Field Trip (even if it is a little late!)
Trip Start
Aug 29, 2010
1
19
22
Trip End
Dec 18, 2010
Pienza, Tuscany, Italy
Friday, September 24, 2010
Bouna sera (good evening!)
Well, it sure has been a LOOOOOONG time since I lasted posted...hasn't it? Sorry about that! School got busy with midterms and then FAMILY came, plus all kinds of other adventures! But, don't be alarmed...those still back home will get full details, I want you all to know the funny stories and of the beautiful towns!
Ok, to start off...One of my classes had a required field trip to the small town of Pienza. A pope had been born there and decided to completely redo the entire town, including its renaming as Pienza, after the pope of course. Thus, Pienza is a perfectly preserved town with very special town planning. A tiny piazza sits atop the small hill that Pienza sits on and is the very center of the town. A church borders the piazza and they say that it may fall down off the side of the steep, steep hill at any moment. Yikes!! I think they've tried to reinforce it, but still, Yikes!! A huge palace also sat in this piazza and we got to go inside it!
But first, you're wondering how did I get there? Well, we took a bus with the rest of the class and 2 other classes. Cat and Meredith came as well! It was pretty early in the morning, so I only remember a "limited edition" of the drive! I kept falling asleep! Surprise, surprise!! haha. Anyways, driving to Pienza was neat because it's truly in the heart of Tuscany. And let me tell you, Tuscany is spectacularly beautiful. Looking out the bus window, it was as though I'd entered a magical land. The wonderful scene was flowing up and down on beautiful rolling hills that were the color of friendly grasshoppers. (I say friendly grasshoppers because Benjamin befriended a grasshopper once and it was quite happy! I've always liked grasshoppers alot since then!) Back to the drive. The hills were covered in dying, long prairie grasses that swayed gently in the wind alongside rhythmic rows of grapevines. There were no mopeds, crowded buildings, or busy streets...just these treeless sloping plains in every direction. Well, I guess there were some trees, but they were very sparse. In other words, it wasn't a forest! But the tall, skinny cypress trees made beautiful outlines for the eyes to find and follow along the skyline of Tuscany. A skyline of nature that appeared to be gently unfolding itself for the world to see. To me, these rolling hills were modest and quiet. They weren't boisterous or busy, they were patient and I was ready to just jump off the bus and just take a walk through those hills. I was so ready to be surrounded by the joy of nature again. But, don't worry, I didn't jump off the speeding bus. I actually probably fell asleep to tell you the truth! But, then we arrived in Pienza and walked to the wonderful square that I was telling you about earlier!
We walked through the palazzo entrance and then directly into the garden. That was garden was very special. You see, when entering Pienza, you seem to enter from one, gently sloping side. However, when you make your way up towards the old square, you clearly see that the other side of Pienza is literally hanging off a high cliff! But, that makes for absolutely wonderful views! So, this palace garden was literally an overlook on the cliff's edge!! Pretty neat, huh? It was a formal garden and it was just lovely. A wall surrounded the garden, but it had nice openings to let in the gorgeous views! We took lots of pictures there and enjoyed the tour through the elaborate and luxurious palace. The best part of the building was the second story loggia (or open air porch) that was overlooking that fabulous Tuscan landscape. Pictures weren't allowed inside the museum, so I attempted to sketch some of the things from inside. But, I'm not the quickest sketcher, so they're ...interesting. hehe. Well, after seeing the palace and the small church also in the piazza, we went looking for lunch. But lunch had to be delayed when our noses led us to Pienza's most famous product: Pecorino cheese! I had done a tasting of Pecorino cheese in my cooking class on the first day of class and had immediately fallen in love with it! It's absolutely delicious! So, I managed to find a nice wedge of Pecorino and packed it up for the bus ride back! Eventually, we found a little sandwich shop with big panini (or sandwiches). I had a proscuitto (a salty italian ham) with fresh pecorino and tomatoes. Talk about scrumptious! Very good, very good. We ate lunch overlooking the wonderful view and enjoyed relaxing in the a small town so very different from the busyness of Florence.
Soon, it was time to say goodbye to Pienza and hop back on the bus. I stayed awake for most of the ride back, only falling asleep when we'd gotten off the little winding country roads and on the interstate. Cat came back with me and Meredith to the apartment and (Oliva joining us) we tried to figure out our plans for the rest of the weekend. In the end, we decided to see Arezzo on Saturday and Bologna on Sunday! More to come on that soon!
Love from Italia,
Sabrina
(if you'd like to have a sneak peek into the present...I'll let you know that I have to go because I must pack and shower for a trip to...wait for it...wait...SALZBURG, AUSTRIA!!!!!! Ciao famiglia e amici!)
Comments
Oh, Sabrina,
The pictures and story are so exciting. It looks like a place to visit for sure. Sorry we missed this city.
Love you.