Siena
The city sits over three hills with, at it's heart, the huge Piazza del Campo. It is here that the famous il Palio is held - a horse race run around the piazza on two occasions every summer, on the 2nd July and on the 16th August.
The Campo itself is dominated by the red Palazzo Pubblico and it's tower, Torre del Mangia. The civic palace, built between 1297 and 1310, still houses the city's municipal offices. Its internal courtyard has entrances to the Torre del Mangia and to the Civic Museum. Climbing the 500+ steps provide a wonderful view of Siena and its surroundings.
I had two weeks here in 2011 and enjoyed the 'feel' of Siena and just walking around and being in the Campo .... there are restaurants and gelaterie on the periphery of the Campo and many sights around the small city. Every day I walked from the Piazza Gramsci bus stop close by the Campo and on to school ... just the greatest alleyways, doors and interesting squares.
The Campo itself is dominated by the red Palazzo Pubblico and it's tower, Torre del Mangia. The civic palace, built between 1297 and 1310, still houses the city's municipal offices. Its internal courtyard has entrances to the Torre del Mangia and to the Civic Museum. Climbing the 500+ steps provide a wonderful view of Siena and its surroundings.
I had two weeks here in 2011 and enjoyed the 'feel' of Siena and just walking around and being in the Campo .... there are restaurants and gelaterie on the periphery of the Campo and many sights around the small city. Every day I walked from the Piazza Gramsci bus stop close by the Campo and on to school ... just the greatest alleyways, doors and interesting squares.
Dante Alighieri Italian Language, Cultural and Culinary School
This was my first 'foreign' school and I attended for two weeks in 2011 - it was just fantastic!!
Below is a [slightly edited] email I sent back to the family at the time....
"Right now I'm at the Scuola after the third day's lessons and it is going fine... there are 10 in the class and I'm probably 2nd or
3rd.... thank goodness for the pre-lessons back in Sydney... it has given me a great start and a good platform. I just watched a great
Italian movie, in Italian and with Italian subtitles* ... it was hilarious and I laughed a lot... sometimes it was a little "Mr Bean" as I didn't quite understand a word spoken or written but the actions were unmistakable.. but there were also a lot of words/phrases I did get
and the whole experience was great... I want to watch the movie again in a year's time!!!
"Home" [I'm staying with a host family] is a 15 minute walk to the bus at Piazza Gramsci and a 15 minute bus trip to the suburbs. I tried walking home but had to catch the bus along the way as the road became too busy... and too narrow.
My Italian [and phrase book] has already had a work out but I am able to make myself understood though I frequently don't understand what is being said back to me... can be exciting, I guess.
Below is a [slightly edited] email I sent back to the family at the time....
"Right now I'm at the Scuola after the third day's lessons and it is going fine... there are 10 in the class and I'm probably 2nd or
3rd.... thank goodness for the pre-lessons back in Sydney... it has given me a great start and a good platform. I just watched a great
Italian movie, in Italian and with Italian subtitles* ... it was hilarious and I laughed a lot... sometimes it was a little "Mr Bean" as I didn't quite understand a word spoken or written but the actions were unmistakable.. but there were also a lot of words/phrases I did get
and the whole experience was great... I want to watch the movie again in a year's time!!!
"Home" [I'm staying with a host family] is a 15 minute walk to the bus at Piazza Gramsci and a 15 minute bus trip to the suburbs. I tried walking home but had to catch the bus along the way as the road became too busy... and too narrow.
My Italian [and phrase book] has already had a work out but I am able to make myself understood though I frequently don't understand what is being said back to me... can be exciting, I guess.
I had my first Italian cooking class last night and it was "special".. there were 4 French-Canadian students who don't understand Italian or English so they had a cook who translated from Italian to French for them ... then there were some "non-language course" attendees who didn't speak Italian, so they had one of the cooks [an Aussie] translate from Italian to English.
The problem was that the lead cook yelled out instructions in Italian to the group of twelve... before she had finished the French translations were started by the other cook and the Aussie guy jumped in to get the English translation going... so there were times when all three were talking/yelling and there was chaos... loud chaos...
Before the translations had finished the Italian cook started up on the next topic... again loudly, while the French cook was answering questions on the first topic, as was the English translator ... talk about competitive cooking, and ultra-competitive translating!
.. and we all had to do different things. I carefully avoided handling the raw liver as well as the finished product, even though the others assured me is was bellissimo!
The problem was that the lead cook yelled out instructions in Italian to the group of twelve... before she had finished the French translations were started by the other cook and the Aussie guy jumped in to get the English translation going... so there were times when all three were talking/yelling and there was chaos... loud chaos...
Before the translations had finished the Italian cook started up on the next topic... again loudly, while the French cook was answering questions on the first topic, as was the English translator ... talk about competitive cooking, and ultra-competitive translating!
.. and we all had to do different things. I carefully avoided handling the raw liver as well as the finished product, even though the others assured me is was bellissimo!
The main course was osso bucco in cremolata with all sorts of vegies, fettucine pasta made from scratch with salsa di rucola [rocket salad], freshly cooked foccacia with tomatoes and olives and fresh pannacotta with reduced fruits of the forest... it was a massive meal!
We were then taken outside to be seated and the staff served us ... the weather and evening was perfect, though rather late.... so late in fact, that the buses were few and far between so one of the cooks arranged that her husband would drive me home. I couldn't just stand there and watch them clean up so I was drying dishes at 10.30 and having a great time... another real 'moment'.... needless to say I arrived home late [11.00 pm], but happy!
Anyway, I hope you're well and will email again soon.... I'm just off to the CULTURAL wine degustation!!"
* The film is "Tu la conosci Claudia?" .... I highly recommend it
We were then taken outside to be seated and the staff served us ... the weather and evening was perfect, though rather late.... so late in fact, that the buses were few and far between so one of the cooks arranged that her husband would drive me home. I couldn't just stand there and watch them clean up so I was drying dishes at 10.30 and having a great time... another real 'moment'.... needless to say I arrived home late [11.00 pm], but happy!
Anyway, I hope you're well and will email again soon.... I'm just off to the CULTURAL wine degustation!!"
* The film is "Tu la conosci Claudia?" .... I highly recommend it
The Cultural Wine Degustation
We had an excursion to a local cellar/cave/restaurant and sampled various types of wine along with snacks to enhance the flavours and palate cleansers to prepare for the next wave ... really interesting!
I really did have a wonderful time in Siena and met some wonderful people amongst the teachers and the students. It certainly confirmed for me that immersion is the way to go.
ACCOMMODATION
The only issue I'd counsel people on is to be absolutely clear on their accommodation arrangements - due to a misunderstanding about the accommodation rate/type my 'homestay mother' and I got off to a bit of a bad start.
I had paid for bed and breakfast only, so should not have had any other meals with my host family.
That said, on the night I arrived it was rather late and my host mother called me for dinner. At first I declined but eventually accepted, at her insistence. I thought she was 'inviting' me to dinner whereas she thought, at that stage, that I had paid for dinner in my fees. The matter was cleared up the next day with the school as I wanted to be free to eat out wherever I wanted and had organised 4 cooking classes in any event.
I think my host mother thought I hadn't liked her cooking [on the contrary, the dinner was great] or that I was trying to take advantage of her. Needless to say we didn't talk much after that and I tended to get home well after dinner and ready for bed. It was all unfortunate, but avoidable, if you make sure of things at the start.
I would stay with a host family again as I think the opportunity to watch the TV news or talk about the happenings of our respective days is another part pf the immersion process.
ACCOMMODATION
The only issue I'd counsel people on is to be absolutely clear on their accommodation arrangements - due to a misunderstanding about the accommodation rate/type my 'homestay mother' and I got off to a bit of a bad start.
I had paid for bed and breakfast only, so should not have had any other meals with my host family.
That said, on the night I arrived it was rather late and my host mother called me for dinner. At first I declined but eventually accepted, at her insistence. I thought she was 'inviting' me to dinner whereas she thought, at that stage, that I had paid for dinner in my fees. The matter was cleared up the next day with the school as I wanted to be free to eat out wherever I wanted and had organised 4 cooking classes in any event.
I think my host mother thought I hadn't liked her cooking [on the contrary, the dinner was great] or that I was trying to take advantage of her. Needless to say we didn't talk much after that and I tended to get home well after dinner and ready for bed. It was all unfortunate, but avoidable, if you make sure of things at the start.
I would stay with a host family again as I think the opportunity to watch the TV news or talk about the happenings of our respective days is another part pf the immersion process.
Monteriggioni - Cycling Adventures
In a time of a little madness, and forgetting the meaning of 'Monte'* in the name 'Monteriggioni', I decided to have a little cycling excursion one Saturday from Siena to Monteriggioni ... it IS just beautiful countryside and Monteriggioni IS a beautiful small walled HILLTOP village. It was noted as being only 20km each way ... a 40km round trip is quite doable! ... BUT ... there is the matter of the 'monte' ... While it wasn't all uphill on the way there and a downhill return it certainly felt like UP both ways! I must say I was rather exhausted that night and suffered with cramps like never before ... it was obviously years since I'd done much cycling but you never forget how ... do you? It's as easy as falling off a bike!!
The photo is of my view of the world, flat on my back, after the cycling excursion!
* 'Monte' = mountain, though my trip was more like 'montagne' [pl. mountains ... many and big!!]
The photo is of my view of the world, flat on my back, after the cycling excursion!
* 'Monte' = mountain, though my trip was more like 'montagne' [pl. mountains ... many and big!!]
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I rented from:
PEROZZI AUTOMOTOCICLI Via dei Gazzani 16 Siena |
Bicycle rental prices are from €10 for a day to €150 for a month. They were extremely helpful, though they did say Monteriggioni was 'just down the road'!! They may have said some/all of it was uphill, but I must have missed that!! On looking at it now it seems I also missed the 'Automotociclli' in their name! M-m-m-m ...a Vespa!
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All that said, the charming, walled medieval castle of Monteriggioni is a great place to visit. The food atop the 'hill' was good and I stopped on the return leg to have some additional fluids to stave off dehydration though beer followed by vini locali is probably not the way to go!. I was passed a few times by other happy cyclists, shouting "salve" [hello] as they flashed by ... I think it was the equivalent of ringing a bell to pass as I was a bit wobbly at some stages. Coming back at the top of a sharp rise I thought I'd just stop for a breather. I'd almost come to a stop and sort-of leaned the bike to one side to dismount but my leg wouldn't quite cooperate so I did a slow-motion roll down my side and onto my shoulder and just flopped onto the roadside. A car screeched to a halt close by and a very concerned local asked if I was alright ... still stretched out I replied that I was. 'Si, si, si ... just resting'. About ten minutes later I was able to get into a sitting position and, as they say, it was all downhill from there ... well, not really!!!
Monteriggioni represents one of the most important walled castles in the territory. It is a well-preserved and intact structure and dominates the surrounding landscape. The castle was built by the Sienese between 1213 and 1219 for defensive purposes: its strategic location atop a hill overlooking the Cassia Road allowed the castle to control the cities of the Val d’Elsa and Staggia.
The intact fortified wall originally had 14 towers along which the guards used to walk and patrol the walls and 2 gates, one called the Franca or Romea Gate which faces Rome and the other known as the Florentine Gate since it heads toward Florence.
The current structure of the village is essentially the original one, the only changes date back to the 16th century when the towers were lowered and some earth accumulated at the base of the walls and another dating back to 1921 when 3 of the 14 towers were reduced to the level of the walls.
I spent quite a time walking around, climbing the walkway and at one stage found a really isolated part of the wall and stretched up as high as I could to touch an area I felt wouldn't have been touched for hundreds of years .... it was a strange feeling - my link with the distant past! {See the picture 5 below, the bottom middle one]
The 'divine intervention' bit was also attempted [in the chiesa, as per the first photo below] to see if the return journey could be made any easier but I think the many and varied cuss-words I used on the way to Monteriggioni counted against me!!
I would certainly go back to Monteriggioni as I hear they do a fine air-conditioned bus trip to the area, with food and wine just laid on ... and no pedalling!
Monteriggioni represents one of the most important walled castles in the territory. It is a well-preserved and intact structure and dominates the surrounding landscape. The castle was built by the Sienese between 1213 and 1219 for defensive purposes: its strategic location atop a hill overlooking the Cassia Road allowed the castle to control the cities of the Val d’Elsa and Staggia.
The intact fortified wall originally had 14 towers along which the guards used to walk and patrol the walls and 2 gates, one called the Franca or Romea Gate which faces Rome and the other known as the Florentine Gate since it heads toward Florence.
The current structure of the village is essentially the original one, the only changes date back to the 16th century when the towers were lowered and some earth accumulated at the base of the walls and another dating back to 1921 when 3 of the 14 towers were reduced to the level of the walls.
I spent quite a time walking around, climbing the walkway and at one stage found a really isolated part of the wall and stretched up as high as I could to touch an area I felt wouldn't have been touched for hundreds of years .... it was a strange feeling - my link with the distant past! {See the picture 5 below, the bottom middle one]
The 'divine intervention' bit was also attempted [in the chiesa, as per the first photo below] to see if the return journey could be made any easier but I think the many and varied cuss-words I used on the way to Monteriggioni counted against me!!
I would certainly go back to Monteriggioni as I hear they do a fine air-conditioned bus trip to the area, with food and wine just laid on ... and no pedalling!
Wein Vino Wine - wine adventures
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Wein Vino Wine Strada di Pescaia, 67, Siena, +39 0577 600 392 As with so many things, it is those chance discoveries, those unplanned 'stumbled-on' occasions that provide so much interest and entertainment. |
I attempted the long walk from school to my host family in Costalpino and after a while found this small, but very modern, cellar / cave / wine shop called Wein Vino Wine. There was such an array of wines and, after the long walk, I just felt like sitting and sipping. The charming hostess asked what I'd like to buy ... I asked for a suggestion and she then offered for me to sample 'some wine' ... just fantastic!
She spoke really good English and had visited Sydney, Australia ... we spoke a while and she actually shared a glass of my wine with me ... when the time came to pay I, of course, offered the full amount. She declined, saying it wasn't a full bottle. I took the remainder of the wine home to share with my host family .... well, it actually turned out to be a 'donation' -- see the story in the 'Accommodation' section above.
I was topped up, refreshed and happy ... and took the bus the rest of the way home as, even though fortified by the wein, vino, wine I wasn't game enough to take on the local traffic, as a pedestrian, in the narrowing [and harrowing] 'highway'!
The visit to Wein Vino Wine was a great 'moment' and I thoroughly enjoyed it, part of just 'being' ....
She spoke really good English and had visited Sydney, Australia ... we spoke a while and she actually shared a glass of my wine with me ... when the time came to pay I, of course, offered the full amount. She declined, saying it wasn't a full bottle. I took the remainder of the wine home to share with my host family .... well, it actually turned out to be a 'donation' -- see the story in the 'Accommodation' section above.
I was topped up, refreshed and happy ... and took the bus the rest of the way home as, even though fortified by the wein, vino, wine I wasn't game enough to take on the local traffic, as a pedestrian, in the narrowing [and harrowing] 'highway'!
The visit to Wein Vino Wine was a great 'moment' and I thoroughly enjoyed it, part of just 'being' ....