Toscana

As a last hoorah with our program, we were treated to a lovely weekend trip to Tuscany! Most of the students in our program piled into a coach bus and headed up to the mountains in Toscana where we explored teeny medieval towns, tasted wine, and hiked through some nature. It was a great way to catch up with the other students in program and say goodbye to those leaving at the end of May.

I enjoyed this trip a lot! We had the opportunity to see some smaller towns I never would have known about and I got to chat with our program director a little bit. Our first stop was Monteriggioni, a medieval town with its ancient wall still in tact. We had a quick stop here with enough time to grab a cappuccino and walk around the inside of the walls. The town was up on a hill and essentially the definition of a “city on a hill.”

Monteriggioni

The Wall

That view

Ancient church

 

We quickly left Monteriggioni to hit the road. Next stop, Siena! I had visited Siena a few weeks before, but I was glad to make another trip there. We got a tour from a friend of the program, had the opportunity to explore on our own, and got to go inside the cathedral, which I hadn’t previously done. Our tour included information about the cathedral and Il Campo, the main piazza in Siena. For lunch, I was lucky enough to make a second trip to one of the restaurants Emma and I had tested out, this time around sharing a pizza and salad with Shelby. Wandering around the city with Shelby, Alyssa, and Christina was so much fun. We’ve all been so busy lately that we haven’t had time for our usual shenanigans but we had plenty of time to catch up and hang out on the trip.

I’m obsessed with these floors

Duomo

Inside

Cathedral

On Friday night, we stayed in a converted monastery outside of Pienza. It was such a cool place! The grounds were gorgeous and we were treated to a wonderful dinner (my program student coordinator even informed the kitchen I’m a vegetarian!). I was so exhausted from the day’s wanderings that I slept like a log under a pile of blankets.

The next day, our first stop was the town of Pienza, another beautiful Tuscan city with perfect views and amazing food. For a makeshift lunch, we grabbed fruit, cheese, and bread from the grocery store while we walked around town. The plan was to get the grub and head on to the next stop – a vineyard. Once we made it to Montalcino, the vineyard, we ate a picnic lunch outside and were treated to a wine tasting. I sampled my first Brunello and even purchased a bottle to bring home.

I have friends! Christina, Shelby, and I at the monastery

Perfect view

Lovely

Kittens at the vineyard!

Finally, we went for a hike around the vineyard. It wasn’t a difficult trek but it did get tricky at parts due to loose rocks and gravel. The scenery was perfect, however, and the company was great! I had such a good time laughing and chatting with the gals.

Lovely

Vines

Tuscany!

Scenery

Back to studying now! Con affetto,

Sara