Perugia Field Trip + Cinque Terre Day 1

Friday 3.13.12
Friday, we went as a class to Perugia. This town may sound familiar to you as this was where the events of the Amanda Knox case happened. The town was really interesting and a little more modern than what we are used to seeing. We had to leave early to catch a train to our weekend destination: Cinque Terre. After about six hours of train travel we arrived in Riomaggiore. Cinque Terre consists of five cities bordering the seaside. A main activity in Cinque Terre is to hike from town to town. They are fairly small in size. Our hostel was in Riomaggiore so we spent the rest of Friday there. For dinner, we went to a restaurant called La Lampara. Here, I decided to be somewhat adventurous with my menu selection and order pasta with shrimp. I was expecting the normal little pieces of shrimp. Little did I know, there would be whole crustaceans mixed into my pasta.  I could not do it, I tried to figure it out but was entirely too grossed out. They kind of looked like grasshoppers…it was weird. So I just ate the pasta which was topped with a cream sauce and tomatoes. We spent the rest of the night playing card games in our hostel with friends.

underground city of Perugia

Perugia

Riomaggiore

not my best idea..



Siena Field Trip

Wednesday 3.11.12
Siena Field Trip

We took a bus to Siena for our weekly field trip. Upon arrival, it began to pour down rain. Luckily, most of us brought umbrellas. We walked around with our tour guide and stopped at a few places but it rained the entire time.

Interesting fact about Siena: the city is dividing into ‘districts’ and each of the districts has a flag corresponding to the elephant district, goose district, turtle district, etc. For one week of the year they are rivals. The rivalry revolves around horses races in their main piazza.

 By the time they released us for lunch it was even worse, with hail at one point. We decided to find a pizzeria for lunch until the storm ended. By the time it was over it was time to go back to the bus (this is when the sun started to come out).

the district flags

hiding from the rain

look at it go!

my first calzone filled with mozzarella and bacon, yummy!

view of the city with the sun as we were leaving

Castiglion del Lago

Tuesday 3.10.12
After lunch on Tuesday, a few of us went to Castiglion del Lago. This is just a few train stops down from Castiglion Fiorentino. There is a huge lake surrounding the edges of the town so we were hoping to get some sun. It ended up being pretty cloudy and cold but it was a good break from our daily routine. Here are some pictures.

spinach quiche-surprisingly good. Kind of tasted like mac n cheese in a weird way.

beach in Castiglion del Lago



Buona Pasqua a Tutti! {Happy Easter Everybody!}

The Easter Feast at Santa Chiara:

The Easter bunny came to our door this morning..

my egg had sour patch kids inside! I just finished my sour patch stash that I brought from home earlier today, how convenient!

ham, really good au gratin potatoes, salad

A type of cake similar to shortcake but heavier, topped with big sprinkles of icing and almonds. We each received a glass of strawberries to pour on top.

Third Easter Procession

I skipped the second procession on Wednesday to do homework but it was pretty much the same as the day before. Friday was the third procession and it looked as though more people were actively participating. There were also two 'floats' instead of one and lots more observers. The procession started at the church next door to Santa Chiara so we were able to conveniently follow it through the streets. I took a lot of videos but the internet is not strong enough to upload them.

team huddle

we had never seen so many Italian ladies out at one time (usually there are just tons of older men out)

following the procession

full moon to add to the creepiness factor

these little boys carried this from beginning to end

Pienza+Montepulciano Field Trip

Today, our field trip took us to Pienza and Montepulciano. When we arrived in Pienza we toured the Pope of Pienza's House, nothing too exciting. So I am jumping right to the main event of the day: lunch. We had another arranged lunch and it was possibly the best meal I have ever consumed. They served us entirely too much but it was heavenly. Then we got back to the study center, planning on not eating much at dinner and then they bring out the fried chicken and french fries...

everyone in the restaurant

3 different types of brushetta-olive spread, mushroom, beef

white lasagna- no ricotta cheese, filled with something more magical and creamy. This was the best thing I have ate so far in Italy.

3 types of meat--chicken, sliced beef, and sausage. The sausage was really good and flavorful

just when we thought we were finished they brought out more forks and plates for tiramisu

view from the loggia of the Pope of Pienza's Palace

Tuesday Easter Procession

Tonight in Castiglion Fiorentino marked the first procession of holy week. There are multiple processions taking place all week during the later hours of the evening. The processions involve people cloaked in hoods of black, white, and sometimes brown depending on the day. The front of the procession was all black hoods, followed by the white hoods, and then the float with the marching band close behind. The white hooded crowd was a little bit creepy because that means something else at home.

heading for set up

beginning of the procession (walking right by the study center)

circling in the piazza by Santa Chiara

leaving for more parading

the float