This weekend was really nice and relaxing. After spring break, all I didn't really want to travel anywhere for the entire weekend. On Friday I went to Montepulciano for the day with Alana, Jillian, and Mary. I really like day trips because I don't have to worry about hostels and packing bags. We got there and had to either wait an hour for a bus to take us from the train station to the center of the town or call a taxi. So, we called a taxi and our driver was really nice but a crazy driver. He drove so fast around all these turns and we all thought that the car might break at some point. But, we got to Montepulciano and it's a really cute town. It has some amazing views anywhere you looked. There were tons of cute little stores on the main street and tons of places to do wine tastings. We just walked around for a bit looking at everything. We found a place to eat, which was really good. All the pasta was home made and just tasted fresh. After lunch, we decided to find someplace to do a wine tasting. We walked to the edge of the town and found a place tucked behind a church. It had some great views, so we went in and gave it a try. Wine tasting is free and the guy who was telling us about each of the wines was extremely nice and knew pretty good English. We got to try 5 wines: 2 white and 3 red. All were very good, but my favorite was the very first white one we tried. I can now see why my Grandma likes white wine so much! I ended up getting some olive oil from this place because it was amazing! I could eat their olive oil all day! We went and did a couple more wine tastings on our way back, but none were as good as the first one.
For the rest of the weekend, I pretty much relaxed. It was wonderful! On Saturday, I did a little bit of research for my 3 papers that I have to write in the next couple of weeks. I found out that the motto for my contrada (the wave) is: "Il colore del cielo, la forza del mare" or "the color of the sky, the power of the sea". I really like it and it makes up for the ugly dolphin that is our symbol. Saturday night I went out to dinner with a few people from my program. We went to a place on my street that everyone raves about. It's La Osteria dell' San Giuseppe. Best. Meal. Ever. We got seated and the waiter took our coats and hung them up for us. I felt like I was eating at a really fancy place, but it still felt very comfortable and homey. They brought us bread and something the size of a shot glass with potato soup in it. So good! I ordered home made pasta with sausage, broccoli, and mozzarella. Again, delicious! Of course, we decided that since our dinner was so good, we had to order dessert. I got a chocolate mousse cake with a white chocolate sauce. As you know, I am a sucker for chocolate, especially chocolate mousse, so once I saw it on the menu my decision was made. And what a good decision it was. I felt like I was in heaven eating it. I savored every single bite of it and didn't want it to end. I finally realized where I would want my last supper to be. It wouldn't matter what I got from this place because I know it would all be wonderful. I can't wait to bring my parents here and enjoy a great dinner with them :)
On Sunday, I got my Italian homework done, which was a little difficult because we just started combined pronouns. It seemed pretty straight forward in class, but I got to the homework and a few of them I had no clue what to put down. Oh well. I guess I will just have to ask Alice to explain it a bit more in class tomorrow. It was Easter, so I decided that I would go to mass in the morning. It was cool to go to an Italian mass. Even though I didn't really understand much of what was going on or much of what was being said, I didn't feel weird in church. Back home, a couple of times that I've gone, I've felt a bit odd being there. Like I shouldn't be there. I don't know what it was, but I felt a bit more at ease and was okay with not knowing what I should be doing. For me at that moment, I think it was more about the experience than trying to figure out all the motions and things I should be saying. Needless to say, I think I might go back to church a couple more times before I leave Italy. After mass, I decided to go for a run. I was up and it was pretty nice out, so why not? I knew it was going to rain at some point during the day, so I decided to take advantage of the day while it wasn't raining. It was nice because I haven't run in a couple of weeks and it felt great. I mean, not really while I was running, but after it did. I realized that I needed to start running more again because I don't like that feeling of getting tired early on in the run. Since it has been crazy with all the tourists here this weekend, I just went to the fortress to run. There would be less people and it wouldn't be weird to run there. Once I got back to my apartment, it started to rain a bit. I was glad I went for a run when I did. I mainly stayed inside watching some shows and eventually watched the Hunger Games. I really liked it, but I also felt like I got a few things mixed up between the books. I kept thinking they left some important stuff out from the first book that was actually in the second one. But it was still good and I'm glad I was able to see it. Today I woke up and saw that it was really nice out, so I went outside for most of the day. I went to get a cappuccino and a pastry and then went on a little walk. I finally found the Fonte Branda, which was referenced in a book I read (Juliet). It wasn't at all what I was expecting, but I'm glad I found it. From here there are a few escalators - yes, escalators - that take you up near the Duomo. It's crazy and weird to know that Siena has escalators! I made my way back to my street and found a really cute, short walking path that gives you some incredible views and would be a great place to read, have lunch, or just chill out. I walked some more and found a place for my parents to park their rental car when they come to Siena. I also finally found the fountain for my contrada. I'm amazed that I never saw it until now seeing as how I've passed it multiple times. Katie has told me that it is very obvious if I just go down to the end of our street and it is. I felt very stupid when I saw it. After that I just went to the piazza del campo and read for the rest of the afternoon. It was gorgeous out today, with a clear blue sky and the sun shining. Even though there were tons of people sitting in the campo, it was wonderful. I read my book and people watched. All in all, it was a great weekend and I'm glad I was able to spend Easter in my own city. :)
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