First, the big news: I got my hair cut yesterday! It hasn’t been this short since I was 7 years old. I’d been wanting a short, low-maintenance summer hairstyle for a while now and I finally worked up the courage to do it. And I’m so glad I did! Here are two very low-quality and slightly awkward photos I took of myself in the mirror at the hair salon. They’re not the best, but they’ll give you an idea:
Also, I found out this morning that one of my fourth year students got selected for a very prestigious and competitive scholarship program sponsored by the U.S. Dept of State at UNC this summer. High school students from all over the world gather for a month of conferences about political, economic, and international affairs issues, and travel to other cities on the east coast as well. I nominated her and wrote her recommendation letter for the program (the first time I ever wrote one of those…boy was that surreal) and it wasn’t even guaranteed that a student from Italy would be selected. I feel like a proud mama!
And now back to our scheduled programming.
After our Easter festivities in Florence on Sunday, we took a train to Monteroni d’Arbia, a small town in the Tuscan hills outside Siena where Samantha’s boyfriend Gabriele lives. The next morning, Sam and I woke up early to go for a run. It was shockingly cold (about 40˚) but the sun was shining and the view was incredible.
I’ve been running on city streets for so long that it doesn’t even faze me anymore. But let me tell you, running in the Tuscan countryside in the morning sun is pretty much as good as it gets. (The hills, though, were killer.)
After our run, Gabriele drove us all into Siena, taking the long scenic route through the countryside. I was very excited to see Siena again because I had spent 5 weeks there in 2007 doing an intensive Italian language program, and hadn’t been back since. It did not let me down.
Siena’s skyline, viewed from just outside the city walls.
Carly, me, and Sam in Siena’s main square, the Piazza del Campo.
Siena’s town hall.
The Piazza del Campo is shell-shaped and is famous for the Palio, a medieval horse race held twice every summer. The Palio that I went to in 2007 was the one filmed for the James Bond movie Quantum of Solace – we even waved to Daniel Craig in the piazza!
Siena’s Cathedral
I made Sam pose for me and smile at the Duomo so that I could capture the reflection in her sunglasses. Isn’t this photo adorable?
Siena’s cathedral is very unique and zebra-striped.
We got lunch at a tiny trattoria that Gabriele took us to, where we ordered authentic Sienese fare. I got pici with wild boar ragù sauce and Carly got papardelle with rabbit sauce, naturally paired with the house red wine. After lunch, we got gelato (you knew that was coming, didn’t you?) and with our bellies quite full, we wandered to a nearby park and soaked up the view of the surrounding countryside.
We sat down on the jungle gym, where all four of us fell asleep in the sun. We were woken up when a little girl came over and shouted to her mother that there were people on the jungle gym…sorry, kid!
In the afternoon we trekked up the hill to the church of San Domenico, where the remains of Saint Catherine of Siena lie. Well actually, only her head and right thumb are in Siena; the rest of her is in a church in Rome, where she was killed in 1380.
Wikipedia can recount the story better than I can:
“The people of Siena wished to have St. Catherine’s body. A story is told of a miracle whereby they were partially successful: Knowing that they could not smuggle her whole body out of Rome, they decided to take only her head which they placed in a bag. When stopped by the Roman guards, they prayed to St Catherine to help them, confident that she would rather have her body (or at least part thereof) in Siena. When they opened the bag to show the guards, it appeared no longer to hold her head but to be full of rose petals. Once they got back to Siena they reopened the bag and her head was visible once more. Due to this story, St Catherine is often seen holding a rose. The incorruptible head and thumb were entombed in the Basilica of San Domenico, where they remain.[15]“
Creepy, right? I can tell you that seeing her preserved head and thumb is even more creepy. There were no photos allowed, but I don’t think a photo could have done it justice anyway.
The Church of San Domenico
Siena’s Cathedral viewed from San Domenico
Sienese treats in a shop window
That evening, Gabriele’s parents invited us to have dinner at their house. We were still stuffed from lunch, but when an Italian mother invites you for a meal, you accept with nothing less than joyous anticipation. Because you know it’s guaranteed to be a fantastic meal.
Needless to say, Gabriele’s mother fed us very well. We ate risotto with leeks, wild boar and roe deer (a small species of deer common in Tuscany), fennel salad, peas, Chianti wine, and cake topped with pine nuts. She also served us two types of liquors that she made herself, cedrina (lemon verbena) and limoncello cream liquor. She gave me the recipe to make the lemon verbena liquor, which I will definitely try when I get back to the states! (Recipe at bottom of post.)
It was also fun to chat with Gabriele’s parents, who were very warm and welcoming. They compete in ballroom dance competitions, so Carly and I had fun talking with them about dance. They also have a very strong Tuscan accent (its most distinctive feature is that all hard “c” sounds are pronounced as “h”) which I hadn’t heard since I did the summer program in Siena in 2007. They also told me that I had a Sicilian accent! I was really amused and delighted, because it’s still very hard for me to hear the subtle differences between Italian accents. I can recognize that accents are different but it’s very hard to say in what way, or to imitate them, or pinpoint where they’re from. Most of all, I was flattered because it means I don’t sound overwhelmingly American when I speak, which is mostly what I’m going for!
The next morning, we took the train back to Florence. Carly and I went to see an exhibit at the Palazzo Strozzi called Americans in Florence: Sargent and the American Impressionists. Maybe it was geared towards all of the American tourists and college students in Florence, but from an art historical point of view I thought it was really interesting to see the art produced by Americans who visited and lived in Florence, and to see how their time spent in Italy influenced their art back in America. After the exhibit we went to the leather market, and then got some pizza (bet you thought I was going to say gelato, didn’t you) before hopping on the train to Turin.
Cedrina (Lemon Verbena liquor) – from Gabriele’s mother
Ingredients:
- 1 liter water
- 1 liter pure alcohol
- 2 lemons (only the rinds)
- 500-700 grams of sugar
- 1 handful of lemon verbena leaves, from the month of October (about 120 leaves)
Put all of the ingredients in a container (Gabriele’s mother used a large glass bowl with a glass cover) and let sit. After 40 days, filter and pour into a bottle.
**Also note that there is now a recipes tab at the top of this page to make it easy to find all the recipes I’ve posted!**
You look great with the new haircut – as beautiful as always, and so sophisticated! Love the zebra-stripes in Siena’s cathedral. A SIcilian accent – awesome!
I LOVE your hair! It looks incredible!
Your hair looks fantastical. Your photos look wonderful. I wish I had time to go to Siena, that zebra Duomo was stunning. I CANNOT WAIT TO ADVENTURE WITH YOU IN ROMA!