely difficult because many small hotels and bed & breakfasts don’t have websites, have complicated open hours, or speak very little English. Our plan right now is to go without a reservation and find a hotel there—but I guess that is the joy of being flexible and the only real way to learn any better. Everyone who offers travel advice offers different advice, so we definitely end up being on our own for decision-making. But I guess it lets us have our own experience without any expectations. Anyway—I’ll let you know how it goes…and thanks for sticking with me to the end of this really long post…so much to tell—so little time, but I’ll write again soon. Grazie! Ciao!
Living “La Dolce Vita” (the sweet life),
Blake
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