Cooking Class!

Last night we all got the opportunity to take a cooking class.  I have been looking forward to this the most, study abroad wise. Anyways, it was a big success and a lot of fun.  We made everything from scratch. I got to make the Tiramisu with Missy!

 (It almost spilled out because I was taking a picture while slanting it... almost a big fail!)

 Our chef: Eliza

 The menu-
Antipasti: Sformato di Zucchine (kind of like a Zucchini pie) and Pizza bread
Primo: Fettuccine con Pomodoro su Salsa di Rucola (fettuccine with tomatoe sauce and a side of pesto-like sauce)
Secondo: Scaloppine alla Pizzaiola (veal with tomato sauce and mozzarella)
Desert: Tiramisu :) :)

Cinqueterre

Cinqueterre is a group of five coastal towns about four hours away from Siena, by train.  Cinqueterre is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.  I visited all five towns while staying at the hostel of this fine woman "Mama Rosa" :




I went hiking on the mountains both days and laid out on the beach the second day.  The hikes were extremely difficult, but it was good to push my body as I have barely been doing any extreme physical activity here (besides walking uphill and the stairs of the Duomos we have visited).  I had a really relaxing time, complete with good food and company. Here are some pictures of my time:

Venice, Verona, and Milan

For starters this was quite a beautiful whirlwind. We had Friday off of school, so we took the opportunity to squeeze three cities in our three day weekend. It was A LOT of travelling. 

Friday morning we all boarded a bus for Venice. Once we got there we had to take a ferry to the downtown area.  Venice is beautiful. The public transportation consists of boats that take people to each miniature port.  It is extremely fascinating and beautiful. I am still confused as to why or how they built a city on the water, but it was definitely an incredible place to visit.  We settled into our hotel in Lido, which is famous for their beaches, and dropped our things off there. When we reached Piazza San Marco my jaw dropped at its beauty. I spent the rest of the day touring around by myself. Here are the pictures:

Saturday afternoon we boarded a train for Verona.  In my opinion, there was not much to do in Verona besides shop (which for a student with a budget is not that appealing) and to visit Juliet's House. I wrote her a letter and stood on the balcony and said, "Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou Romeo!"  We spent some time sitting a beautiful piazza nearby.

Saturday night we took a train to Milan and arrived quite late.  We settled into our hotel there and took it easy that night. The next day held a lot of walking around and heat, so I am glad we did not go out and do anything too strenuous. Sunday morning I went off on my own again and toured around Milan.  There are a lot of places to shop, as it is the fashion capitol of the world.  However, I did not spend any time doing that.  I went to beautiful villa with a park in its backyard, I visited the Duomo and climbed the steps to view the Milan landscape, and I visited a MODERN art museum.  The modern art was a much needed change from all the classic and renaissance art, here in Italy. I met up with part of the group and we all headed back to Siena by bus.

I picked up a minor cold somewhere during all the travelling, but it is clearing up now. So I hope to be 100% by the weekend.

Regular Days in Siena

As a group we visited the main church in Siena.  It is extremely beautiful. And, after climbing some stairs we could see a view of Tuscany that is one of a kind.

This is at dinner with one of my teachers: 

San Gimignano

Last Thursday we took an afternoon trip to San Gimignano.  It is the city of towers. It is a cute little town with a lot of shopping and romance. There is live music in the main piazza and a really long winding street that leads to the main tower and church.

We visited a couple of museums, did some shopping (although I never buy anything... I can not seem to find the perfect items). I went to the scenic overlook and it is beautiful because San Gimignano is located in the middle of the Tuscan hills.

Here are some pictures from that day: