Super Update

So the first sentiment I feel is the need to apologize, but, dear readers, I can only apologize for because I can't properly excuse myself. I've been taking advantage of life here in every way possible. So to catch you up I'm going to throw a lot of images at you with a general update lacking the banal details you would've skimmed anyway. Anyway, you'll get picture (pun intended). And to ease the process, I put a handful in a video for you to watch. You'll find it at the end of the post.

To begin, a week and a half ago was the Palio. It's probably the most important thing that happens in Siena (twice a year). I've already been to the one in July, but it was on my Bucket List to see the August Palio. There are some pictures of the events that my wonderful friend Yoanna and I took leading up to the actual day, followed by the day of the race (where you find a very happy Sam), and the contrada parading through the street. There's the part where they pick the horses. Then the event when the horses are paired with each contrada by lottery. I was there an hour early because the rain storm brought a big delay. There are several pictures of the trials (or prove), one from the mass for the jockeys featuring the very famous winning jockey, and finally the big race.

There are also pictures of my trip to Pienza and Montepulciano with my school friends. I had a great time and got to see some small towns in the province of Siena, which run at a different pace then the city I call home...for now. It included a wine tasting of the famous Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (which you'll see in the barrels which are kept in a chapel-like area below the ground) and a play that Montepulcianese put on once a year. The people of the town have been getting together for several hundred years to celebrate the life of a different person each year. This spectacolo was about the life of Saint Francis from his youth to his death. The coolest thing is that this community theater was written and performed (with an original book and score) all by the inhabitants of Montepulciano. I was pretty impressed how many people got involved and how they filled the stage with men, women, and children of all ages.

Most recently I also went to "The Globe Theater" of Rome with my friend Gabriele. Our trip was improvised, but I had the greatest time. The theater is a smaller version of The Globe in London and in this Roman reproduction they only  produce the works of Shakespeare...in Italian. We saw Much Ado About Nothing, which I had never read before and didn't even know about the plot before hand. The language was difficult for me to keep up with all the details of the story, but the troupe was talented enough that I stayed interested the entire time. (I'm sure my experience was not very unlike those simple peasants looking for entertainment in the real Globe centuries ago.) I was blown away by the ingenuity of their work from set to music to delivery. And of course there's a story to accompany this adventure. At the end, the protagonists came from the stage to dance with audience members. The quite good-looking Benedick chose a woman who refused to dance and, in typical Sam-style, I ran up to him from the back of the crowd without even thinking of the consequences, grabbed his hand, and started dancing. Gabriele told me that the entire theater was amused and he was impressed enough to bring me on a walk through Villa Borgese to overlook Piazza del Popolo which you'll also find in the video of pictures.

Finally, Sunday I took a trip with Anya to the beach at Viareggio. Scottie and Filippo were there too, but we were at different free beaches on the same strip. We didn't meet up until we got to the train station, but I snagged some pics of my friends on the trip back. I'm finishing up the super hard class now, and have another adventure to recount...related to the kitchen. Hint: Think French yummies. :)