Volterra and Siena

Top on our list of places to see has been Volterra...not just because it was where parts of New Moon take place (although the movie wasn't actually shot there - don't worry Montepulciano is on my list too).  My students also have been telling me that it is a beautiful very old Etruscan city on a hill with an amazing panoramic view of the Tuscan countryside.  And they were right!  It was absolutely stunning!  I was SO not ready to leave - I wish we could have stayed all day, but Meaghan really wanted to see Siena as well. 

Highlights of Volterra:  the quaint Palazzo dei Priori; the beautiful cathedral with its alabaster, frescoed ceiling and presepe; the archaelogical park, the tower, the Fortezza (now a prison), the porte, and the palazzo that took us forever to find but ended up being closed..and of course, the Saturday market with the gelato and yummy Italian tater tots..

 

One of my absolute favorite things about Saturday mornings are the local markets.  Volterra had some awesome vendors selling all sorts of seafood (note the octopus on the bottom right) - sharks, squid, octopus, fish, shrimp, eel.., everything fried (hence the tater tots), wine and honey, and all sorts of interesting meat products..

 The famous clocktower in Palazzo dei Priori

The beautiful cathedral - it had amazing frescoes, stained glass, sculpted floors and graves, and the most beautiful ceiling I have seen yet, and the Volaterranorvm Religiosa Liberalitate entrance plaque.

From there we headed to the Roman theatre and some stunning views of the surrounding Tuscan countryside. 

We wandered along the beautiful, old streets and corridors and visited the archaelogical gardens and the castle that is now a prison.  Apparently, there's also a women's asylum next door with some interesting grafitti - something to come back for...

 Sadly, we had to say good-bye to Volterra and hop on the bus to Siena.  I could have spent much more time there - and didn't get to go to the Etruscan museum so it's definitely on my list of places to return to.

                           SIENA

This time I actually went inside the Duomo so I could see if it was as cool as every says (it's not) but it does have some awesome mosaic floors.  Otherwise it's a bit too gaudy and stripy for me.  

Sorry for all the pictures, but they just don't do it justice.  My new home is going to be in the Tuscan hillsides around Volterra - green rolling hills, trees, vineyards, old villas, cows..and tranquility.

Viareggio and Carnivale!

Carnivale is huge here in Italy!!  I absolutely love it because it means lots of yummy treats (fritelle di riso, bomboloni, cenchi, schiacciata alla fiorentina, strufoli,..etc)  And I can't even feel bad for eating so much because it will be a whole other year before they come around again!  I actually really love that - it gives you something to look forward to when you can't just buy anything you want in the stores.  My roommate made us some awesome bomboloni (doughnuts but better) and fritelle and so now I sort of, maybe one day could make my own..She also made some awesome lasagna recently that I'm going to have to try. 

  So the big festival is in Venice but it's a long train ride and not so cheap to get there - plus I wasn't really brave enough to be amongst all the people..so we picked the 2nd best destination around - Viareggio.  It's a little town on the Sea that has lots of parades and events for Carnivale.  The parades are on Sundays so we missed out on that..but we got to see a ton of people dressed up, eat some great food (churros, even) and get into the Carnivale spirit..

You don't even want to know how many hours we spend on the trains!!  But Meaghan and I are prepared - we've learned to bring snacks, candy, books, water, changes of clothes, sunglasses and pretty much be prepared for anything..

 We started out the day with an awesome ride on the ruota panoramica (ferris wheel).  It was awesome - with a fantastic view of the city and the Mediterranean..Viareggio has a long road that parallels the ocean with lots of rides, games, food, and restaurants.  It reminded me of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk a little bit..

The next stop was the beach!! It's been a while and I miss the ocean!  Too bad it wasn't warm enough to swim..

Meaghan made sure that we got in the Spirit with lots of silly string and confetti.  They also have some sort of shaving cream spray people were spraying all over each other..We almost bought the hair to go along with it..but somehow restrained.  Do you notice the glasses in the pictures?  Did I mention that Italy has decided to keep my contacts :(

Happy Carnevale!!!

Compleanno di Titti e Cioccolato!!

This weekend proves why it's worth it to sometimes just stay home and enjoy Florence.  It was a good week, although somewhat rainy, with the usual to keep me busy.  Wednesday was my roommate Titti's 29th birthday - and we celebrated and ate for three days!  She made three tiramisu's (she makes the best ever) - one for just me and my roommates.  It's a good things these birthdays don't come around more often..

Friday night was the big birthday party.  Meaghan and I made the most amazing hand apple pies ever (really, they were wonderful).



Me and Titti

My other roommate, Lita - made her amazing Peruvian food (the green rice and sauce are my favorite)
There was Happy Birthday singing in
4 different languages (Italian, English, Albanesi e Spanish), dancing, lots of food and good company..

Saturday Meaghan and I continued the eating trend.  There was a great local artiginale market in Piazza della Republicca.  Then we went to the Palazzo Vecchio to tour the old Medici palace and take a look at the secret passageways.  

The ceilings were my favorite - they were all covered with frescoes and paintings so beautiful and still so vibrant. We also got to see the paintings that are really doors and hiding spots, secret stairways and the wooden trellises that hold the ceiling up.  It was freezing though, inside and outside. 

Our next stop - Piazza Santa Croce (the church in the background) for the Chocolate Festival!!

We had some amazing chocolates and my favorite, cioccolata calda (literally hot, melted chocolate), to warm me up.

The chocolatiers were very creative (those are chocolate salamis and mushrooms).  All sorts of amazing things to try - just stay clear of the cherries, they look amazing but I guess we should have known they were filled with alcohol..

We finished off the day by watching some sort of interesting political protest blocking our street on the way home..

The communists against the nationalists??

Then we made some amazing pizza and some sugar cookies for our friend Angela, who is going home to Peru this week.  Good thing Sunday was fast Sunday..  Now I'm waiting for the men to fix our water heater (one hour has already turned into 3) so I can go running and get on with my day..

PERUGIA e altre cose

So an update...  I finally went and saw the Basilica di Santa Croce and it was actually quite interesting.  It is a huge complex with gardens and a museum and impressive frescoes and statues.  It is also where Michelangelo,Galileo and Machiavelli are buried and one can walk all over lots of dead people.  I have also learned to cook pasta carbonara, risotto and polenta: all very good.  Next on my list: quattro formaggio and lasagne (although I really enjoyed my mac&cheese I brought from home today - I figured that I have a cold and I deserve some comfort food).  I have been exercising and running so I guess I am allowed to eat..My Italian is improving and I can almost hold a conversation..of course, it involves several pauses and terrible grammar and lots of frustration but thankfully no one has laughed at me yet.  Did I mention that it's Carnivale time here?!  Which means lots of yummy treats - sciaciatta alla fiorentina, struffoli, cenci, frittelle...Italy sure knows how to celebrate.. I can't wait to see what comes out for Pasqua!

Last weekend I went to Perugia.  I'll give you a brief rundown of our usual travel schedule..Thursday or so I pick somewhere I've been wanting to go.  I'll check the train schedule and call Meaghan to see what she thinks and let her know what time to meet (preferably at least a half hour before since one of us is bound to be late).  We buy tickets and ride the train for 2 hours or so.  Then we get off and find the nearest information point to get a map or walk to the city center (hopefully without getting lost).  If it's a really good day we'll have actually read about the city in the tour book instead of just talking on the train.  Then we'll wander around, see a few churches, maybe a museum, find somewhere to eat, wander some more, buy some gelato, find a good pasticerria or candy shop, do some shopping and buy things we didn't even know we wanted, maybe get dinner, and then catch the train back home at night.  It's always a fun, interesting day!

(I loved this angel in the park -although I'm sure it's not really an angel)

So this weekend it was Perugia and my friend Christina came down from Siena to join us.  It was raining in Florence so we were crossing our fingers that it would be nicer in Umbria.  After exploring a pretty garden and getting lost for 1/2 hour, we found probably the coolest tram I have ever been on (which happened to be only 2 minutes from the station)..we were pretty excited and rode it back and forth from the outskirts to the center.