Putting My Wine Skills to the Test

So, for those of you who don't know yet, one of the classes I'm taking while studying in Siena is a class entitled "Wine in Italy and the Western World." I know what you're thinking - wow, that class sounds uninteresting and boring because who likes wine???

And I'm going to stop you right there because I love wine and this class is awesome. Not only do we learn about wine - the production of the grapes, how it's made, how to taste it - but we also learn about the cultural history and significance of drinking wine. It's a really unique way to study the history of the Tuscan region and all of Italy, and it's cultural significance in the western world cannot be denied, which means we have plenty to discuss in class.

So the past couple weeks, we have putting this vino knowledge to the test by going on a couple wine tasting tours. The first one was a trip to Brolio Castle, where rumor has it the  Chianti Classico was first invented. We started our trip off with a tour of the castle, which has been renovated several times throughout the years, meaning it is mostly still intact. The family of the castle has been living there since the 1100s, and one of the men in the family was the second prime minister after the unification of Italy - Barone Bettino Ricasoli. Today, the castle is a summer home to the current baron, and the area is surrounded by beautiful vineyards on the idyllic Tuscan rolling hills.

 

most recently renovated part of the castle

rolling Tuscan hills and vineyards surrounding Brolio Castle

After our tour of the castle, we departed for the winery down below where we toured the cellar and got to take a look at all the barrels where the wine they make ages.

barrel room - so much wine! photo credit to my friend Andrea

We then had a wine tasting, where we tried three different types of wine - Torricella, a 2012 white wine with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc grapes grown in Tuscany; Brolio, a 2012 red Chianti Classico DOCG (Chianti Classico DOCG meaning 80% of the wine has to be composed of Sangiovese grapes grown in the regulated Chianti area); and Casalferro, a 2010 Merlot with grapes grown in the reigion. My personal favorite was the Casalferro, which is a Supertuscan wine - meaning the wine did not originate in the Tuscan region, yet the grapes for the wine are grown and the particular wine is produced in Tuscany. It was a very smooth red wine that would have gone great with a fancy, red-meat dinner.

The next wine trip was one a friend organized for his 22nd birthday. He found a wine tour that took us through the Tuscan region, visiting some small towns and tasting wine at a vineyard/farm in the Chianti region.

My goodness, the tour did not disappoint (good job, Chris!). We visited Monteriggioni first, a small medieval walled town that honestly does not look much different than it probably did 800 years ago (it was built in the 1200s). Unfortunately, I did think to bring my camera on this trip, so I am lacking decent pictures. However, I can assure the view from Monteriggioni was beautiful - any trip in the Tuscan region would be lacking without an afternoon stroll around this town. My iPod photos don't do the views justice!

Montereggioni from atop the wall surrounding it

 view of Montereggioni on our way to the next stop

Next we went to a small family-owned farm called Poggio Amorelli. We tasted four wines - a white one, a Chianti Classico, a Chianti Classico Riserva, and a Supertuscan. We also tasted several food products made on the farm - olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, and cheese. One of the balsamic vinaigrette had been aged for twenty years, so it's consistency resembled syrup more than regular vinaigrette - and it was my favorite thing we tasted! The olive oil was superb as well, but I couldn't get over the aged balsamic - such a unique flavor! At the end of our tasting, we all took shots of grappa - a liquor made solely from grape skins. It's very strong liquor, and it's been used throughout Italian history as a medicine of sorts. Some people even put it in their morning coffee!

Wine tasting is fun because not only do we get to taste a variety of wines, but we also get to apply things we learn in class - and if that doesn't help the information stick for the final exam, then I don't know what will.

my friend Andrea and I at Poggio Amorelli for our friend's birthday celebration

Cinque Terre

When looking up places to travel to during my free time in Italy, Cinque Terre was frequently mentioned by bloggers online. I searched for pictures and was instantly intrigued by the place - mountains standing watch over the sea, olive groves cut into the hillside, pastel colored buildings hugging the rocky coast as if the water itself had carved them into place. After a lot of planning (thanks to a nation-wide transportation strike), I made plans to visit Cinque Terre for me, six others in my study abroad program, and my boyfriend Jay who came to visit from the states.

We departed early on Saturday morning from Siena. There were a couple of transfers, and inevitably we ran into some problems. Our transfer train in Sarzana did not leave at the time we were told, and so we ended up with a two hour "layover" in this small Ligurian town. Instead of idly sitting in the train station, we decided to use our extra time to explore. Jay and I stumbled upon an old fortress that we looked around in for the majority of our time there.

Fortress Firmafede, one of the two fortresses in Sarzana, originally built in 1249, then torn down and rebuilt by Lorenzo de' Medici in 1487

After another hour or so of train riding, we were finally in Monterosso - the eastern most city of Cinque Terre and the place where we decided to begin our hike. It was - naturally - far more beautiful in person than any of the pictures I'd seen online. We ate lunch over looking the beach, climbed a huge rock in the sea, and then began our hike.

posing on a rock

 

view of Monterosso from our hike

One piece of advice - if you want to hike Cinque Terre, make sure you are in good enough shape to climb up and down stairs for roughly two hours. The hike was beautiful, but by the end of every long uphill my legs were shaking and I was sweaty.

We arrived in Vernazza and wasted no time rewarding ourselves with gelato. We didn't have as much time as I would have liked there, as we had to get back on the hiking trail in order to make it to Corniglia (where we had hostel reservations) before it got dark.  But we still had time to sit, give our legs a break, and enjoy our gelato.

view hiking in to Vernazza

Vernazza from our gelato eating spot

The path from Vernazza to Corniglia was equally as beautiful as the prior hike, made even more so by the setting sun. The light on everything was spectacular, and it made every single stair worth it. And, trust me, there were a lot of stairs.

examples of how gorgeous the setting sun made the path

hugest aloe plant I've ever seen, with Jay modeling for size scale

sunset from the hiking path

hiking in to Corniglia

Corniglia is the smallest town of the five, and it was very quiet compared to the rest of the towns - granted, it was later in the day when we arrived, so there wasn't much foot traffic passing through. We stayed at a very nice hostel, Ostello Corniglia, and had dinner at a local restaurant. None of us were up for exploring, so after a short walk to see the stars, we all went to bed.

 We got up early next morning and got breakfast at a place that served bacon and eggs, a rarity in Italy - all the typical breakfasts here are 100% carbs. We walked around the town of Corniglia to see the beautiful sights, and tried basil gelato, which was honestly a lot better tasting than one might imagine.

view from an overlook in Corniglia

Jay and I at Corniglia

Due to a large flood in 2011 and the present landslide dangers, the popular trekking path - the Blue Path, or Sentierro Azzurro - was closed in between Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Unfortunately for us, this path was the fastest and most direct path to the subsequent cities. The longer path that went around was estimated to be roughly six hours total of hiking, and after yesterday's hike, none of us felt up to the challenge. Instead, we decided to take the train to Manarola and spend our time exploring the city more, maybe even getting a chance to swim in the impossibly clear sea.

Manarola did not disappoint. The entire weekend we had uncharacteristically sunny weather (apparently it gets quite foggy this time of year?) and it was warm, nearing the mid 70s in the sun. The buildings that were brightly colored especially against the grey rocks, the ocean that was impossibly clear, and the view of lush, green mountains in the background all added up for a breathtaking sight.

myself with Manarola in the background

After Jay and I walked around to check out the view, we joined our friends on a large rock right by the bay and within no time, the clothes were off, swimsuits were on, and we were swimming in the water. Everyone else thought it was cold, but I'm used to the Great Lakes - water that is notoriously cold throughout the summer months. The Great Lakes left me ill-prepared for the saltiness though.

past the boat is the area where we went swimming

After getting out of the water, we sunbathed on the large rock for a while, drying ourselves off and enjoying the scenery. Because we went swimming, we ran out of time to explore the last town - Riomaggiore - but the general consensus was that it was worth it.

Manarola from our rock/swimming spot

We tried some pizza on our way out and enjoyed a beer while sitting outside, soaking up the last rays of the sun before hopping on the train back to Siena. We were all exhausted and eager to get home, yet the weekend break to the small Italian paradise of Cinque Terre was something we all agreed was worth it.

Roma!

We spent the past weekend in Rome. THE Rome. The eternal city Rome. The Ancient Roman Rome. The Lizzie McGuire Movie Rome (I can’t be the only one who remembers that movie).



Did it live up to the expectations placed upon it?



Yes. Yes it did.



Rome was absolutely beautiful. Our hotel was next to the train station, and since train stations are notoriously dirty no matter what city they are in, the place we stayed at was not nearly as gorgeous as the rest of the city. However, a 15 minute walk got us to the central part of Rome, where it truly deserves every celebratory title ever received.

We arrived in Rome on our first day around noon. After an hour break for lunch and relaxing (riding buses are exhausting, don't ask me how or why!) we embarked on a walking tour of the city. One of the first major sites we came to was the Pantheon. We took fifteen minutes to walk around inside, visit the grave site of Raphael, and marvel at the size of the building itself.

outside the Pantheon

During our walking tour, we stopped and got some gelato - probably the best I've had in Europe thus far. Gelato is the perfect snack for a hot day of walking! We eventually came to a bridge offering beautiful views of the Tiber River that runs through Rome.

the Tiber River from Ponte Sisto

There were people playing music (busking) on the bridge, and some friends and I took our time taking pictures and enjoying the general scenery. We got separated from the group for a short amount of time, but it allowed us to take some pictures of the beautiful streets in the area!

For anyone traveling to Rome, I highly recommend the area surrounding Santa Maria in Trastevere. A visit to the basilica is a must, as the mosaics inside are breath-taking. There are several restaurants and shops to see, and it felt less tourist-y and the pace of life was a lot slower than in central Rome. Naturally we decided to stay in this area after our tour ended. We did some exploring, got some drinks, and had dinner on a covered back porch of a restaurant.

mosiacs in Santa Maria

The next day, we were up early again for a trip to the Vatican. The museum was one of the coolest museums I've ever been to. In my mind, the building itself could constitute an entire exhibit all on it's own.

view outside the museum

ceiling in the map room

a map in the map room

My personal favorite room in the Vatican Museum was a room that contained several large tapestries. The detailing on them was simply amazing! Picture do not do it justice, but here's on anyways so you get an idea of just how amazing these artists were.

 

 and I can't even stitch a straight line!

After lunch, we walked around the outside of the Vatican to St. Peter's Square. The view of the Cathedral is, in a word, intimidating. It is so large (the largest Catholic Church in the world!) and so magnificent.

St. Peter's Square

Five of us decided to wait in line to go inside. After 45 minutes of standing in line, we were finally inside. Was the wait worth it? Yes. I would've waited two hours if it meant getting to see the inside of St. Peter's Basilica. The inside was stunning. Everything was larger than life, yet done with incredible detailing. Pictures and words could never capture how beautiful the inside is.

inside St. Peter's

Since the Vatican took up the larger part of the day, that night was uneventful - we got dinner at a small restaurant near our hotel, split some wine between four of us in honor of our last night in Rome, and I went to bed early.

The next day we visited the Roman forum. We stopped by the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine on our way there. The Roman forum was the birthplace of Ancient Roman civilization, and thus the birthplace of Rome itself. One of the coolest points on our tour of the Roman forum was seeing where Marc Antony gave the famous "Friends, Romans, countrymen" speech - in 10th grade English class I was the designated Marc Antony while reading Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," and I had to recite the speech in front of all my classmates.

 

 panorama of the Roman Forum

a little lizard I found sunbathing 

After our tour, we decided to visit the inside of the Colosseum, which did not disappoint.

 

waiting outside the Colosseum

inside the Colosseum

After our three days in Rome, I was exhausted - we definitely had a full itinerary - yet it was one of the best trips I've ever made. Rome lived up to every expectation I had of it, often even surpassing said expectations. I've already made plans in my head to visit Rome again in my lifetime.

Hanging at Da Vinci's Place

This weekend, we visited Leonardo's house. Much to my friend's delights, the entire time we were traveling there I proclaimed loudly how excited I was to be seeing where Leonardo DiCaprio was born and where he grew up (as a joke, obviously).

Naturally, it was not Leonardo DiCaprio's birth house we visited but none other than Leonardo Da Vinci. THE Da Vinci. Not every day you get to do that, eh?

We also visited Fiesole, a small town on top of a hill overlooking Florence. There were Ancient Roman ruins that we learned about, and naturally a museum displaying the artifacts found on the site.

This blog post is going to be light on words and heavy on pictures, because I have finally figured out how to work the macro feature on my camera! It only took me five years! I don't deserve technology. Anyways, enjoy the following examples of amateur photography.

Overlooking the Roman Theater at Fiesole and surrounding Tuscan countryside

View of Vinci from the top of the Leonardo Museum

The following are photographs of plants I took using the newly discovered macro/super-macro feature!

Ciao!

San Gimignano

If you’ve ever seen a movie with Tuscany as the location, you are probably familiar with this story line.

The scene: an unhappy woman, usually from a divorce or some other mid-life crisis, makes a spontaneous decision to travel to Italy and chooses Tuscany as her destination. She is scared and her Italian is bad (or non-existent), yet her charm manages to get her around town without too many problems. Eventually, she finds some swarthy Italian man who probably helps her out with some mild crisis she’s having (she can’t speak to the shop owner, her apartment needs fixing, etc.) and she ends up falling in love for a little bit, even though he’s probably a little too young for her. The problems from her previous life have disappeared, and she claims she’ll never go back to America or an American way of life.

Hollywood has gotten predictable.

Anyways, my point is, I have absolutely nothing in common with these movies, save for one thing - I am a woman in my 30s who just got divorced.

I’m kidding.

What I really have in common with these movies is that I too am surrounded by the beautiful Tuscan countryside. I see it during the day when I look out my window, when I’m sipping coffee on the terrace, when I’m going (not often enough) for my tri-weekly run, and this past Wednesday, when I traveled to San Gimignano.

San Gimignano is a small town about an hour bus ride away from Siena situated on the top of a hill with 360 degree views of the surrounding Tuscan countryside. The view did not fail to disappoint. Unfortunately, I forget to bring my good camera on this mini-trip, so all my pictures had to be taken with my iPhone camera.

The view from San Gimignano

Me with the view

A group of my friends had the day off from classes (the schedule worked out in our favor), so we decided we would spend the afternoon exploring one of the many towns that are in the vicinity of Siena. After consulting our program site director, we decided that San Gimignano was the place to go. We successfully used public transportation to get there, and the hour long bus ride provided several views of other little towns in the area along with stunning vistas of the rolling hills Tuscany is known for.

Naturally, within our first hour there we made a pit stop for some gelato. I could go on and on about gelato, but I won’t. My one piece of advice: if you think you’ve have “good” gelato in America, you probably haven’t. Go to Italy, if only for gelato. It might (definitely) be worth it.

My go to flavors: coconut and cioccolato fondente (dark chocolate)

We then took our gelato and bottles of wine and sat down on a grassy patch at the top of the hill that the town is on and sat and chatted for a while. The wine, as usual, was delicious, and I believe at one point I told my friends “I want to have a love affair with this gelato.” Yes, it was that good.

After some more wandering, more enjoying-the-views, we came to the main street of San Gimignano. We were headed towards the bus station, but we twenty or so minutes to kill before we had to catch our bus. We popped into a couple of shops to peek around, and in one winery shop I found these drinks.

Bottles of crema al Meloncello and crema al Limone - basically a creamy, fruity liquor that is delicious

I couldn’t resist the cool bottles, and crema al Meloncello and crema al Limone sounded too good to pass up. We drank the Limone the other night, and while it was strong, it was delicious. Don’t worry parents, we split it between like eight of us. I ended up putting mine in the freezer until it got slushy, and then ate it with a spoon, which made it even more delicious - something I didn’t think was possible.

All in all, my time in Siena has been going great. My Italian gets better every single day - the Italian students who live on my floor have been indispensable in helping me learn conversational Italian - and I’ve met enough people now that I’m likely to see a friend or two while I’m walking to class during the day. Every day, Siena feels a little more homey to me.

Welcome to Siena!

Hello, Siena! Or should I say ciao, Siena!

Admittedly, I’ve already been here for a week, but I’m still figuring my way around the city so I believe a greeting is still appropriate.

I was sad to leave Greece, but I am so excited to be in Italy.

View from the top of Lycabettus Hill, the tallest point in all of Athens. We hiked up this hill our last night in Athens to watch the sunset.

After a beautiful last night in Greece, we all got up before the crack of dawn (our bus left at 3:30am to be exact) to make our way to Italy. Bus and airplane rides are NOT my favorite way to spend a morning because I have a very hard time sleeping on them, but I was too excited to care at this point.

After a short flight, we landed in Italy -- and then we had a three hour bus ride to Siena. Luckily, I had two seats to myself so I was able to lay down and catch some rest.

Riding through the Tuscan countryside was exactly as beautiful as you’d imagine it, but I was very excited when we arrived in Siena. Pictures of this city do not do it justice, it is far more beautiful than any photograph could detail.

View of Siena from where we ate lunch the very first day here

So now I’ve spent a week in this lovely city, and I’ve been getting to know it a little better each and every day. I have my favorite running spot -- an old fortress that has breath-taking views of the city and the surrounding Tuscan countryside -- and I’ve had waiters recognize me and say “Ciao!” to me while walking down the street. Slowly but surely, I’m turning Siena into home. Unfortunately, about the time Siena becomes home it will be time for me to leave, but maybe I just won’t leave!!

One last note: we visited the Duomo on Friday. I won’t write much about it, because I feel that words simply cannot describe how beautiful this cathedral is. I caught myself forgetting to breathe at times because it was so magnificent. If you ever find yourself in Tuscany, take the time to visit the Duomo in Siena.

  

Duomo in Siena