YA-11: end of the Italian course and San Gimignano!

Today marks my one-month anniversary in Italy and I cannot believe time has gone by so quickly! Feels like it was yesterday when I was dragging my bags through the narrow cobbled streets to reach my airbnb…

I was going to wait for Welcome Week to be over before updating the blog, but since I’ve had some free time today and next week is going to be mega-busy in comparison to the rest of my time here, thought I might as well post now and save you an unnecessarily long post in a week’s time.

I’ve only done a few interesting things in the last week and a half, not much to say. I’ve had to run a couple of errands like getting my Codice Fiscale, which was a fairly easy process. I only had to show up at the office and fill in a form and it was over pretty quick considering bureaucracy here takes forever… Also, I went on a Post Office quest. My parents had sent me a registered parcel and the tracking number stated it had arrived but in reality it was nowhere to be found. My knowledge of Italian post doesn’t really involve great reviews so I decided to enquire. Turns out there’s like five or six different post offices in Siena, each for a different thing, so from the one near my house I was sent to one in Via Mazzini where parcels arrive. And then from there I was told the parcel was in Florence and would arrive earlier the following week. I was, of course, not home when they delivered it, so I was left an invoice in the letter box and had to go to yet another post office to pick it up. Fortunately, the post office was right opposite the Università degli Stranieri and I was surprised by how, even though it took longer than to the UK, the parcel arrived without any problems. Got to trust them a lil’ more next time. I literally felt like a kid on Christmas day though, because I got things I really needed plus a lovely pendrive full of films I’ve been wanting to watch for ages and also the OST of La La Land – guess what’s on repeat on my iPod now?

I’ve also signed up to the gym now, which automatically seems to give me an excuse to eat pizza and gelato without feeling guilty. I’ve gone for Dentro le Mura which is conveniently just down my street. Megan and I have signed up for a month test combination of classes and access to the gym. So far I’ve tried Power Pump last Monday, after which I was hurting so bad with sore muscles for the following three days, and Crosstraining on Friday which I really liked. I must say, I have no strength on my upper body and they made us do squats with 16kg – insanely hard -, but the group is made of four girls including us so the exercises are tailored to our needs. Really enjoyed it. Next week I’ll be doing both again and I’ll try to go run too. However in the long run I think I’m only going to sign up to the group sessions because I can run in the Fortezza and I’m not really one for going to the gym on my own…We’ll see, still have three weeks to decide.

We’ve also been meeting to enjoy the sun and fill in our free time. Chilling in the Piazza has become one of my favourite past times and we also figured how to reach the Fortezza Medicea, which is close to my house and a great running and panoramic spot. I’ve also now explored nearly all of Siena. We were missing Porta San Marco which I went to with Megan on a little tour of the city. The views of the countryside from outside the Porta are amazing! That day I also tried ricciarelli which are some Tuscan sweets from the area made with almonds and flour – tasted like marzipan – and we discovered a hidden art gallery near Megan’s new place. Not bad for a simple stroll around the city.

Another great discovery has been apericena at Morbidi, which is a fancy buffet in Banchi di Sopra. The deal is great – you pay for your drink and have as much food as you like so Megs, Jess and I had mojitos and wine and tried pretty much everything on offer. I will definitely be going back. That same night Megan and I decided to go out but by the time we were done in Morbidi it was still too early so we watched ‘Godzilla’ completely in Italian on TV while we waited for an acceptable time to hit Bellavista. The night was alright; a couple creeps and not as full as the previous week, but we had a nice time dancing and talking to people.

This week was also the last week of Italian course. I had a test on Thursday for which I did no revision because I had no pressure to do so - I didn’t need the credits and the test was optional, so no real need to make an effort. I had given up on the whole course by that point to be honest. The quality of the course left a lot of room for improvement and I definitely made my opinion clear on the feedback form. Anyway, we had the written test on Thursday morning – a 250 word (min) pro and against essay on social nextworks, 2 and a half hours to write it plus access to a dictionary. I don’t know if it’s because we’re used to such high demands in Bath or what, but I cannot believe that was the test for C1 level… I also managed to do my oral test the same day because I couldn’t (and wasn’t) going to come on Friday just to do that. Since I finished the written part so early the teacher agreed to do the other half before the lesson of the day (yep, we actually had a lesson after the test…). Overall, only happy because it did actually ease me back into Italian but I’m pretty disappointed with the overall quality of that course. So glad it’s now over.

That evening I watched Moana while I waited for my new flatmate Dan to arrive. He had a nightmare of a trip but eventually made it. On Friday we had our landlady over to finish with the paperwork and bring a couple of things for the flat, and then after lunch Megan came over and we had a small cinema session watching ‘Allied’ which was not what I’d expected. Not a fantastic film tbh. After crossfit I got ready and then from ten on we had pres at our house. Brit gathering since most students from Bath had arrived and there were also a couple from Bristol and a friend from Manchester on a visit. The weather that whole day had been absolutely horrible and it was pouring down with rain outside but we still had a nice evening – Southwest students unite. We did make it to Bellavista, soaked nevertheless. This time it was an alright night because we were all together, but the club was so, so empty all the weirdos stood out – and there were a lot.

Finally on Saturday Megan and I decided to go on a day trip to San Gimignano, which is not too far away. Another walled medieval Tuscan city, this particular one famous for its numerous towers. We took a bus at around twelve which went through various different towns on our way to San Gimignano. The weather was sunny and lovely, not like the day before, so it was bearable. We didn’t have any set plans so we wandered around the town. It is so tiny it didn’t take us long. We had lunch at Antica Macelleria Trattoria just off the main street: lasagne, wild boar tagliatelle, grilled veggies and roasted potatos. The food was really good. We then decided to get a ticket for the museums (mainly to go up Torre Grossa) and climbed the numerous steps up the tower. The views from the top were definitely worth it; you could see the entire city and the rest of the towers, all the way to neighbouring towns and even the Apennines in the horizon. Included in the ticket were also the Pinacoteca, the rooms inside the Palazzo Comunale, the Museum of Modern Art, the Archaeological Museum about past civilizations in San Gimignano like the Etruscans and Romans, and the ancient Spezieria di Santa Fina which used to be an old pharmacy in the 17^th , 18^th and 19^th centuries. Oh, and before leaving, we obviously had to try some gelato in Gelateria Dondoli in Piazza della Cisterna which claims to have the best ice-cream in the world. It was really good I must say – perhaps not the best but my choice of Nocciolina and Tiramisù did not disappoint. We then decided to return to Siena, and that was an Odyssey in itself. Apparently, there is a direct bus to get to San Gimignano, but no bus to get back. We had to take a bus to Poggibonsi and then wait for an hour for the bus to Siena. We went to Coop and wandered around for a bit, but there was not much to see in that place. And the bus was late too. Quite annoying. We eventually got back, after a solid three hours of travel back from that place. I’d recommend visiting San Gimignano either as part of an organized tour to smaller cities in Tuscany, or maybe if you have a car or another private means of transport. Going there by public transport was do-able but not ideal.

And today I slept in, did some house chores and chilled in the Piazza with some other students. The weather has been lovely and there was music in the Piazza since there was a marathon going on. Not bad at all for a Sunday.

Tomorrow is the start of Welcome Week and I’m pretty pumped. I have a few inductions to go to and a few events lined up during which I hope to meet new people. Might not be the same as Freshers’, but I’m looking forward to it anyway! I’ll let you know how I get on.

A presto!

Zoe

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