Mi piace...St. Francis

I apologize for the un-timeliness of this blog. I’ve been meaning to write about my trip to Assisi since last weekend but I just haven’t felt like doing it.
We had a three-day weekend last weekend, and since these are rare there is a bit of pressure to take advantage of them. Of course, I want to travel while I’m here and see as much of this country as possible, but because there is so much to see, and everybody has sort of his or her own agenda, the planning part is quite stressful to the extent that I almost dread these weekends a little bit.
But anyways, it ultimately worked out great, and I went to Assisi with three other girls (Rachel, Libby, and Fiona). The professor from Lewis and Clark who is leading the trip wanted to go also, and she happened to have a car that weekend, so we even got a ride down on Friday morning. The car ride was about two hours (as opposed to a 4-5 hour train ride), and we were in Asissi by the early afternoon.
Assisi is known for being the birthplace and home of St. Francis, a famous saint and founder of the Franciscan order of monks. St. Francis is also sometimes acknowledged with being one of the reasons for the birth of the Renaissance, for reasons I’m not entirely clear on. But it might have something to do with the Renaissance focused on the humanity of saints and religious figures, and how St. Francis was alive only a couple of hundred years before artists began depicting his life, so they were able to put him in settings that would be recognizable to a contemporary viewer. This, in turn, made the story of St. Francis more tangible and convincing to those who saw these paintings. I think that makes sense…
I was most excited to visit the Basilica of San Francesco, which is most known for its upper portion, adorned with huge scenes of the life of St. Francis. They are said to be early works of the famous Early Renaissance /Late Byzantine painter, Giotto, though there is some debate about this (I tend to think that, while Giotto may have had a hand in these, they are more likely the works of another master), and I had previously studied them at length in a class at Lewis and Clark. I bought my professor a postcard at the gift shop, because he told me himself that Assisi was the one place I needed to visit while I was in Italy. Speaking of the gift shop, there is a bit of irony in the commercialization of St. Francis in Assisi (which I’ve heard described as a Disneyland for St. Francis), because St. Francis’ whole thing was about becoming closer to God by denouncing his worldly goods and living in poverty his entire life. But the church, though against everything St. Francis stood for, is still beautiful. The interior is literally encrusted with frescoes on every surface, and is unique in that it was all essentially done at once (meaning a generation or two), rather than over hundreds of years.

Next, we went to the Basilica of St. Clare, another famous saint from Assisi. Her basilica is most known for housing the really old Byzantine crucifix that is said to have spoken to St. Francis, inspiring him to begin his life of asceticism. We looked at it, and then went for an (annoyingly overpriced and not very good) coffee. And then, despite the wind, we took a little walk up to the Rocco Maggiore, a fortress providing a beautiful view of the Umbrian countryside surrounding Assisi. I literally almost blew off the hill (thank goodness for the gelato!), but it was worth it because we made it up in time for the sunset. Unfortunately, neither of the pictures of myself from my camera are blog-worthy, but I will include a photo of the view.

The rest of the evening we took it pretty easy, having a siesta in our adorable hotel, run by a old nonna who was beyond excited to see us and promised us the most beautiful room (I’m pretty sure we were the only ones there, but if you’re ever in Assisi I highly recommend the Camere Martini). Then we went to a dinner that was recommended in my guidebook (thanks Jeremy!). It was really good and cheap—we each had an entrée, and split two plates of bruschetta, two bottles of wine and three desserts for only 15 euro each! Apparently Assisi is known for their truffles, so I got a pizza with truffle sauce. Then it was bedtime.
The next day we were hoping to go to Spoletto, because you know I love my small Italian towns, but we were misinformed or something in thinking there was a regular bus there from Assisi, so we ended up just going to Perugia, which wasn’t on the top of any of our lists, but sometimes you just have to go with the flow. At first I was kind of horrified by the city, but then I realized we were in the outskirts (which, in Europe, are almost never nice. Except in Siena, which is perfect in every way). We made our way into the centro, which was actually pretty nice. We poked around in some shops, had another tasty and cheap meal (chickpea soup and insalata misto!) and bought some awesome headscarf things. Overall, not too bad, but not too great either.
The trip to Perugia was redeemed, in my opinion, by a short walk to a fifth-century, circular-planned church built from the stones and wood from even older pagan temples. It had a grassy lawn, something I hadn’t even realized I hadn’t seen since I’d been in Italy. It smelled so good and the whole thing was just so peaceful, I felt instantly relaxed and happy. Unfortunately, we were there too late to go inside.

We went back to Assisi and enjoyed another late, laid-back dinner, and went to bed pretty quickly after that. The next day was spent mostly going back to Siena in what seemed like the most indirect train route possible. Although, I did have the best gelato I’ve yet experienced in a virtually nameless little town that we stopped in for an hour and a half (pine nut and hazelnut flavors—have you noticed that I talk a lot about food?) I returned exhausted to Siena, but had a nice and eventful week to keep me from getting lazy, so another blog post is to come!
Sending my love from the same wine bar in Siena!
Baci,
Megan

Alpine Adventures

I have returned from the Alps, slept for 12 hours, have had a huge Sunday lunch (where, by the way, I tried cow brains--they were heavily fried but still not tasty, although apparently full of nutrients), and am now ready to blog.
Having finished intensive italian (grazie, dio!), the students of Siena Italian Studies were granted a four day vacation in the Italian Alps, in the province of Val D'Aosta.
We left Wednesday morning and began our very long bus ride up north. It took about six hours, with two rest stops, to get to Torino, despite being told it would only take about four. When we arrived in Torino we went to a museum of cinema, which may have been cool but we had just been on a bus all day and were tired. Another hour and a half got us to Aosta in time for cena.
The next day the bus left at 8:30 for the mountain, called Pila. We took the gondola up to the middle-ish of the mountain. The views were so beautiful, we took a lot of photos, and then walked to a cafe, where we sat and drank warm beverages.

Then we decided we wanted to go to France! Being in way northern Italy, France was very close. An hour-ish bus ride to Courmayeur, where we had a little wait and met an English ice-climber named Tim, and then another hour-ish bus ride, during which we drove under Mont Blanc, supposedly the biggest mountain in Europe, got us to Chamonix, a classy little ski town in France. Our new friend Tim showed us a great place to get lunch. I got a sandwich called Le Tartif, a local specialty with bacon "plugs," melted goat cheese (not too stinky), lettuce, tomatoes, and french fries. It was so good. Then we spent some time touring around, taking more photos, and window shopping. Despite being in the mountains, it was so warm that I was comfortably down to two layers.

Back the hotel in time for cena, drank some wine, went to bed, another not too crazy night at the hotel.
The next day I decided to go skiing! This was a surprise to myself, as I was dead set against it from the beginning. However, when I saw my friends skiing on Thursday I was very jealous. Skiing in the Alps just wasn't something I could pass up. So, I scrounged up some ski clothes, rented some gear, and went onto the mountain. I had some friends who were beginners, and was planning on spending the day with them on the easy slopes, but once I got started I was so excited that I just had to go. So instead I spent the day with Trevin, from Montana who snowboards very well but was very patient, and Rachel, a girl from Lewis and Clark who lives in Canada and has skied a few times before but was brave. We hit up a lot of red slopes (in Europe it goes blue-->green-->black instead of green-->blue-->black). I had so much fun and was not scared, cold, or uncomfortable at all. I skied from 10 to about 4:30, with a break for lunch, and could have kept going. I wasn't even sore the next day! In short, I've decided to give skiing another shot.
We had some apres-ski brie (bought by Rachel in France) at the hotel, then some cena, lots more wine, and then went to bed.

The next day we had to repeat the marathon bus ride back to Siena. We left at 9 am to go to back to Torino, where we stopped. We visited an Egyptian museum, filled with Egyptian goods stolen by Napoleon and brought to Torino, and then had some free time to go get lunch. Torino is a beautiful city and I'm really glad we got to see it, and although I probably won't be making it back there I would have liked to spend some more time.
The bus ride back was so long but the sights were nice--we saw Genoa, some of Cinque Terra, and a bunch of nice castles and churches.
I am currently sitting at Zest, a wine bar in Siena with free wifi, which I will never again take for granted. It is currently filled with Siena Italian Studies students blogging, emailing, uploading pictures onto Facebook and, again, drinking wine. Tomorrow we start our regular classes, which I am really looking forward to. I will finally have a regular schedule day-to-day, will continue going to the elementary school, and traveling and doing fun things with SIS on the weekends. Next weekend is free again, and I am in the process of figuring out what to do. I'm thinking I want to go to Cinque Terra, but I am concerned about getting people to come with me as it is not peak season. Any ideas?
Talk to you again soon!

Megan

Oh! And my hair is now darker brown. It looks very nice. I think I'll keep it. Photos to come.

Testing Tuscany

This weekend was one of the rare iperlibero (very free, in Italian slang) weekends of the semester. A group of us had been planning on going to San Gimingnano for the day on Saturday, but decided to add a night in Firenze to better take advantage of the opportunity.
We left at 9:30 Saturday morning on a 30ish minute autobus ride to San Gimingnano, a very small medieval Tuscan town known for being one of the most well preserved (history-wise) in all of Italia. Medieval towns used to have all kinds of towers built by powerful, feuding families (a la Romeo and Juilet). The idea was whoever had the tallest tower was the most powerful. They were also useful for dumping hot boiling oil on your enemies, etc. Anyways, in most towns, Siena and Firenze included, when they became republics, all the different towers were knocked down and the government building was built and it was the only tower allowed in the city. However, 14 towers (of 72 originally) remain in San Gimignano, and that is generally its main attraction.
Saturday was a perfectly gorgeous day. It almost felt like spring--at several points I was down to a shirt and light sweater! The town was quiet as can be, as it is still well before the start of the tourist season (although this sadly meant that their famous gelaterria is still closed for the season). It felt like we owned the city--we could walk in the middle of the streets without distruption by cars (making even Siena feel like a big town in comparison). The best part of the entire day was climbing to the top of the highest tower and spending over an hour taking in the incredible view. It was warm and sunny, you could see forever, and best of all, we had the place to ourselves!

Before catching the bus to Firenze, we bought some bread, mozzarella, and some of San Gimignano's signature white wine and snacked in the park by the bus stop. It was truly the most relaxing, perfect day trip I could have asked for.
Obviously, going to Firenze was a bit of a shock after a day in San Gimignano, one that none of us were really prepared for.
I couldn't wait to see the Duomo in person, and that is the first thing we saw, as it was merely a few blocks from our hostel (which I booked myself!). It was so huge and beautiful and I couldn't believe I was really seeing it in person after having seen so many photos of it, I got a little overwhelmed and emotional. We just went out for pizza that night and then didn't stay out too long afterwards as we were all very tired already.
The next morning we went to see the Duomo in the daylight, and it blew me away again. Then we went to the largest mercato in Firenze, also said to have the best prices (San Lorenzo, I believe). I was in search of a leather jacket and I found one! It is a navy blue, motorcycle style with a detachable hood and it is beautiful. I tried to haggle with the guy, although I'm not sure how effective it was. Yet, I was happy to splurge a little on the one thing I'd really wanted to purchase in Italy, and now I can happily say I am essentially done shopping for non-essentials!
Next we trekked up the Michelangelo Square, which overlooks the entire city (stopping for a huge and delicissimo pizza on the way!). It was a bit hazy but it was a great view. That city is huge!
Overall, we didn't see to much in Firenze as we were only there for a day and didn't want to have to rush anything, but it was nice to walk around and get a good feel for the city, and I am definitely looking forward to going back.
By the time it was time to take the bus back to Siena, I was ready. As lovely of a weekend as it was, we all were happy to be back in Siena, which is really starting to feel like home.
Tomorrow the whole group heads to the Alps (Val D'Aosta) until Saturday as we have just completed our three-week intensive Italian course--good riddance! Onto art history!
Will update again soon (and pictures to come eventually, I swear).

To everyone at home: Miss and love you all!

Love,

Megan

Cabbage Flowers, Rosella, and Bananas

Sorry it's been so long since I last blogged! It's been a very busy week. We just ended our second full week of Intensive Italian, and my brain is so fried after each class, and I usually have a headache.
This week, Krissy and I began watching Rosella, an Italian mini series set in the late 1880s about a woman who is married to a mean man but falls in love with a nice doctor but is put in jail and then a convent where they make her cut off all of her hair. Meanwhile, her husband falls in love with the doctors wife, who gets pregnant and has a baby. Its all very dramatic and I dont understand everything and it goes on for two hours but its very entertaining.
Italians always, always have the tv on, including during dinner. My favorite show is a game show (I cant remember the name right now) in which the contestant tries to match people up with their profession. This, I've found, is very helpful for learning words. Have I blogged about this already? I feel like I have.
Anyways, this week we got to take time out of our Italian class to go to Siena's famous Mercato, which takes place every Wednesday morning. It goes on forever and ever and is FULL of old people, but they seemed to have some good stuff. Im in the market for a leather jacket, as it will soon be spring (in fact, it sort of feels like spring already, the weather has been lovely the past few days).
The best thing I saw, however, were cabbage flowers! My favorite! I was so excited to see them. They even have bouquets that incroporate them. To anyone reading who may someday be thinking about buying me flowers: take note.

Also this week I began my volunteer position helping teach English in a local elementary school. I actually have two classes, one fourth grade and one fifth grade. Yesterday was my first day and I helped teach them how to say numbers (they have trouble with the "th" sound), and practice little sample phone conversations. Supposedly the kids here are less jaded than in the States, and at this age they are happy to be silly and play games and sing songs, so I had a lot of fun and am excited to keep going back.
Also, every classroom had a huge bowl full of tons of bananas. Theyre like provided by the state or something, I don't know. But the teacher gave me one on my way out, which I was excited about because it was my first banana since I'd been here.
Today we visited the Civic Museum in the Palazzo Publicco. Thats where Sienas famous Maesta (enthroned Madonna with saints), Allegory of Good and Bad Government, and Guido da Siena are all located. I was especially excited to visit this museum because I studied all these frescoes in an Early Renaissance art history class at Lewis and Clark.
The Guido da Siena is said to be painted by Simone Martini and is a fresco that the Sienese are particularly proud of. However, there is some controversy surrounding it after some American art historians visited it and decided, because of various reasons that its a fake. Just dont mention this to anyone in Siena, because they will get really mad. Those two art historians were kicked out of the city (and probably were welcomed into Florence, Sienas historical rival).
The museum has a fantastic balcony, and I, along with two other girls, Heather and Maya, snuck up onto the roof of the building a little ways, which we probably shouldn't have done, but it afforded us an opportunity to get really close to the tower, and, of course, a perfect opportunity to take silly pictures.

I'm heading to San Gimignano and Firenze this weekend, and then up to the Alps on Wednesday. Posts (and photos) to follow!
(P.S. I apologize for all the grammatical errors and omissions. Italian keyboards are a pain to use.)

A trip to Pisa and Siena ramblings

Ciao everyone!
I know it's been a while since my last blog update so I apologize. First, I want to say how excited I am about Sarah and David's engagement! I'm having a wonderful time here but I would love to be home to be with everybody right now.
Anyways, I've been pretty busy during the week with classes almost all day. Italian gives me a headache almost every day, but I feel like I am improving. Strangely, Italians watch TV almost 24/7, including at dinner, which could be annoying but actually is very educational. One show in particular, in which contestants match guests to their professions, is especially fun, and Krissy and I have taken to bringing our dictionaries to dinner to figure out what's going on.
Friday I got food poisoning, I think, which was no fun at all. My host mom took really good care of me, made me tea and even kissed me three times on the cheek! She was convinced I was sick because I ate a gelato in town (which I didn't) and it made my stomach cold, which made me sick in the cold weather. I'm pretty sure it was food poisoning, but I let her think that. I guess Italians have weird superstitions about illness.
Luckily, I was feeling better by Saturday morning and was able to go to Pisa with a big group of mostly Lewis and Clark students. I opted not to go up into the tower since I was still feeling pretty weak, but I did make it into the Duomo, Baptistry, Camposanto, Museo Sinopie and Museo Dello Opera Duomo. My favorite was the Camposanto, a gorgeous frescoed cloister that was, sadly, bombed during WWII, but is in the process of being refurbished. When the frescoes came off in the bombing it revealed the sketches underneath, called the cartoons, which are now housed in the Museo Sinopie.

The trip to Pisa itself was interesting. We caught a 7 am bus to the airport and had to figure out our way from the suburbs into the city, which was a challenge. We opted to take the train back to Siena. Back in Siena we went for a pretty nice dinner (I might suggest the restaurant to my parents), and then went home. I slept for over 12 hours, woke up to a huge Sunday lunch (another Italian thing), took a shower, a 2 hour nap, had dinner, and went back to bed. It was a good day, and now I feel great!
I don't have the pictures from Pisa on my computer just yet, but will update this as soon as I do.

Much love,

Megan

A brief history of Siena (with pictures!)

Yesterday we had a historical walking tour of the city. It was molto freddo and I was wearing the wrong shoes but I tried really hard to pay attention everything that was being said so that I could impress my friends and family with my knowledge. This is a picture of me and my roommate Krissy, also a Lewis & Clark student. We live with a couple of cute Italian emptynesters about ten minutes (by bus) outside of the city walls. Our host mom, Luciana, is a very good cook, and makes chicken of all kinds, but all Roberto (our host dad) wants to eat is this sweet, yellowish bread that he keeps in a cabinet next to his chair. I don’t know too much about them yet since I’ve been too nervous to ask direct questions, as I was unsure until today if I should address them in the formal or informal manner (informal, it turns out).

Siena is seriously picturesque. I don’t know if any of you have seen Ambroggio Lorenzetti’s Allegory of Good and Bad Government (it’s located in the Palazzo Pubblico Museum), but I studied it in an art history class, and the rolling hills in the painting, which seem to be so naturalistic, are actually perfectly representative of the hills in Tuscany.

The three most important buildings in Siena (pictured in order) are probably the Duomo, or the main northern-Gothic style cathedral, the Basilica (which houses the mummified head of St. Catherine di Siena), and the Palazzo Pubblico, which was the main civic building back in the day.

Other defining features of Siena include the oldest functioning bank in the world, and, of course the Palio. The Palio is a horse race run twice every summer, consisting of three laps around the outside of the Campo. It is an inexplicably huge deal to the city’s residents, who are divided into contrada, which are essentially rival neighborhoods represented by an animal. In Siena, you only hang out with people from your contrada, and during the emotionally-charged Palio season, massive brawls between enemy contrade is not uncommon. The most recent champion of the Palio was the Rhinoceros contrada, which happens to be the contrada that my host mom belongs to. Sadly for her husband, who belongs to the Wolf contrada, contrada membership follows the maternal bloodline, so he is essentially excluded from the family during Palio season.

So there is a brief overview of Siena and its history and culture. From now on I will try to talk more about what I do on a day to day basis, which for me means taking more photos of things other than building and scenery.

A domani!

Megan

I was planning on writing my first blog tonight...

...But I'm way too tired. So here's a photo of me so everyone can see that I am alive and well: