I love the Siena city bus: because in the back sit the teenagers half asleep in the mornings on their way to school, the middle section accommodates grandmothers who clutter the door with their rolling baskets for groceries from the market and gossip about things like food recipes and the weather. While a handful of handsome college students shuffle the walk way. The grandmothers glare at young people sitting in seats anxiously awaiting the 'prime realty' (the seats that are located facing forward and in the front section of the bus).
I am also beginning to really enjoy rainy days. Not only do I get to wear my favorite boots -- my Hunter Wellies-- but rainy days supply the hottest Italian men my age! Jumping into a bar for a quick cafe is the perfect way to get out of the rain AND meet these boys!
Thursday was a great day. Not only do I love my classes, I get to spend all day with my professor Roberto. He teaches both my Italian and Art History class. He is absolutely brilliant. He speaks roughly 5 languages and knows more about Siena than anyone I have yet to meet.
A few of us that share both classes call our Thursdays "Robertodì" instead of "giovedì"!
Thursday afternoon I spent time teaching English to my 5th grade class. And they are so wonderful! They are learning Grease so fast. I couldn't be more proud. We play a game during 'Summer Nights' to see if the boys or girls can sing louder. I am really excited to see them perform it for the community at the beginning of May.
After that I walked. And walked. About 4 or 5 miles to Morticano Agriturismo (which is the cutest little bed and breakfast). Nadia, the owner, was a wonderful lady. She showed me around all of the rooms and a little bit of the property. Between my poor Italian and her little knowledge of English we were able to communicate and share information about ourselves. Her agriturismo farm is a family tradition, the house (so old and HUGE!) with 20 ish acres of land, lots of small gardens, and a beautiful kitchen. They are a completely organic farm and serve their own food in the mornings for the guests that stay there. She invited me back to have coffee with her the next time I go on my run/walk route up and over a few big hills. Needless to say, I'll be having coffee hour with Nadia very soon.
Friday was probably my favorite field trip of my entire life. We were given a roll of black and white film, thrown in a van, and driven 20 minutes outside the city. (It wasn't as bad as it sounds [chuckle to myself].) Jackie, our professor, picked us up outside the train station and we headed out towards her town market. We spent the rainy morning in Casole D'Elsa photographing the daily life of the market. Even as the rain poured down locals still swarmed the market looking for the best prices and bargaining for the ultimate deals on everything from fresh produce to winter jackets. After shooting abut 20 exposures Jackie took us to her studio. Her work was amazing. After a glass of wine with her and the other students we took a drive to where her home is. The purpose was to show us a forest fire that had destroyed 3/4 of the hillside right be her house. We got out of the van and had about 6-7 minutes to shoot.
From there we went to her friends studio where he is working on a fence. I had never really seen metal smithing before, and while we were visiting(and taking pictures) he was working. Part of the property also had an old water mill. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ MY WHOLE BLOG AT LEAST READ THIS NEXT PART:
I was in utter amazement. As our group split up looking for different places to capture the perfect picture I stayed in the old mill room. As I was setting up my tripod to take pictures, that needed longer exposures, the old man that was working on the property came in asking me if I wanted the lights on. I said no thank you. He then proceeded to speak to me entirely in Italian about the mill. I could slowly piece together what he was saying. As he pulled up on the chain lifting the wood board and allowing the water to rush into the wheel to turn it back on. I watched the water under rush through, turning the wheel, creating a fine fine grain. My Papou would have loved this entire place. So when I was just about to go back to taking pictures the old man asked me a question I didn't understand, all he said was "tua scarpe, vieni."[your shoes, come with me] I was wearing my Hunters again because of the rain and I AM SO GLAD I DID. I followed him down a few slippery stairs that lead to a series of old wooden boards that eventually routed us to the water below. My feet were completely covered by the shallow waters below, trying to gracefully stand on a piece of wood that looked like it hadn't been replaced since I was born. He showed me the first room where the NEW wheel had been created.. let me remind you, this NEW wheel is about 400 or 500 years old. We continued down the wooden floorboards and in the second chamber the wheel from the 1300's rested above the water level. It was amazing. I was in shock! I was so lucky!! I apologize my pictures are not the greatest as I feared for my iPhone in the water, but I managed to get a few good ones!
The wheel that was still on!
The old wheel that no longer works.
He told me that there were only two originals left in Italy that are still working and producing today.
After that I walked around a bit trying to decide what to capture with the last few pictures left on my role. I eventually walked around to where the old man was chopping some fire wood. He saw me taking pictures of the horses and he stopped his work and walked over to the fence. I slowly walked toward him and as soon as he reached the fence all three horses trotted over to him.
I was truly blessed to have such a beautiful day.
And just when you think you are done reading my fairy tale adventure there is more!
I woke up early this morning to catch a morning bus into town and met Gioia in Piazza Gramsci before hopping on another bus out toward the country side of Chianti. We hiked through the country side for two and a half hours and covered about 7 miles. We walked through the town of Radi.. which was so fascinating because NOBODY lived there, yet it is a major stop for bikers and walkers alike to grab a quick sip or snack on something before continuing journeys. Gioia and I did not see a soul as we walked through the eerie town until we saw one biker and ask him if we were traveling in the right direction! As he clipped back in I thought how much Ann and Mari would have LOVED this bike route. And I hope to one day take a bike trip through Tuscany like they did! We continued walking and eventually made it to Cuna which seemed like a dead town. I saw a total of four people while we were there. We thought we were going to be able to have a coffee.. joke.
Eventually we headed to the bus stop and back to the city center and after a nice long day of story telling and conversation while enjoying the country side, I realized how fortunate I am to have this experience. And I thank my parents, from the bottom of my heart, for inspiring me everyday, challenging me physically and academically, and most of all believing in me.
cin cin per una bella vita
-kali
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