Oct

13

Siena and Viareggio

Filed Under Europe, Italy, OU in Arezzo | Leave a Comment  | by
On September 7 we visited the Tuscan city Siena with our art history class. We toured the Duomo and some other museums there, focusing on pre-Renaissance art. We saw Lorenzetti’s The Allegory of Good and Bad Government in the Sala dei Nove. We got to climb up and get a great view of the city.

Andy and I with the Duomo behind us. I chose a good scarf to wear that day, I matched the church!

That Friday we took a day trip to the beach city Viareggio! Some of our friends were going to the Amalfi coast, which is beautiful, but was more expensive and had to be done over a whole weekend. We were glad we could visit Viareggio as a day trip and it was easier to get to.

In Italy there are not many public beaches, but rather private beach clubs, or “bagni”, for which you pay to rent space and chairs for a day (or a week, month, whole summer…).  We found one that looked good, figured out what to rent and how to pay. We ended up getting an umbrella and four chairs for 23€ for the day, so not too bad between the four of us. We lounged on the beach, swam some even though it was pretty cold and had a great day.

It was a warm, sunny day and so beautiful with the beach to our left and mountains to our right! Perfection!

Oct

13

La Giostra del Saracino — The Joust!

Filed Under Europe, Italy, OU in Arezzo | Leave a Comment  | by

Arezzo has a great tradition of a semi-annual joust of the Saracen, “La Giostra del Saracino.” It is held in the Piazza Grande in the center of Arezzo, and the four neighborhoods, “quartieres,” compete against each other. It has a long history in Arezzo, dating back to the 13th century in some accounts. The current form of the joust was started in 1931. The four quartieres include Porta Santo Sprito (blue and yellow, in which Andy and I live), Porto del Foro (fuschia/yellow, which my cousin Luca supports), Porta Crucifera (red/green) and Porta Sant’Andrea (green/white). There is a board that the jousters attempt to hit with the lance, with points ranging from 1 to 5. They can win additional points by breaking the lance, or lose points by falling off the horse or letting the balls in the Saracino’s hand hit their back.

The giostra is not just one afternoon, however. Ceremonies and celebrations spread throughout the month, and particularly the week before the joust. Each quartiere has a headquarters location, where parties are held each night and a community dinner at the end of the week. Nearly everyone in town wears his or her scarf that represents his quartiere. The rivalries between quartieres can be pretty intense, and arguments and fights are not uncommon.

Parties in the quartieres

At the joust event they also have trumpeters and flag-throwers (one of the best teams in the world, apparently). They practice throughout the week, and on Thursday afternoon Andy and I walked over to the Duomo and stumbled upon an event where the they were performing for the Miss Italia group.

The city is so crowded and so rowdy on joust day, but so much fun!

The joust started with the flag men and trumpeters who paraded in. There were even crossbows! There was so much energy in the Piazza Grande. Families have lived for generations in these quartieres, and they are very supportive of them. Most of the time these rivalries are peaceful, but the action culminates with joust week. Walking along the Corso, people will yell at each other or start singing taunting songs. Girls will even get into it too, chasing each other and trying to fight. So you can understand that the day of the event is pretty crazy. Down on the grounds people stand divided by quartiere, it’s a little more mixed in the stands. I enjoyed being in the stands because we had a good view over all the action, like the Sant’Andrea guy who kept trying to climb over the stands and fight a Crucifera fan.
After Crucifera won and the joust was over, all of their fans rushed to the Duomo, the main church in Arezzo, to celebrate and see the official presentation of the lancia d’oro. (Fans had already rushed up to the stands and grabbed it in the Piazza Grande, but they do the official presentation too.) I have never seen so much energy in a church. They were singing, counting from one to thirty-six (how many jousts they have won), and some people were even crying.

Oct

13

Lost in Lambo Land

Filed Under Europe, Italy, OU in Arezzo, The World | Leave a Comment  | by
On Labor Day we had a day off class, so we decided to take the day and visit the Lamborghini Factory! It ended up being a fun day, but had quite the rough start. The factory is located in Sant’Agata Bolognese, a tiny town outside of Bologna, which meant two trains and one bus.

Long story short, on the bus there was no sign or announcement indicating which stop was which, we got off at the stop at 10:36, our expected arrival time, and ended up five stops away. Which also happened to be over five kilometers away.

We started walking in the direction we thought we should go, and start to realize we have a long walk ahead of us. From the bus stop information, I know that we are in the wrong town, we have to get to the next one but had no clue how far away it would be. We ended up walking on the side of a two lane highway in the countryside, with huge trucks of hay zooming past us. When I saw a sign saying that Sant’Agata Bolognese was 4 or 5 km away, I knew we were in trouble. Especially since we only had 15 more minutes to make our appointment! We found a small gas station and asked an old man for a number for a taxi. He didn’t speak any English, but I was able to muster up enough Italian (I speak some because of my last trip to Italy, but this is the first time taking any classes.) After a while of searching in the white pages, he finds a number, I call it and arrange for the taxi to come.
Five minutes later, the taxi pulls up and takes us to the Lamborghini factory. Most expensive short taxi ride I’ve been on, but we made it and were only 10 minutes late. I had called ahead and said we were going to be late, and they brought us into the factory to meet the tour once we arrived. It was crazy and awful and stressful, but we made it~

Point A is where we started at, B is where we walked to when we got the taxi, and C was our final destination.


The Factory


Here is a portion my husband Andy’s description of the time at the factory. He loves cars more than I do, and is better able to explain what we saw!

So after arriving a few minutes late, we are rushed through the museum (full of amazing cars explained later) to doors leading outside to the factory entrance. As we walk through the door my eyes are greeted by around 30 beautiful Lamborghini Aventadors and Gallardos parked fresh from assembly…..at that point I know how this day is going to be. To my momentary displeasure we are rushed into the factory away from the incredible grouping of Bulls. That’s when we enter the factory to see the many stages of Gallardo production. I’m like a fat kid in an all you can eat buffet specializing in sweet treats at this point, my eyes linger on every single aspect of the amazing spectacle in front of me.
First, we are shown the process that the Gallardo is assembled, the engine and various interior pieces are brought in from outside sources. The engines are from Audi (who owns Lamborghini, for those of you that are not obsessed with this brand like myself) and interior from a local upholstery shop. This is an amazing sight but I’m looking for the new bull, the incredible Aventador. As the tour guide finishes talking about the Gallardo production line we walk around a corner and there’s an Aventador resting right there….it is amazing. I’ve loved Lamborghini since I can remember, they’ve always been the insane member of the supercar group, and this new car does not disappoint. From the sharp edges at every corner to the huge center exhaust this car just screams “If you don’t respect me I will kill you”, which of course is the Lamborghini way haha. As the tour guide mentions that we can have a look of course I get up close and personal to observe this piece of art on wheels. Sadly, we are told to move on but it’s on to the Aventador assembly line, woot woot! Oh and by the way, every car is hand assembled; there are no robots in the factory. Which brings me to the awesome part of the Aventador assembly, everything is made in house from the engine to the interior; a new thing for Lamborghini.
As we are walked past the testing booth where they run the car at 200km/h (~124mph) for an hour and a half I saw a Gallardo Tricolore awaiting testing. The Tricolore is a special edition (only 150 being made) that celebrates the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy, which explains the green, red, and white strip running over the top of the car.

We got to see the President of Lamborghini show off the new Aventador in front of some Audi execs.

Oct

1

La Sagra in Ponte Alla Chiassa

Filed Under Italy, OU in Arezzo | Leave a Comment  | by

First, I must preface this by saying I have an amazing set of Italian family here around Arezzo. They are somewhat distant (one group related to my great-grandfather, and the other group we don’t even know exactly how–just know that we are indeed family). I call them my “cousins” because it’s easier than figuring out and explaining the exact details, but I also call them that because it is how they treat me. It doesn’t matter that we are a bit distantly related, they treat me as immediate relatives. And they have taken Andy into la famiglia and told him that he, too, is now a Carnesciali. They are the best hosts, and the sweetest people.

Summers and falls in Italy are full of “sagre” or festivals. Often they focus on a certain food or drink, but offer full meals of great food and a fun sense of community. My cousin Luca and his family live in Ponte Alla Chiassa, a small town about 10 minutes north of Arezzo. This weekend Ponte Alla Chiassa hosted a sagra, and Luca invited us to attend it with his family and his girlfriend Martina. One of the specialties of this sagra was a pig’s nose.
When you attend a sagra, you stand in line, order and pay for your food, and go sit down at a table with your ticket. The tables are long, bench style tables under tents. It is crowded, and the service takes a while, but that is part of the beauty of the sagra. It is about community and talking with those around you, having a great time.

Here is a picture that shows an example the table area. This was later on, so not as crowded as the peak eating time.

Andy and Luca ordered pizza with prosciutto, I ate maccheroni, Martina ate trippa, Chiara and Francesco ate antipasti and steaks… There is a large variety of food, and you can’t* (for the most part) go wrong!

Here is my maccheroni. As you can see, it is not what we think of when we hear macaroni in the US. It consists of long flat noodles topped with meat sauce. (Note: there are other forms of maccheroni in Italy too, but this is the type I have eaten at two sagre.) It is tasty with good flavor, and filling. I made Andy eat about half of mine. (And his pizza was delicious too!)

I was also told I act like a northern Italian because I eat my salad before my pasta. In Tuscany the order usually goes: antipasto, pasta, salad, meat (and then dessert if there is some. or fruit for dessert.) I got used to this during my last trip, but haven’t broken my American eating-salad-first habit yet.

Martina ordered trippa. In Florence, it references the cow’s stomach, often pressed into a sandwich. But in this case trippa is cow intestines. It was a peasant’s meal in the past, while the noblemen got to eat the actual meat/muscle off the cow. Andy and I both ate a bite of trippa. It tasted good, but the texture was a bit chewy for my taste. I am glad I tried it though!

Luca’s parents, Babbo Carlo and Mamma Ambra, bought us four desserts to share and sample. They were all delicious! Clockwise from the top was blackberry, jelled fruit with some cream, chocolate and apple. Andy and I were asked our favorite, but it was an impossible decision. The pastries were all so good!

In addition to food, the sagra also hosted music and little carnival games. We played this and Martina won a little cow toy.

A lot of Italians are intrigued by cowboys, the Wild West, Indians, etc. I already knew this, but it was revealed even more when I saw them dancing after dinner. You know how Americans take classes and learn how to do foreign dances such as the tango and salsa? Well, they were dancing intricate square and line dances to country-ish music and songs from the movie “The Last of the Mohicans.” (Note: when we were at a restaurant/bar last Thursday night we also danced to Cotton Eyed Joe and Oh Susanna, so it doesn’t seem to be a completely rare occurrence.) It’s so funny and cool.

We went over to Chiara and Francesco’s house and hung out with some of their friends, Luca and Martina. We got to drink homemade limoncello produced by Chiara’s parents. It was delicious! We had a wonderful time and are so grateful to call these people our friends and family.

Andy, Devon, Luca, Martina

Andy, Devon, Luca, Martina

Francesco, Chiara, Devon, Andy

Oct

1

One month down

Filed Under Russia | Leave a Comment  | by

One month down! I am probably more proud of myself than I should be for surviving my first month here without getting hit by a car or walking into an open manhole, but oh well. I have settled in and adjusted to life here more or less, but there are still a few things I am getting used to, such as…

1. Always needing exact change. Well this is not something I need to get used to, so much as something I am resisting. I honestly try to give the cashier as close to exact change as possible, but sometimes I can’t. This usually isn’t a huge problem, unless I go the café at my university. So, despite the fact I rely on the trolleybus to get around, I have yet to purchase a bus pass, meaning most of my change goes to the trolleybus (and any remaining change goes the banana vending machine. That’s right, a banana vending machine, that I frequent quite often). As a result, buy the time I make my way to the front of the line to purchase my usual yogurt and piroshok, I am left without small change. Every time I hand the cashier a hundred ruble bill for a 70 rube purchase, she looks at me as if I just killed her puppy.

2. Mayonnaise on salad. It just ain’t right.

3. Mullets. Russia has produced incredible literature, architecture, music and theater. Not even the land of Pushkin is immune to this trend.

4. Mosquitos and wind. I probably should have expected both considering St. Petersburg is located on a march. While I love Oklahoma, I wasn’t expecting the umbrella-breaking wind to follow me to Russia.

5. Getting weird looks when speaking English in public. I am well aware of the Ugly American stereotype of loud, obnoxious, slovenly Americans, but I didn’t expect to get glares or odd looks when I said a few words to a friend in English.

On the other hand, there are hings I have definitely gotten used to:

1. Drinking tea all the time. I get the English own the trademark on being incessant tea drinkers, but I think the Russians could give them a run for their money.

2. Always carrying an umbrella. Always.

Now that the one month marker has come, I feel like I’m finally making the transition from tourist to resident. I feel comfortable here, and can use the transportation and navigate the city without feeling out of place. Everything has happened in the past weeks is just a scattered mess in my head I’m going to explain it all through a hail of bullet points:

* Crime and Punishment walking tour

Whenever anyone asks why I am studying Russian, I usually mention the Cold War and Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov. It is unlikely that I would have read the Brothers K if it wasn’t for a high school reading assignment. Furthermore, the only reason I chose that book was because a classmate of mine (who’s taste in books I trusted) chose to read it (had I known the book was over a thousand pages at that time I might have gone with a different book). After reading the Brothers K, I wanted to read Crime and Punishment. Easier said then done. I bought the book my senior year of high school, started in my freshman year and when I came to Russia was about half way through it. The only explanation I have for my snail-like pace is a preference for non-fiction books which often distracted me from Dostoevsky’s wordy masterpiece. Upon coming to Russia, however, I figured I should probably finish Crime and Punishment, considering the book takes place in St. Petersburg. The walking tour I went on included Raskolnikov’s (the main character) apartment, the scene of the murder.

* Pavlosk and Pieterhof

To be honest, I am not one for palaces, I like walking inside them, but my interest in them is minimal at best. Yes, they are pretty, and historical but I can’t get excited about super old silverware and landscaping.

Pavlosk: Imperial Palace, was a gift from Empress Catherine to her son, Paul I and his wife Maria Feodorovna in celebration of the birth of their son, Alexander (say what you will about aristocrats, but they are not stingy when it comes to gift giving).

Peterhof: I actually really enjoyed Peterhof which is really famous for their fountains. Known as the Russian version of Versailles. Peterhof has a lot of incredibly ornate fountains, some are even interactive that will spray you unexpectedly (thus another reason why you should always have an umbrella).

IMG_0408

Skip to toolbar