Find me in Tuscany: "C" is for ...

October is here. How? I have no idea! There must be something wrong with my planner. Time is flying by and the homework is piling up. Yes, we do have to study here. Bummer I know. Luckily, the last week of September was busy with places to go and things to see (books NOT required). Theme of the week?

"C"

1. Contrada dinner
If you read my post two weeks ago you have a little idea of what the palio is. Or maybe you're a James Bond 007 fan and you've seen the Quantum of Solace movie?? The first scene is filmed there and they show the horse race going on! If you have no idea what I'm talking about...get on google and type in Siena palio because it's really interesting and a VERY big deal around here. The director of our program lives in the boundaries of the Torre contrada (one of the teams) so we got an exclusive tour of their church and museum. The museum has a bunch of historic relics like costumes and the banners they've won in the past palio races and it is also where the officials have meetings. The best part was eating with people from the contrada! Each week they host a dinner and people volunteer to help cook/serve the food. I wish we did that in my neighborhood!

2. Calcio game
Cheering on the Siena soccer team was so much fun! We repped the black and white and attempted some Italian cheers but they mostly turned into laughter. One thing I thought was really funny was the snack bar. Instead of nachos, hot dogs and candy like in America, they had paninis, coffee and pastries...time to get a little classier?

3. Cheese Farm

Just a bus ride away from Siena is the real countryside. See the pictures for a better idea of what I mean. Our group booked a little cheese tasting lunch at a Cheese farm that produces and distributes peccorino (sheep) cheese all over Italy. The house had these cute tables set out for us and we were served some crunchy bread /crackers with spreads, gnocchi, fresh salad, and 3 different aged cheeses: 2 weeks, 2 months and 9 months. And how could I forget the delicious "bar-like" dessert with ricotta cheese and chocolate! After our meal we went to the production center and learned about the whole process. I'm not really a cheese person but I loved everything about our little field trip!

Future retirement home?

Free spirit

Typical Reet

My roommate decided I needed to direct traffic

4. Contrada Festival: Cupids and more

Another palio reference! Did you google it? I hope so or else this will be jibberish to you. The winner of the July palio race was the Contrada Dell'Onda (the wave) and they are STILL celebrating. I'm telling you..winning the palio is like winning a superbowl, the world cup, and maybe the lottery in one day. Emotions are wild and the parties don't stop (till I walk in...jk had to.) A bunch of us made our way over to town and went out looking for the party. Right when we saw the HUGE trojan horse replica we knew we had found it. We walked behind it into the alleys and found that they were transformed to go with the Trojan War theme. Siena already makes you feel like you're living in a different time period so this just tripped me out even more! The dancing cupids were definitely my favorite group that dressed up. Even pictures won't do this festival justice but trust me when I say it was an experience of a lifetime.