Tuscany has an abundance of small villages and towns, each as picturesque as the next. Since I started my six-week course at Saena Iulia language school in Siena, I’ve been lucky enough to discover a few of these places thanks to wonderful day trips each week that the school organizes. These places are small and …
Rome first cast its spell on me in July 1986. I graduated in June from Ohio University and was ready to take on the world, via an internship at the Associated Press in Rome. That was such a great time in my life. Everything was new and different. I was living in this beautiful, chaotic, …
Siena holds a two-day market in Piazza del Campo the first weekend in December. Not only did I see the usual – pecorino of all kinds, panforte from Siena, prosciutto, salame, chestnuts – there were meats from Alto Adige (speck), cheese from Sardegna, sweets from Sicily, tortelli from Emilia-Romagna, and yes, vodka and caviar …
I really don’t need to go into too many details about the beauty of Chianti, do I? Even in December, with the harvested grape vines and the brown trees that you can tell were once filled with leaves of red, orange and yellow, this area is still incredibly beautiful. Italy wine country. My mom used …
December 1 in Siena is a holy day for the city. The Sienese celebrate their patron saint, Sant’Ansano with a march by members of the 17 contrade from the Piazza del Campo to the Duomo, where they then celebrate mass. For me, this was an experience like none other. It is filled with history and tradition. …
The week before Thanksgiving I suggested to the staff at the Saena Iulia language school that we should also celebrate here because, why not? They were all for it. And I offered to get the turkey. Now, Siena is not a city with abundant Butterball turkeys “in your grocer’s freezer.” Nope. So I visited the …
Going to an Italian language school in Siena is an experience like no other. Every day I walk by centuries-old buildings and churches, I learn about the famous Palio horse race and, of course, I enjoy the fine culinary delights of Senese cooking and Tuscan wine. And I get to hang out with Sharik. Sharik …
I got chills when I saw Cortona from the road on Thursday. The town sits wedged into a hill in the Tuscan countryside and when you see it for the first time, you’re not sure that it’s real. This was the second time I’d seen it. The first time was in 2003 with my …
When my phone alerted me that I had a few new e-mails Friday night, I didn't think much of it. Because of the time difference I assumed it was one of the daily messages I get from Mediabistro. Once I looked at the subject line though, from the New York Times "Breaking News Alert," my …
1cannolo, 2cannoli 