chi non risica, non rosica – nothing ventured, nothing gained

I have been home in New Jersey for about three weeks now, and it has taken me to this point— on the eve of my return to GW—to finally write a conclusion to my blog. The delay in posting is due to many reasons: the Christmas holiday, catching up on sleep, and spending time with family. However, I think the main reason I refused to finish the blog is that I’m afraid that when those final words hit the page, reality will painfully set in. My Italian journey is over.

At first, part of me felt rushed. Quick! Finish the blog before you forget! But how could I possibly forget the best four months of my life? Being away from something really magnifies how much you truly miss it. As I leave for Washington tomorrow I feel a deep pain in my heart. As much as I’m thrilled to go back to life at GW at the same time I wish I were going back to Siena. I don’t want to admit to myself that the last four months are now a part of the past.

But let’s not be so dark and depressing. As I look back at my semester abroad, I could not have asked for a more wonderful experience. The places I saw, the people I met, and the things I learned are all part of a great adventure that I will never forget.

I went to the center the morning of my departure to say goodbye to all of the great people I met from IES. It was a quiet, solemn morning. No classes. No professors. No students and friends chatting in the lounge. I went up to the office to wait for John, spending time talking with Veronica in Italian. Who knew four months later I would be able to casually carry on a conversation in a different language?

John arrived and we sat down in his office. I told him that after four months I was finally going home, but in many ways I was also leaving it. Siena had become my home—my friends, professors and IES staff, had become my family. I was not ready to say goodbye. These people, this city, this country in all of its beauty and chaos, had become a big part of my identity. I wasn’t ready to let it go. How odd it would be to wake up and not walk down Banchi di Sopra to get to school? To not greet people with a “Ciao! Buon Giorno!”? I had lived in a completely new place and in a completely new way. I had immersed myself in the culture and had absolutely fallen in love with it.

John had asked me what I was going to miss most about Siena. I think the things that initially captivated me about the city were the things that, by the end of my semester, still intrigued me the most. In my first blog about the city I wrote how much I loved the quiet, intimate atmosphere of Siena—the winding roads that spontaneously opened up to gorgeous countryside views. Hiking up to the Tolomei Gardens and watching the sunset over the city and surrounding Tuscan hills is my most treasured memory and something I will truly miss. The garden is wonderfully tranquil and I spent many hours up there, reading and studying, while taking in the beautiful views. How I will miss Italy’s beauty! From Milan in the north, to my southern destination, Rome, each city I explored had something unique and fascinating to offer.

In that first blog I wrote that I hoped to have a rich, cultural experience. I wanted to “meet more Italians, improve my language skills, study the history, explore the surrounding countryside, and come to truly assimilate into daily life”. I am proud to say I think I accomplished all of those goals. However I could not have succeeded without the encouragement from my passionate professors, the dedicated IES staff and the wonderful friends I met along the way. They have all taught me so much and I feel blessed to have shared this journey with them.

I could certainly write more about how much I adore beautiful Italy. In some ways I feel that my final blog should be some sort of “grand finale” filled with deep insight and profound discoveries. However, just like when I arrived in September, I have returned home still unable to aptly find the right words to describe all that I have seen. Wonderful. Amazing. Incredible. Astounding. These words just do not carry enough weight to describe my four months abroad. My previous posts are such a small taste of what it is truly like to experience the rich and diverse flavors of this country. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog with as much pleasure as I found in writing it.

Grazie mille. Arrivederci.

Gio

Lucca

I needed one last adventure in Italy before the end of my semester abroad. I wanted to go away by myself to reflect on my semester and see one final part of Italy. So I decided to take a small day trip to Lucca, a city in northern Tuscany, located very close to Pisa.

Like my guidebook tells me, Lucca was a Roman settlement, seen most evidently through its street grid and beautiful Romanesque churches. During the Middle Ages, like most Tuscan towns, Lucca thrived through its wealthy guilds, in particular its silk merchants and bankers. Later in 1799 when Napoleon stormed Italy, he was so taken by Lucca that he presented it as a gift to his sister.

The main attraction in Lucca is definitely its city’s fortress wall. Almost all cities in Italy, had fortress walls to protect them from invasion. You can still see remains of Siena’s city walls and gates. However, Lucca is unique because its fortress is still entirely intact. The high walls enclose the entire city in a wide track that runs 3 miles around. So I arrived in Lucca set on renting a bicycle so I could enjoy the gorgeous mountain views outside the walls and of course the beautiful city within. It was a bitterly cold day, but I found the bike rental shop and took my wheels out for a spin. The views from my bike ride were stunning. The landscape on the fortress was beautiful—it’s like a circular park with small rest-stop restaurants and playgrounds spread sporadically along the path. I biked around numerous times, stopping periodically to walk to the wall’s edge and take in the views. The sky was a beautiful blue and the locals were taking advantage of the clear skies to bike, jog, and take a walks with their kids.

Lucca is a nicely sized city, with a feel that is a mix of both Siena and Florence. It was a bit more commercial, with some high-end shops, but nothing that I felt took away from the city’s charm. The cobblestone streets winded their way in and out of the old apartments and buildings, just like Siena, and its stores were decorated for Christmas. Around every corner was another church and upon arrival I discovered a huge outdoor antiques market that was spread throughout a large part of the city center. Like Siena, cars are limited on the streets, but because of the flat landscape, unlike Siena, bikers were everywhere. Ringing bells, signaled me to jump out of the way numerous times to let bicycles pass.

Lucca was the only city I liked more than Siena. It was quaint and quiet. The architecture was beautiful and each turn around a corner presented something new to see. It seemed like a friendly and family oriented city. There was a large square with a carousel and kids were everywhere with their parents and grandparents. Lucca was also the first city I visited that actually “shut down” for lunch. When I first arrived in the city in the morning the streets were bustling with shoppers. After my bike ride, around 1pm (prime lunch hour) the streets were deserted and all the cafes I looked into were completely packed, with no seats available.

Just a train ride away, I was so happy that I took this trip to Lucca. Despite the cold I spent a wonderful afternoon exploring this great city. It was definitely the perfect end to my Tuscan adventure.

Siena and Firenze - Josh Visits Italy

Only four days since I had seen him in Paris, Josh arrived in Siena! I met him at the bus station Thursday night after my class and I brought him back to the apartment to meet my roommates. That evening we walked around Siena seeing some of the best sites at night. I love Siena at night. The buildings are lit up, the churches have a beautiful orange glow and the main artery of the city, Banchi di Sopra is bustling with people. This road just before dinner time (and on the weekends just after) is filled with the locals standing outside the local bars drinking wine. Others window-shop or just meet up with friends to chat or eat gelato.

If you traverse off the main street, the smaller side roads seem deserted. You often end up the only person on the street and feel as if you’re the only one in the city. Then you hit the main drag again where the stores and street lamps are brightly glowing and people are bustling from one end to the other. It’s like reentering civilization. After dinner, Josh and I explored some side streets that night. I showed him my favorite nighttime spot, Piazza San Francesco where the beautiful San Francesco church and the Economics Faculty are located. We also went to see the Duomo, which also looks spectacularly eerie at night. And of course, no trip would be complete without a late night stop in the Campo where the star-scattered sky stretches over the piazza. It was absolutely beautiful.

The next day, Friday, was my birthday! We woke up early to join my Italian class on a tour of the Pappese Museum, Siena’s modern art museum. The museum was showcasing an exhibit featuring works that exclusively dealt with numbers. I got to translate for Josh as my professor Roberta (a former art history major) explained the pieces to us. Her descriptions ranged from detailed information on the artist’s intent to “I have no idea what this is” for the stranger pieces. At the end of the tour we climbed up to the top of the museum where there are beautiful views of the Tower, the Duomo and the surrounding Tuscan countryside.


That Friday afternoon I had a wonderful time showing Josh all around Siena. I got to share some of my favorite places with him but also discover some new ones like the Fortezza. The Fortress is a towering high wall, located just on the outskirts of the medieval center, very near to the IES Center. Every Wednesday, the market snakes around its walls. On top of the fortress is a park and bike path. It was a beautiful fall day and we took lots of pictures and enjoyed the views. Older couples were going for walks and exercising. They must have been regulars because people would stop and chat to their friends as they passed by, like it was a weekly ritual.

That evening everyone from IES came over for a big birthday potluck dinner. We ran into Stacy at the grocery store and she came over early to make some delicious desserts. By the end of the baking, I was covered in flour, but we had a great time making pastry cups from scratch, dancing to Christmas music to whole time. For dinner I cooked a great pasta dish with tomatoes and eggplant, which I think everyone enjoyed. It was such a fun night being with all our friends. We even played charades. I think everyone had a great time.

The next morning Josh and I woke up relatively early to catch the bus to Florence. We arrived and went in search of our hostel, which ended up being in a great location right in the center of the city. We checked in, threw our bags down and then immediately set out to explore.



It was nice to return to familiar Florence, but this time we visited new spots and actually went inside places that I had only seen from the exterior. We started Saturday off with a visit to Santa Croce, a beautiful church west of the Ponte Vecchio. Inside the church contained many tombs of famous Italians such as Galileo, Machiavelli, Michelangelo and DANTE! I had really gotten into my Dante class at this point, so it was very exciting to see statues and tombs dedicated to this famed Florentine poet. Inside Santa Croce we also saw the Giotto frescos and meandered through the lovely outdoor courtyards. Santa Croce is definitely one of my favorite churches I’ve seen in Italy.

After Santa Croce we hiked up to Piazzale Michelangelo. Unfortunately it was a hazy, day and we couldn’t see much of the famous view. We headed back through the Ponte Vecchio just as it was getting dark and later that evening went out to dinner.

The highlight of the evening was our visit to the BeBop Music Club. We read about it in the terrific Rough Guides guidebook, which had been very accurate in indicating restaurants and sites to see. So we searched for the club, discovering that a Rolling Stones cover band was playing that night. We decided to stay and listen to them jam. The band ended up being pretty great and we had a lot of fun listening to familiar songs. The lead singer was the spitting image of Jack Black’s character from School of Rock. We stayed for about two hours, leaving after a unique version of Sympathy for the Devil that made our ears ring.

The following day was Sunday, but Josh’s flight was not until late in the evening so we still had the whole day to explore more of the city. We walked around the San Lorenzo market, checked out some of the smaller churches like Orsanmichelle, explored Dante’s neighborhood and ate lunch at the oldest pizzeria in Florence. Unfortunately due to my slacking rock-paper-scissors skills, after a visit to the Duomo I was forced into climbing approximately 450 stairs to the top of the bell tower. Exhausted when we reached the top, I will begrudgingly say that the views were stunning.

After the Duomo we picked up our bags from the hostel and went to the train station where Josh was catching a train to the Pisa Airport and I would catch my bus back to Siena. It was sad to say goodbye. We were so spoiled having had the opportunity to spend virtually two weeks together. Nonetheless we were excellent travel buddies, who planned and executed a great trip to Florence.