Unexpected Good is the Best

People in my group all seem to be in a bit of a flurry trying to see everything in Italy there is to see during every spare moment. Every weekend people run off to different places and return excited to share their adventures from some little city in Italy. Personally, I have been content just soaking up all of Siena. A group of us spent the weekend seeing what there is to see in Siena and I loved every second of it. There is something to be said for seeing cathedrals and works of art that you have studied and seen countless times, but seeing something for the first time that you've never seen before is wonderful in its own way. I really don't know much about the churches and sites in Siena so when I walked into the Duomo Cathedral or the Museo Dell' Opera I was just stunned. People shouldn't go through their life without seeing and doing what I did this week. Here are a few pieces of life in Siena for you.

Wednesday Market - Every Wednesday morning there is a HUGE market in the city. We usually have class on Wednesday morning, but this week it got moved to Friday so we decided to take advantage. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but what I saw wasn't it. Honestly, I felt like I was in Mexico. This market went on and on in so many directions and you could buy anything from flowers to clothing to kitchen items. At one point I was actually lost in the market and had no idea how to get out. The atmosphere was super fun though.


Oratorio Di S. Bernardino - This is a church that we didn't know actually existed. You walk down this little tiny road and then all of a sudden there is this huge church. There is a museum that has a whole bunch of old art work in it that I've never seen before. Sometimes it's frustrating that all the information for these places is in Italian so we can't actually figure what we're looking at, but it was neat anyways. Here's a picture outside the front of the church.



~ Duomo and company - This was one of the most amazing things that I've seen before. I walk past the duomo everyday on my way to school, but this weekend was the first time that I actually went inside. There are many different parts to the duomo: the Battistero, the Cripta, the Museo Dell 'Opera, and the Cattedrale. We weren't exactly sure what was going on in the crypt. We expected to see evidence of people being buried there, but mostly it was just cement rooms with paintings on the walls. It was pretty interesting anyway. The baptistery was amazing though. I just wandered around in awe of the art around me. I also loved the Museo Dell' Opera. This is where they keep some of the paintings and sculptures that used to be in the Cathedral. The art is amazing, but we had to draw one of the sculptures for art so I felt a bit of anxiety every time I walked into the room. Hate it when that happens. The Cathedral was by far my favorite though. It is one of the most ornate places I have ever been before. The walls are all made of black and white marble in stripes and there are amazing paintings everywhere. My favorite part though is that the floor is completely covered in mosaics of scripture stories. We are lucky to be here when we are because the floor isn't always uncovered. Nine months out of the year it is covered to protect it, but lucky for us we aren't here during tourist season. I could have sat in the cathedral for hours, but I eventually left knowing that I can come back again.


~ Random views of the city - For lunch we went and got some really good sandwiches from the market and then wandered around to find someplace to eat them. We happened upon a park that had an amazing view. Minus the pigeons that were attacking, it was perfect.


~ The view on my way home - As I was walking home the other day, I realized yet again how amazing it is to live in Italy. Here is what I see as I walk to my house.