Mamma Cuts Takes Italia

My mom and her college friend Mary came to visit me in Italy last weekend. We started off the weekend in Florence and took a quick trip up to Fiesole to see the ancient Etruscan and Roman ruins, have a wonderful lunch over looking Florence and then hike up a hill to a monastery with an even more gorgeous view of the city and its surrounding hills. For dinner we headed across the river to avoid the "touristy" restaurants in search of some authentic dishes in the piazza outside Santa Spirito. Between mom tripping every 5 minutes on the cobblestone or off a curb (now I know where I get my gracefulness) and Mary having difficulty keeping the olive spread on the bread, we were quite the scene that evening.

The next day we did the full museum/art tour including: the Uffizi, Academia and Boboli Gardens, while I played the role of tour guide in hoping that my Bowdoin art history education would pay off. We then headed to the other side of town to a small trattoria with the two most entertaining waiters we've ever had. 4 hours and several bottles of wine later, we made our way back through the packed streets to our little hotel near the Duomo.

Later that week, Mom and Mary met up with me in Siena so I could show them my home stomping grounds. We did a full Siena day that included: climbing the tower, walking the fortezza, enjoying gelato in the campo and then headed to my favorite restaurant with no menu, run by an elderly man who thinks my name is Francesca. The remainder of the week while I was in class they headed on day trips exploring San Gaminiano (which they couldn't pronounce for the life of them) and riding bikes in Lucca. They also got to meet the entire CET gang for aperitivi and a taste of Sienese dessert at the Tea Room.

Mary took off a few days early, so my mom and I spent the afternoon going on a long walk around the city then to a restaurant that was recommended to us by one of her friends, Tim, where the risotto was brought out in a large carved out wheel of parmesan cheese! Epic is really the only word to describe this dinner. We then headed to Bologna for the weekend where we met up with some of my Bowdoin friends studying there. With not so great weather, and not a whole lot to do in Bolonga, we caught up on some sleep and followed the news in the hopes that Mom would still be able to fly out (damn volcano in Iceland).

As of now she took a train through the alps from Bologna to Munich and is delayed 5 days in Munich just waiting for the ash the clear and the volcano to stop spewing! Cross your fingers that her flight will get out on Thursday!

Mikonos

After the ferry debacle (see previous post, best story) we finally made it to Mikonos where we were met by crystal clear water, low 70s, sandy beaches, and stark white buildings all with blue trim. The lady who ran the hostel, Maria Maria (as she called herself), met us at the port and brought us to our very cozy room in downtown. And by downtown I mean 2 story high buildings, where no cars are allowed, the streets are stone and every stone is outlined in white paint. We were there before tourist season so we basically had the island to ourselves. The beaches that are normally so packed you can't find a place to sit, bars that are so crowded you have to wait 45 minutes to get a drink and restaurants that are only open if you make a reservation a month in advanced - all empty! It was nice, not the crazy stay up all night on the beach spring break we had anticipated, but so relaxing and wonderful. So we spent most the of the days either on the beaches or wandering the little back streets. Highlights:

Best things we did: The second day we were there we rented RTVs and rode around the entire island. Patriz on one and Lauren and I switching off driving the other. It was so much fun slash slightly terrifying seeing as Greeks don't have road rules! Also, we watched the sunset every night from what we claimed as "our spot" on top of a bunch of rocks while we played cards.

Best Story: after leaving paradise and getting ready to return home, we had taken the ferry back to Athens. We were heading out on the metro towards the airport and the hotel that I had booked for the night in the anticipation of our departure early the next morning. It's about 9:30 and we're about 40 minutes outside the city now, so we decide to pull out the hotel reservation and look for directions. However, when we started reading we see things that say go 2 miles on I-85 and turn left of Franklin Blvd.. yes, that is correct, I had booked a hotel in Athens alright, Athens, GEORGIA that is... That will be the last time I book a hotel, on an Italian wesbite, at 2 am the night before, while packing (don't worry mom and dad, the Bowdoin education isn't a complete waste). Everything turned out alright though and we found a hotel very near the airport and got a good night sleep. Overall it was a wonderful spring break, but I must say we were happy as ever to get back to our little cobblestone streets and campo here in Siena!

Athens

For spring break Lauren, Patrizio and I decided to pack our bags and head somewhere warmer - so we booked flights to Greece. We started the break off in Athens. Upon landing and realizing that we knew NO greek, whatsoever, not even: hi, thank you or please, we quietly navigated our way into the heart of the city by metro. A lot happened over break, so as to not bore anyone with details I'll give you the highlights.

Coolest things we saw: The Acropolis - after studying it for so many years, it was AMAZING to see in person. A lot of it was under restoration and it was so windy on top that small children were actually falling over, nevertheless, there was an amazing view! The old Olympic Stadium with modern track surface, the national gardens with gorgeous fountains and trees, the Acropolis Museum (another disneyland equivalent for me the art nerd), and the temple of olympic with a sprawling lawn surrounding it. Lastly, the crazy market and street vendors (most of whom are illegal and would pick up their blankets full of goods and sprint if they saw a cop).

Best thing we ate: The most amazing baklava! the guy laugh when we had visited the store for the 3rd time in the span of 12 hours. Patriz and I almost died when we were trying to eat while climbing to the top of the Acropolis because we were substituting baklava for oxygen, both resulting in us gagging half way up the hill and having to sit down.

Best story: So being the experienced travelers we are by this point, we had planned and timed everything out perfectly to make sure we didn't miss the closing of museums, parks, stores, etc.. After 2 days of being in Athens the next morning we were planning on catching the 7:30 ferry to Mikonos. So we arranged to check out of the hotel early, arrive at the dock an hour a head of time to buy tickets and get seats. Everything is going as planned when we are on the metro and see a clock that reads 7:15. Pausing, we look at our watches which say 6:15. The time had changed the day before (which we knew) so we thought maybe the the metro station had messed up and accidentally set it two hours ahead. We shrug, don't think much of it, then pass the station where the clock also says 7:15. We start looking around and all spot a man's wrist watch - 7:15. Freaking out at this point, still trying to convince ourselves that the three of us are correct, I pull out my iphone and check the "world clock" app - sure enough, Athens - 7:15. We then realized none of us had figured out that we had changed time zones when we left Italy and we had been living the last two days an hour behind. Thankfully, we saw there was a ferry leaving 5 minutes after our arrival to the port. So we had to SPRINT for literally 5 minutes to the other side of this very large port with all our bags, people yelling at us on from the ferry, Patriz and I in the lead and Lauren yelling, "I'm going to thrrooww uuuppp!" bringing up the rear...

Calcio!

As everyone knows, Italy is THE capital of the soccer world. It is embedded in their culture to have Sunday be THE soccer day. All people do is get together, drink, eat and watch multiple soccer games at once. Friends will even bring over their extra TVs or have multiple games streaming live so they can all be viewed at once. You have to be a diehard fan for one team and defend them endlessly in many heated debates that are bound to happen throughout the day. Unfortunately, even though Siena is in "Siere A" which is the top division that includes teams like A.C Milan, FC Inter and Juventus, they are at the bottom. So while people go and support Siena, just because it is their hometown, they will often go to watch the opposing teams who have the best players in the world.

Anyways, our group went to a Siena soccer game the past weekend. Decked out in our black and white striped jerseys and scarves we went to yell random Italian phrases and just clap along with the crowd as they sang their different fight songs - about 10 different ones. Siena was playing Bologna and there was a whole section that was completely red and blue (Bologna's colors) with tons of flags that would yell back and forth to the Siena side. Our side was told to hold up black and white signs that spelled out VINCI (win) so that was pretty fun to witness! The game was great, and surprisingly Siena won! After the game we walked with the masses back to the campo in search for gelato and to get the last of the Fritelle (fried dough balls covered in sugar - aka - little drops of heaven). Now that Carnevale season is over, it was the last day that Fritelle was sold - we are all already going through withdrawals :(

Bowdoin Invades Siena

Sorry everyone it has been way too long since my last blog. My camera is freaking out so pictures will be added shortly but a few weekends ago Bowdoin basically took over Siena. I was visited on the weekend before my midterms (perfect timing of course) by DJ, his brother and dad, Chris, Q and Bobby who were all on their spring break. I had to act as tour guide so I took them all over Siena doing the classic touristy things such as climbing the tower to get the best view of the Tuscan countryside you will ever get, touring the Duomo and seeing the soccer stadium. Funny enough, as we were walking up to the Duomo entrance I see Ryan Brodovsky, who was in my high school class of 28, walking out! Talk about a clashing of my three worlds: Country Day, Bowdoin and Siena - very strange feeling. Later that night I took the Bowdoin crew to aperitivi (open buffet of finger food with a 3 euro glass of wine) then to our favorite night spot, Gallery where they got a feel for an Italian discoteca and Sienese night life. The next day we just relaxed in Siena grabbing paninis and wine and stretching out to do some fantastic people watching on the campo. It was great to have a little taste of home for the weekend!