YA-17: Dad comes to visit – Siena, Buonconvento, Montalcino and Florence!

Ciao! Here’s what I’ve been up to over the past few days…

As I mentioned in my last post, I had four quite uninteresting days in between coming back from Bologna and Dad arriving in Siena, in which I tried to be as productive as possible to get work out of the way. I was back on to eating healthy food and veggies (very much needed after indulging in Bologna) and had to run errands and study for upcoming exams. I went back to the gym, which completely destroyed me, ngl – proper working out after a five day unhealthy break is hard! I also went to Maudit with Jess, Emilia, Emi, Megan, and Ivo and his girlfriend. It was a fun night as per, but it was so empty because most students were still home for Easter… On Tuesday afternoon it was freezing but I met with Aksel, a French Erasmus student, to go for coffee and speak a bit of French and Spanish – downside was it took me forever to fall asleep that night because of the caffeine!

On Thursday I was back in my French lecture and then ran some errands to have everything ready because that night we were having Spanish night at mine. I cooked paella – starting to become a specialty – and Vero, Emilia, Jess and Megan came over with sangria and strawberries. It was a lovely get together before Jess and Megan went back home for the break. We have to organize dinners more often!

On Friday I again had a French lecture and then Emilia, Dan, Jess and I decided to try that Asian all-you-can-eat place in Via Pantaneto. We ordered a tonne of sushi and it was fairly good for 13 euros! We filled up our bellies with something other than pizza and pasta!

On Saturday I cleaned the house, again run some errands and finished some more work while I waited for Dad to arrive. I was planning on going to the gym but I was knackered from crossfit the night before so I stayed in instead and got more things for class done. Unfortunately Dad’s flight was diverted to Bologna so it took him a lot longer to arrive in Siena. Vueling and Italian transport is not great, so it was definitely unlucky that he ended up having to travel all day… I ended up picking him from Gramsci at around half nine. He was exhausted but it was lovely to finally see him again. I showed him home and he unpacked and settled in (I also now have my Summer clothes yay!).

On Sunday we woke up at around 10 and got ready to go on a tour of Siena. I showed him around most places: San Domenico (where we got to see the crypt which I think might be the Contrada del Drago church), Fonte Branda, the Duomo where a Contrada procession came out of, San Marco and the views from there, Mattioli, Orto Tolomei,… The weather was nice because the sun came out but wasn’t too strong. We had lunch at Dino’s – pappardelle al ragù di cinghiale, crostini, vino bianco della casa and tiramisú. The waiter happened to be one of the cinema students! The food was alright, but not the best. Then we went to Museo Contrada Capitana dell’Onda which was open and had a private tour – the lady didn’t speak any English or Spanish, but Dad got around with the Italian. As always, definitely worth it if you are around Siena on a Sunday! We continued the tour to Piazza del Mercato, Piazza del Campo, Via Pantaneto and down to San Niccolò before coming back home – we were so tired! We tried ricciarelli from Sclavi after dinner and organized the next few days before going to bed.

On Monday we got up early planning to head down to the station and rent a car. Turned out two of the three companies were closed and Hertz was too expensive, so rather than renting a car we took the bus to explore the Tuscan countryside. We went to Buonconvento, a tiny town south of Siena. It has a medieval fort and a couple of towers, as well as a tonne of beautiful flowers in gardens and balconies and flags showing off their ‘boghi più belli d’Italia’ status. We had lunch in a restaurant just outside the wall: risotto with carciofi, lasagne and an assortment of different hams. The food was very good but I didn’t like the flavour of my risotto, which was unfortunate.

We then took the bus to Montalcino, a bigger medieval town on top of a hill, famous for its wines Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino. There are a few different churches –none out of the ordinary-, a fort and a lovely view of the crete senese or Sienese hills. The sun had come out so we spent an hour or so exploring the town (not very big so it didn’t take long) and then sat down under the sun and had a chat and something to eat while we waited for the bus back to Siena. It was a lovely day. Exploring the countryside is a lot easier when you have a car, but totally do-able if you don’t!

On Tuesday we decided to sleep in and stay in Siena to gain strength for Florence the following day. It was Giornata della Liberazione, which is a public holiday in Italy. I slept in, showered and got some work done while Dad went out to explore Siena on his own. It was a pretty chill day as all I really did was work for a bit, do some reading (I finally finished Anna by Niccolò Ammaniti!) and then Dad and I decided to go out on a walk to La Fortezza before coming back home.

On Wednesday we woke up early to catch the 9am bus to Florence, which took slightly longer than usual because of the traffic. It was also a gloomy day which was not the best for a Tuscan holiday, but we got away with only a few raindrops so that was fortunate. Once we arrived in Florence we decided to make our way down to the Arno and took a couple of pictures by Ponte Vecchio. We then headed to the Klimt Experience exhibition at Santo Stefano al Ponte, which was an interesting one. They had virtual reality masks and projections and music over the church chapel’s walls. It was interesting, I really like Klimt and hope to one day see his original paintings, but for now this was pretty cool.

After Klimt we decided to grab some lunch and headed towards the other side of Ponte Vecchio with the intention of finding a less touristy place… Without realizing Palazzo Pitti is right in that direction so it was full of tourists. Instead, we traced back over our steps and went towards the back of the Uffizi and got some schiacchiata fiorentina with different fillings from a corner shop. The man was really nice and it made for a quick lunch before heading to the Uffizi Gallery. We’d booked the tickets in advance so all we had to do was pick them up and head inside but it was poorly organized and it still took a while to get in. The Uffizi itself was a great experience, particularly seeing Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Allegory of Spring in real life. For some reason I thought they’d have that glaze that medieval paintings have, but the colours are actually quite pastel. I really enjoyed it. I also got to see a couple other great works by Giotto, a replica of the Laoconte that I had to study for high school and Leonardo Da Vinci’s restored Adoration of the Magi. Of course, the Tribuna and the main corridors were also amazing. Unfortunately, a couple of the rooms were closed which was a pity but I got to see most of the main works.

After the Uffizi we decided to try to get into the Accademia, but when we got there the queue was massive so we walked past and onto San Marco to see Fra Angelico’s frescoes – turns out the museum is only open during the morning so it was closed when we got there! Instead, we stopped at a café for coffee and some pastries as a pick-me-up after so much walking. Then we went back to the Duomo area and had a look around the shopping streets and found Hannibal Lecter’s boar statue in the market. Then we decided it was time to go back home so we took the bus back at six. Once back in Siena we gave Pomodorino a shot and were lucky enough that they had a table for us – we had some pizza and wine for dinner and, as per usual, they were so tasty!

On Thursday I had a lecture so we stayed in Siena. I spent the morning doing some work while Dad went out for a walk and then I had lunch and head out for the cinema lesson and to run some errands. After my class it was rainy and gloomy but I met Dad at the Piazza and we went to the Museo di Storia Naturale dell’Accademia dei Fisiocritici which was open that afternoon for an Assembly and museum visits. It was really cool – two floors full of different specimens of everything: minerals, fossils, bugs, human parts, animals, birds… It was amazing, displayed 1800s style in large vitrines with tags and original signs. We also went to the cellar where there is a planetarium and walked inside a drained well – it was so bizarre! Definitely worth popping in if you find it open, it is free entry and the exhibition is worth it!

After that we walked under the rain to get back home and put the heating to dry our clothes and then just relaxed and packed our bags for the weekend. Tomorrow we’re going to Pisa and we are planning on visiting Cinque Terre and Lucca, so I’m looking forward to that! More adventures to come soon!

Alla prossima!

Zoe

YA-16: Easter weekend in Bologna and Parma!

As a lot of you may know, I went to Bologna last weekend with Megan, to make the most of the Easter holidays. Vero was going to join us but she was sick so sadly she decided to stay in Siena to recover rather than go on the trip, fortunately she’s now feeling better. Here’s what we got up to…

On Friday morning I got up earlier than I actually needed to before the bus, and ended up nearly finishing 13 Reasons Why (last entry evidenced my addiction problem). However, Megan arrived to put her things in the suitcase and leave just as I was 30 minutes short of finishing the season. Worst timing ever, but my bad to decide to try and fit in 2 hours I didn’t actually have… We made our way to the station and, to our surprise, the bus was on time. Quite busy, but on time. And, behold, the wi-fi worked this time and I managed to finish the season while on the bus! Hurray for FlixBus working wi-fi! The trip was fine – it takes 2 hours to get to Bologna and I spent most of them sleeping or watching 13RW. Once we got to Bologna it was really hot in comparison to Siena, which was great! We didn’t have any problems getting the bus to the Airbnb and reaching the apartment itself: a bohemian student flat near Giardini Margherita and 15’ walk off the city centre. The flat was amazing and our hosts, Federica and Jacopo, were very nice. Our room was massive and so was the apartment and I absolutely fell in love with the decoration: full of posters, artsy prints, sketches on the walls, a tonne of books and music on vinyl playing in the background. Honestly, I wish I actually lived there! If you’re looking for a place to stay in Bologna give me a shout and I’ll give you the details of the place!

Once settled Megan and I had something to eat and then headed out to explore. It was lovely and sunny and we didn’t really have an itinerary so we just went out to have a wander around the city. We ended up visiting most of the main sights: we stumbled by chance onto Basilica di Santo Stefano which is known as the sette chiese because when you walk in you realize it is actually a cluster of different churches. It was amazing and I’m glad we actually walked in! We then kept on walking and went past leaning Torre Garisenda and Torre Asinelli with its everlasting queue and then turned onto the Old Jewish Quarter. As is to be expected, the cool cafés and restaurants were mostly in this part of the town and, although it was pretty quiet, I quite liked it. Then we went to a couple shops as Via dell’Indipendenza is flanked by a wide assortment of clothe shops unlike Siena (travelling is an excuse to go shopping!) and towards Piazza Maggiore which was full of people and we stopped to see a hip-hop group of dancers performing. The sun was setting and the buildings looked even more orange than usual which made them look so pretty! We kept wandering and went past a couple more interesting places like the Chiesa dei Celestini which is worth walking into if it’s open – the frescoes and decorations were breathtaking! -, the Archiginnasio which was closed by the time we walked past, and the Quadrilatero market – plagued with people and amazing food! 

We were quite hungry after so much walking so decided to go to Osteria dell’Orsa and see if we could get a table to try the famous tagliatelle al ragù. The restaurant, which has been recommended to us by a few people, was quite busy but we managed to get a table and order some wine, ragù and tiramisu. It was all fairly good but not the best place I’ve been to if I’m honest. If you’re looking for a cheap place that has the local specialties, definitely give it a try but don’t expect a culinary heaven experience!

After dinner we decided to go back to the Airbnb and get changed before heading back to the centre and meeting Dennis, a friend of Megan who was passing by Bologna at the same time. We weren’t really sure where the party was at but we were suggested Via Belvedere so there we went. By Mercato delle Erbe we managed to get a table and enjoy a couple of aperospritz while chatting. Apparently, Bologna is a great place for partying but we just happened to choose the worst time to go – Easter weekend when all the students have gone back home! It was fine though, after a couple of drinks we decided to change and go to Via Zamboni to search for a bar with music since Megan wanted to dance. Via Zamboni had a more student feel to it, but no places to dance. We ended up in an English pub that was playing some Spanish music but Megan was the only one dancing so we ended up leaving quite soon. At around 2 we were on our way back home – a different evening in a different city.

On Saturday we woke up early since we were going to catch a train to Parma to meet with Sara, my Skype tandem partner from last year. We had some trouble with the hob: apparently you had to use a normal lighter to light the flame as the spark did not work, however to do this you had to put your hand incredibly close to the flame so we developed a different technique requiring the two of us – lighting up a napkin while the other one started the gas and quickly putting the paper out after lighting the hob ring. Not the best technique but a little safer? Due to this mishap we missed the first bus to the station but made it in time to catch the train we wanted to get despite the station being super busy. The trip to Parma is about an hour long and went just fine – Sara was waiting for us at the platform which was great! It was fantastic to finally get to meet her, she’s so nice! She put the time aside to show us around Parma even though she was back home for the holidays – grazie mille! The day started quite chilly and overcast but eventually the sun came out. Sara showed us around the main locations in Parma: we walked along the Torrente up until the Palazzo della Pilotta (an evolution of the Spanish word ‘pelota’ in reference to Spanish soldiers playing there), the Duomo with it’s amazing frescoes inside, the Battisterio, the University, Via Cavour and Piazza Garibaldi with all their shops… We stopped for an early lunch at a café called Malva and I had to order some prosciutto crudo of course! I went for a smoothie and a cheese and crudo focaccia, it was so yummy! We then did some shopping and Sara had to leave us around 1 because she had to get back home to meet her family. It was so lovely seeing her, thanks again! Megan and I roamed the shops for a bit more and bought a couple of pieces before getting some dolci: the typical Italian colomba and another shortbread pastry filled with what tasted like mince pie. They were both super yummy. Parma is a more industrial-looking city; it has a lot of shops unlike Siena, but I’m happy with my Erasmus choice because Siena looks a lot more like my idea of an Italian city. It was great to discover Parma nonetheless – wish I had a bike too, because it’s so flat you can cycle everywhere! Then we made our way towards the station to get back to Bologna.

Once back in Bologna we were knackered after a late night and early rise so I took a nap and shower before going back out in search of dinner. We decided we wanted to get some Indian food and good old Google suggested a place near Via Belvedere called Ristorante India. The place was massive and the food was great. Megan went for dhal, some basmati rice and melanzane  while I opted for the chicken biryani with some mango lassu. I’m proud to say I made it through – I’m not one for spices as Vidushi can tell, but I ate the whole thing and survived! It was really good even though my mouth was on fire afterwards. I then decided to treat myself to a McFlurry on our way home (I’m so mainstream), but they had a baci fondente one which has probably now become my favourite flavour – it was so rich!

On Easter Sunday Megan was so nice surprising me with some Easter eggs! We don’t really do eggs in Spain so I always forget they are a thing in England – thanks Megs xx We woke up fairly late and eventually gave up on our initial plan of hiking to San Luca because it was too far away and we had to take a couple of different buses just to get close to it. Instead, we decided to do the sette segreti di Bologna that Giacomo had told us about on Thursday night. We were on our way into town when, surprise-surprise, we bumped into Sebastian! The German Erasmus student who showed us around Pisa! I swear I don’t know how we do it, but we always end up randomly bumping into people we know when we are away… Italy can’t be that small, right? He was on a trip with some friends – such a coincidence that we happened to walk through the same street at the same time! The seven secrets didn’t take too long because we had already done a couple of them. The list varies from page to page, but here’s a list:

·         Laughing satire head in Piazza di Santo Stefano

·         Sette Chiese (Basilica di Santo Stefano)

·         Statua di Nettuno’s erection (unfortunately for us, it was under restoration)

·         Glass on top of Torre Asinelli (we didn’t go up, but apparently the broken glass is not there anymore…)

·         ‘Canabis Protectio’ sign on the ceiling of the archway between Via dell’Indipendenza and Via Rizzoli

·         Voltone del Podestà’s “wireless telephone”

·         La freccia (arrow) on the ceiling of Corte Isolani

·         The finestrella in Via Piella 16, which looks like little Venice

If you want to learn why these places are quirky, make sure to look them up on Google. It takes about half an hour to visit them all as they are pretty close to each other and we actually had gone past them before – just didn’t know what we had to pay attention to! My favourites are the finestrella and the seven churches.

We then did some more shopping and had lunch at Regina Margherita, a Neapolitan pizza place. Mine had mozzarella, basilica, pomodoro and DOP olive oil and it was amazing! Definitely a place to recommend if you’re looking for a place to eat in Bologna. It’s a bit off the beaten path which means more local ;)

After a filling lunch, we went past the airbnb to drop the cameras and get some water before hitting Giardini Margherita because the weather was so lovely it was calling for an afternoon in the park. We spent a good three hours sunbathing, reading and napping. It was great! The park was also really busy with a lot of families out on a walk after Easter lunch.

After having a shower we decided to go out for dinner to a tortellini place we’d seen in Via Marsala to try out the tortellini in brodo. It was a poor choice of restaurant sadly – the brodo  was really salty and the service was insanely slow. Do not recommend. We then went back home and chilled before bed – random hail included, it seemed like the ceiling was going to collapse over our heads!

Finally Monday, Pasquetta, was our last day in Bologna. It was a sunny and calm day as most shops were closed. We got ready and left all our stuff more or less packed and ready to go before heading out the door into the centre. We decided to take a different route into the centre which took us past Galleria Cavour where all the high-end shops are. And then out near the market and towards the Archiginnasio. The University of Bologna is the oldest university currently still active and it was amazing to visit the main old building and the famous Teatro Anatomico where they used to teach Science lectures and the Sala dello Stabat Mater that now houses a large collection of old academic books. The whole building was beautiful, with the walls decorated with coats of arms and names of the former graduates of the University. It was definitely one of the prettiest and richest buildings in Bologna, definitely worth a visit if you’re around!

After visiting the Archiginnasio we didn’t have much else to do so we wandered around the smaller streets and tried to stay in the sun because the breeze was actually quite chilly. We ended up at Naama Dolci, a Middle Eastern pastry shop near Piazza Maggiore. We’d walked past it on Friday and an Italian passer-by had said it was really good, so we went inside and got ourselves some treats. I went for a honey and nut pastry and another one filled with dates. I can’t remember the names, but they were sublime! We enjoyed them in the sun of Piazza Maggiore, listening to a nearby busking brass band and watching the people walk past. We then got a little hungrier so headed to the market to get some food – I settled for a crudo and mozzarella farcita and a spinach and cheese calzone while Megan got a melanzane pastry and a mortadella sandwhich. All really good and pretty cheap. We ate under the sun again and then decided to go to a couple other shops before heading back to the airbnb and retrieving our stuff. The trip back was fine, we got the bus and the FlixBus was on time again which was great.

All in all, it was a great weekend away. Bologna is a gorgeous city with great food. It was a nice combination of new and old buildings and I wish it had been an option for the Erasmus exchange, just like Pisa. I’ve really liked both cities. Bologna, with its nice Spring weather, alleged student atmosphere (we just happened to go on holiday period when students were out of town), culinary and cultural landscapes, is definitely a place to stop by if you get the chance!

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This week I’m staying in Siena getting work done before Dad comes to visit, so a few more boring days before travelling starts again – keep your eyes peeled!

Ci sentiamo!

Zoe

YA-15: contrada parties, Piazza del Campus and other events in Siena!

Turns out Erasmus students also have to work, which means these past two weeks I’ve spent in good old Siena, no fancy weekend trips (although that ends this week – keep your eyes peeled for my next post about Bologna and Parma next weekend!). I have spent quite some time doing revision and getting work out of the way, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t done anything interesting (it’s Erasmus after all…). Here’s what I’ve been up to.

The first week of April Siena held a chocolate festival: CioccoSi 2017. This meant Piazza del Campo was extraordinarily busy since they set up some stalls (a little bit like Bath Christmas Market), full of chocolate and other sweet goodies. There were different chocolate-related events throughout the week, but I only visited when going past the Piazza after lectures. Prices were insanely high, but the stalls did look cute and I did treat myself to a freshly-made waffle with dark chocolate and panna… I went on the last day again in hopes of price reductions but I think it was way too early when I went so prices were the same… It coincided with International Autism Day (2^nd April) so I did catch an event held by Piccolo Principe, the Autism Association in Siena, with dancers and a communal release of blue balloons to raise awareness about autism. It was a lovely event despite the rain!

I also did some tandem-exchanges. On the 28^th I met with Lorenza and Giorgia to go for apericena at bar Impero. The food was pretty good. I had a virgin mojito and a couple helpings of food… They were both quite nice and we chatted a bit, mostly in Italian, to get to know each other. I’ve seen Lorenza again a couple of times, either out at Al Cambio or an afternoon at the Fortezza when I joined her and her friends to sunbathe for a bit. I’ve also met again with Grazia. Last Sunday I met with her at the Piazza and we caught up and went for gelato – the weather has been amazing! We also explored a bit of Siena while the sun was setting which was lovely. She’s a great tandem partner.

Tuesday nights have become a rather eventful night in Siena after discovering the karaoke and Maudit. I’ve been to both since. On the 18th Megan and I went to La Piazzetta for the karaoke night which was quite fun. Definitely less busy than the previous time and Francesco and Federico were adamant that Megan and I sung. It had a slow take-off but once the Portuguese and Brazilians arrived it was a massive lusophone party. That night we also met Gaetano and Tarek, an Italian student and his former-Erasmus Egyptian friend who was visiting. We happened to see them around again which was surprising because Siena is small, but not that small! The following Tuesday it was Maudit night so Megan and I headed there early to grab a table and bumped into Duncan and his French flatmate. Vero joined us a little later too. It was a fun night, Megs got a tonne of messages and the night was rounded up with a very strange introduction to a drunk class mate from Lingua Francese… It was a fun night. I went back this week again, this time with Jess, Emilia, Nat, Fiona and Ivo (shout-out to Ivo who reads the blog!). We sat near the entrance since there weren’t many big tables free and we had a lot of fun sending messages to random strangers. Biglietti night at Maudit always takes a bit to set off but once it does it’s a lot of fun – brings your inner child out.

I have also been doing a lot of exercise and healthy eating, for which I’m pretty proud. I still find it funny how I came to Italy thinking I’d put on a couple of pounds and so far I’m doing even better than when I’ve been in England… I’ve settled for Power Pump and Crosstraining with random visits to the gym. Hopefully I’ll get round to learning how to use the machines properly and get actual use out of them!

On the 31^st instead of having a film screening for cinema class we had to attend an event, ‘Omaggio a Marco Grande’ who was a film critic who taught lectures at the University and recently passed away. The three speakers were talking about Grande’s work on Ferreri’s films and there was one of them being projected in the background – I didn’t know anything about either of them but the film (a sixties/seventies completely surrealist piece) caught my eye and now I kind of want to watch it… Other than that, it was good for my Italian but not particularly relevant to the course.

That same night the plan was to have a girls’ night out in La Cantina with Vero, Megan and Jess, but again, stuff came up and it ended up being just Megs and I (oh, what a surprise! haha). While we were debating over what to do, there was a weird night-time procession with a cross and candles going up my road which was really random… Anyway, making use of secret sources, we found out there was a contrada party at Chiocciola. Now, contrada parties are great. Megan and I have definitely started to get a bearing of what goes down as you’ll soon know. Technically, it’s a party for contradaioli but once the word of mouth spreads everybody ends up at the party and it’s free entry which is great. It’s a hit and miss though, because there are usually quite a lot of clearly under-age teens and the DJ can be really good or really bad, but you have to try them out. Chiocciola was great – the music was fantastic because they played Spanish music but also Italian hits and British and American goldies, great mix. The crowd was alright and we randomly ended up bumping into Gaetano and Tarek who we’d met at the tandem and we ended up dancing all night with them two, their Spanish also-former-Erasmus-friend Enrique and a bunch of other people. It was such a fun night, I really enjoyed it. The next contrada party was the following night – this time Istrice which was kind of a let-down. The place was amazing and surprisingly big as you go down the corridor to a massive room. However, the music wasn’t great and the crowd was made of bambini basically… The party ended at 1 so we then – again with Gaetano, Tarek and Enrique – went to Al Cambio. Reggeatón duro and creeps are not my thing so we ended up going home pretty early. Hit and miss like I say. The following Saturday I met at around 7:30 with Nat, Jess and Emilia to check out the event ‘Swinging on Porrione’ which was live music, dancing, and stalls selling art, clothes and food in Porrione. It was quite busy and it reminded me of the events back home which was really nostalgic. They got some food and we walked around and had a chat. At around nine I went back home for dinner and then headed out to go to Megan’s before going to l’Aquila. We’d heard there was a beer party in the contrada (trying contradas yet again), but when we got there it didn’t look too lively so we headed to l’Onda instead where there was an actual party. We danced until around one before swapping to Al Cambio, which for once was emptier and with better music than the previous week. We had a slice of pizza from Lievito Madre before heading home quite late. Great night out. I can’t wait for outdoor contrada parties, I’m becoming a fan.

In these past few weeks I’ve also tried Italian cinema. I went to watch Beauty and the Beast with Megan and Jess one weekend afternoon. The cinema is near my house and, although the room is quite small, they have a decent film choice. Bad use of space though because the corridors are terribly empty and resemble an old hospital… I absolutely loved the film though, and if you haven’t watched it yet, you definitely should! They are both true to the original cartoon and different for the better, fixing plot holes and adding new songs. I loved the new version and have been listening to the soundtrack a lot lately… The weirdest thing was having everything dubbed – songs included – which meant I didn’t actually realize who the cast were until they turned back to human! Easy to follow though, which was good. Cinema trips in France and Italy? Check.

Megan and I also visited contradas by day. On the 2^nd we attempted to make the most of the free museum entry on the first Sunday of the month, only to find out we missed the Pinacoteca because it is open only until one (will be doing that next month). So we ended up at Contrada Capitana dell’Onda whose museum happened to be open. It was really interesting because there was a guide who showed us around and explained all the history of the place and contrada. The exhibition was amazing but it was just great to hear the pride in the contradaioli’s voices. We learned a couple interesting facts and had a look around the treasures they house like the original plaster statues by sculptor Giovanni Duprè or the Palio flags from Onda’s winning races. If you happen to run into an open contrada museum, definitely pop-in; they are free and very unique!

A couple extra random events I’ve attended/things I’ve done. We finally got round to having a Lalaland film-night, popcorn included which was a good alternative to going out. I’ve had to work and study quite a bit these past weeks so having an earlier night is great… Also sunbathing and revising on the Piazza with the Brits which serves a double purpose: studying while developing my non-existent tan (I definitely look the least Spanish I am able to, shielding away because it wasn’t until now I managed to get some sunscreen…). Another lovely thing was videocalling Moni who I hadn’t spoken to in ages! It was great to catch up with her and Fécamp. I miss the school and the people I met there. I’m sure now that spring is here the beach will be so much nicer! Can’t wait to meet up with her in Glasgow! I also went with Vero to Un Tubo for the first time which is a bar just off Via del Porrione, quite fancy and different. There was a poetry night on the 5^th with contemporary Italian poets reading out their work. It was so full we didn’t actually manage to get a table so we ended up sitting outside and chatting for like 3 hours. Lovely night, but not much Italian practice!

On Thursday the 6^th I sucked it up and went to La Piazzetta because there was an apericena to recruit writers for the student newspaper in Siena. I thought it would be a good opportunity to meet Italians and practice some writing, so I forced myself to go – yep, I still have to do this sometimes, getting out of my comfort zone is not easy. Glad I went because it was a great evening! When I arrived it was quite late so I had missed the presentation but a girl called Giuglia filled me in on the information and started to introduce me to everybody! I cannot remember half the names, but it was great. They are pretty excited to have an Erasmus student collaborating and I’m pretty excited to start too. There’ll be a meeting after Easter and I already have a couple post ideas lined up. Here is the page if you want to check the journal – it’s quite new (est. last December) and only electronic but they are getting there! https://piazzadelcampus.it/  I stayed for a couple of drinks talking to people and walked with them to Cacio e Pere but came back home early because I had a 9am the next day. Such a great experience; cannot wait to start!

Last few points worth mentioning. The French test and presentation went just fine and we only have a couple extra classes before the module finishes, which is great because the other two modules are turning out to be quite time-consuming. I also decided to start 13 Reasons Why two days ago and I’m already over half way along the series and restraining myself from binging. Send help. It’s not even that good. And, finally, I got elected SocialSec for the Fencing Club next year which is exciting but I don’t really know what I’ve got myself into…We’ll have to wait and see.

I’m off to Bologna with Vero and Megan this weekend and will be going to Parma too to meet Sara. I’ll try my best to have a post about the trip up as soon as possible once I’m back, but bear with because I genuinely have a lot of stuff to catch up on!

A presto!

Zoe

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