My weekend started out with a day trip to Siena and San Gimignano. It was a school sponsored trip that was free for all of us. The hardest part of the day was waking up early to meet everyone at the bus station at 8:15. Our first stop was Siena. We were provided with a tour guide to tell us about famous churches and historical information about the city. My guide was kinda crazy and loved to tell us way to much information about everything little detail she could think of. Her tour was very similar to the type of tours we take in my Renaissance Art History class.
The city of Siena is a beautiful town located right near where all the Chianti wine comes from. It was nice to go to a place that was a little less touristy. Unfortunately when I was there, it rained most of the time. At one of the convenience stores we ran into other American students buying umbrellas like us. They were studying in Siena, so they gave us some good advice as to where to eat and walk around for the 2 hours we had before we headed off to San Gimignano.
The best part of San Gimignano was the lookout point at the highest part of the city. The clouds were beginning to clear up as we reached the top. On a darker note, they are also known for their torture museum there. I made my way through the dungeons and dark creepy corners of this museum. My perception of the medieval period was scarred from seeing some exhibits there. We really only had about 2 hours in San Gimignano, so that’s all I had time to do. From there we all headed back to Florence.
On Saturday, my friend Amy planned “Amy’s day of Fun” for a group of us that were in town this weekend. We first climbed the Duomo (it is the highest view from inside the city). It was quite a hike to get to the top; clearly the church was not made for tourists to be climbing the dark and narrow winding staircases. Once again, I took some great photos of the city, they never get old.
From the Duomo, Amy’s Day of Fun took us to the Boboli Gardens which is definitely a sight to see. Luckily, the rain held off while we were there. It was also nice to see some greenery within such a close vicinity to the city. The landscape, views of castles, and greenery make it a great place to relax. I highly recommend going to there.
Later that night, me and my roommates decided to host a pot luck dinner for everyone that was with us during the day. We ended up having 15 people at our apartment, and surprisingly our place could fit everyone. We had to bring in out patio chairs and table, but it all worked out. The theme for dinner was anything but Italian. We have all been eating so much pasta and pizza that we needed a break. I made sloppy joes that were delicious.
As far as classes go, they are pretty interesting. However, I am definitely learning more about Italian culture just by living here and trying to get around. I have midterms coming up in two weeks, and then I'm off to Greece for spring break!
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