I Know Places

August 10, 2024

It is currently 104 degrees, so this blog is written in honor of the fact that I know places to go for good food to distract from unbearable heat and I also know places to go to get a respite from said heat. (it's mostly food though)

Sunday: mortadella and truffle sandwich, Papini sparkling lemonade to make possible a walk through town in the heat of the afternoon.

Monday: hiding from the sun in the refuge that is the University of Siena, mercifully air conditioned to the point that we freeze a little during class and then immediately defrost upon exiting the building. This week was our last discussion section - the kids applauded at the end, which either means that I did a good job teaching or that they're relieved to not have to sit through my classes anymore... My daily dose of rage came from the fact that one of my students walked off with my book and then claimed to not have it, immediately following my class on "polite behavior" according to a Renaissance-era treatise on comportment. Don't let the irony escape you.

Tuesday: a really delicious sandwich (cooked ham, slabs of mozzarella, pistachio pesto, and grilled zucchini) from Du' Cose da Berna, accompanied by a Papini orange soda that was aggressively recommended to me by Prof. E. Then I found out that it was National Root Beer Float Day in the good old US of A, so I improvised one since root beer doesn't exist in Italy. It was too much ice cream, something I didn't know could exist, but I balanced it out with the blackberries because *fitness is a lifestyle*. One of my students gifted me a new red wallet from our favorite leather artisan in Siena, Paolo, and dubbed it "a thank-you and a wedding present."

Wednesday: a delicious lasagna for lunch, accompanied by a student who wished to talk and request spiritual guidance. An unexpected turn... We taught our last Italian language classes, which was great fun for my group! We followed it up with a full-program dinner at Il Pomodorino, my favorite pizzeria in Siena for its tasty pizze and its gorgeous view of the city. A dinner reservation guarantees you an incredible sunset, and we were not disappointed. We made a gelato pit-stop afterwards, but a few of us tested out the granite (like fruit-flavored slushies) instead, since we wanted something a bit lighter.

Thursday: we had our last lecture of the summer! Finlay and I had lunch with Prof. E at his favorite nearby restaurant, and I had my usual there - pici cacio e pepe, which is pretty much an adult version of macaroni and cheese. We made another stop for gelato (we are unstoppable) before heading back to the university for all 28 of our students to present their final photo projects. We were done two and a half hours later, at which point I decided my celebrations of the end of classes needed to continue. Fiorentina steak dinner!

Friday: last field trip! After seeing the dirt that they've officially put down in the Piazza for the race on the 16th, we headed out of the city one last time. Our first stop was a hot spring - an interesting choice for 98 degree weather, but it turned out to not be too hot. We put mud on our faces to regain our youthfulness (some of mine has definitely disappeared thanks to this year's program...) and then got out and resumed our regular sweating. The bus then took us to an abbey to see the church and learn about regional archaeological projects from a professor at the University of Siena. We finished the day with a wine tasting in Montalcino, home of the famous Brunello wine. Finlay and I were photographed as the non-drinkers of the group, surrounded nonetheless by bottles of wine with price tags of several hundreds of dollars. We got back to Siena and I, in my desperation for something that wasn't pizza or pasta, nabbed a peach tea and a pack of double-stuf Oreos from the supermarket and then sat in the piazza for an hour to chill (since at this point it was only 92 degrees) for a bit.