Nearly at the end of week 2 and the course seems to be flying by. Today I did my presentation for the culture class which is a big component of the oral assessment of the course. At the time it seemed a good idea to get it over with early. But I can’t say that it felt like it went well. But D is for Done! It didn’t help that we woke up to no power this morning – something tripped so it was 7:30 before I could shower, have a cuppa etc and no chance for last minute checking!

Anyway, this afternoon we continued our world tour of the contrada fountains – it is certainly getting us into corners of the town we wouldn’t otherwise find. The description of ‘fountain’ is a loose one – the 🦉 contrada fountain had no water in evidence, while others like the tortoise have been more what you may think a traditional fountain looks like. Some contrada, like the Goose, have repurposed an ancient fountain and don’t have their animal symbol on their fountain at all. Have yet to find the 🐌, 🐘 and 🦄, amongst others!

When you get used to looking for clues you can tell when you move from one contrada to another – little tiles on the buildings, gate designs, light fittings and other street accoutrements indicate where you are.

The weather has continued to be good – cool and clear, and warming up slightly – above zero when I walk to uni in the morning is good!🥶. Expecting ☔️ for the next few days. We have one of my classmates from Wellington visiting at the weekend – we’ll see what she thinks of Siena!

So, yesterday we headed to Florence, firstly to replace my laptop charger at the Apple Store, but then to visit the Uffizi Gallery. We went there the first time we visited Florence in 2003 and I wanted to go back again.

This involved an early start as the train from Siena to Florence takes around an hour and a half, and we wanted heaps of time to find things before our entry time for the gallery of 12:30. So, we allowed ourselves heaps of time to get to the railway station in time for the 8:18am train. It was a pleasant walk and very quiet – no one really starts early here any day of the week, let alone Saturday! The train trip was pleasant too – through still-frosty countryside and small towns.

We found our way to the Apple Store quickly and then filled in some time with a visit to a bookshop to get texts for one of my university courses at Victoria, a stroll and a coffee, before heading to the Uffizi early to see if we could get in early. Even though it is low season here the queue for the Duomo in Florence was lengthy, and there was a queue at the Uffizi if you hadn’t pre-booked. Anyway we sailed straight in and headed off to have an early lunch. We shared the cafe terrace with some extremely well-fed sparrows and pigeons, then wandered our way around the galleries.

Sculpture, of which the Uffizi has bucket loads, doesn’t really do it for me. My highlight was seeing Botticelli’s paintings but there are so many amazing paintings, and for me it said something that there was no one paying much attention to the Rembrandts! Lots of other interesting things too, including the gothic art and a special exhibition by a contemporary Chinese artist who used, amongst other things, gunpowder to make his works.

So, a few pictures:

It’s been a roller coaster of a week!

I am really tired after the test and then four days of classes. Concentrating for four hours straight in italian is hard work, let alone struggling to make sensible responses to things in class, and doing homework. Foolishly I signed up to get my presentation in the culture class over with early, so that’s next week 😳. Will be so glad when it’s done.

But there are upsides. Siena is a nice, smallish and easily manageable place. As it’s winter there are very few tourists to navigate around. Each evening around 5 the passeggiata happens when locals come out for a stroll and a chat and to meet friends in the main streets. It’s low key and friendly. The restaurants we’ve tried so far have been interesting and getting good ingredients to cook in our apartment has been easy. Lots to like.

We are heading to Florence tomorrow to get a replacement charger for my lap top and visit the Uffizi Gallery. We went there in 2003, the first time we came to Florence and I really wanted to go again. So, off to see what the tourist hordes are like in Florence in winter!

We had our own passeggiata as usual this afternoon. I found my first contrada (neighbourhood) fountain – the Tortoise. There are 17 contrade in Siena and each draws lots to have a horse in The Palio, but they are really important beyond the Palio in providing strong neighbourhood identity.

So, a few pictures:

Ok, we are having some IT issues so I’ve only just posted what I wrote several nights ago! In the early evening out internet slows to a crawl and posting to WordPress becomes impossible!

So, yesterday it was clear that my initial placement was too hard, so I am at the level of class I expected to be, which is good and means I can follow what’s happening with relative ease. Doesn’t mean I can do it – just that I know what the task is!

Today was better than yesterday! Some glitches ironed out and proper class work has begun. About 25 or so students in my class, mainly Japanese, Chinese and Korean. Then a few Americans and me. I have classes from 9 to 1:30. Then I grab lunch and the afternoon is free, as well as there being some homework to do.

Today we went for a stroll to the Church of San Domenico, which houses the remains of St Catherine, as well as some lovely modern stained glass and early renaissance art (no photography allowed 😟) and then wandered around town. The light was nice and it was quiet. Not many tourists and it’s cold, but no wind so strolling is nice.

The apartment is working out well, and John is finding various places for us to eat out, as well as provisioning the kitchen and just generally getting the feel of the place.

We went out for a meal last night at what had the feel of a neighbourhood restaurant recommended by our Air BnB host. Very good pasta and really nice lamb chops! House red was pretty good too.

Lots of families were out and about as it was Epiphany, the last of the events in the Christmas season here. There was an event for kids in the Campo yesterday afternoon and decorations featuring witches – Befana the witch comes on Epiphany eve brings presents for kiddies.

First day of university today. First up, placement test – which was structured very differently from what I’ve done at Vic in Wellington. Began easy, and got to the point of being very hard!!!! Anyway, I was stoked as I came out a level higher than I expected, although I’ve yet to decide if I do that level or drop back and consolidate. John might see a bit more of me that way!!

I had anticipated being at school 4 days a week, but it has turned out to be 5, but a shorter day than I expected. So we can now start planning how we’ll combine time for my study here with some sight seeing.

Below a couple of pics of the Torre del Mangia, and the decorations which have been coming down today now that Befana has delivered her goodies.

Pictures will have to wait unfortunately – WordPress not cooperating!!!!

It was quite surreal, leaving a Wellington summer’s day and then arriving in Rome god knows how many hours later on Friday to something just above zero!

We are settled in our Air BnB apartment in Siena now, but not without incident. John’s back pack was stolen on the train from Fiumicino Airport to Tiburtina Station in Rome where we were heading to get the bus to Siena. It’s not really a tourist service and we stood out. We were targeted with a scam and they got a bag. We don’t regard ourselves as that naïve when travelling but we had let our guard down and paid for it. We were told when we reported it that they get italians too.

But, I have to say we have nothing but praise for the Railway Police we dealt with. I had to dredge up my italian language in an entirely different set of circumstances and while it was by no means perfect we were understood, made our report of the theft (necessary for the insurance claim we thought we would have to make) and then headed on to Siena. Less than 3 hours later we had a phone call to say the bag was found – it had been handed in.

So on Saturday John made the journey to Civitavecchia (an hour from central Rome) and lo and behold we got back everything except some cash, a pair of gloves and my laptop charger. His credit cards and an ipad were not taken. Clearly cash was king and then the other bits were opportunistic. We had temporarily blocked use of the cards in any case but some hassles were avoided by not having to replace them from here.

So, today is the first day we have really had in Siena. Church bells started to ring at 7am in the historic centre where our apartment is. It’s a great location – just off a main street but quiet, and this part of town is essentially pedestrian only – only cabs, service vehicles and residents vehicles of which there aren’t many.

We have found my walking route to language school, two supermarkets and a good local produce deli/bakery/wine shop. Sundays seem relaxed, mainly locals around. The days are short still – the sun comes up a bit after 7:30 and is gone by 5pm, but the light is gentle and the town is very atmospheric. And, our apartment is light, warm and well set up for an extended stay.

So tomorrow I head to the university for my ‘placement test’ and the study actually starts!

We are packing – this afternoon we head to the airport to fly home. Cross fingers, but everything seems to fit!

The last couple of days have been a bit gray and damp, and we’ve spent them doing some exploring – finding the italian bookshop I found last year in Northbeach, checking out Hayes Valley, doing a little bit of shopping. It’s been nice to have some downtime but we are ready to come home.

Hayes Valley was fun – interesting architecture, interesting shops and places to eat, a little out of the normal tourist areas.

Today we’ll head off to the Asian Art Museum, and toast our trip with a champagne in front of the massive Christmas tree at the Fairmont Hotel across the road.

So here are a few shots from the last couple of days.

Today was a big day. It began with a 5:15am pickup for a photography tour. This was my 4th time with Doc Miles – it’s all bespoke – depends on the weather, the light and what you might have done before. We began down at Pier 7 near the Ferry Building, then moved around to the Municipal Pier, by which time fog was rolling in. After that we went to the Flower Conservatory in Golden Gate Park, fabulous tiled steps in 16th Avenue, then across the Golden Gate Bridge, where it was so foggy the towers loomed in the fog barely visible on the drive across. But in Marin and Muir Woods it was clear. Then back to a lookout point on the Marin Headlands for views of the bridge through the fog (magic), then back to the hotel in time for a quick shower before heading to SF Museum of Modern Art for lunch. In all, a tour round the city of almost 7 hours!

Lunch at SF MoMA was very different. They serve dishes from a variety of chefs from all over the world, which the descriptions in the menu describe very factually, but which leave you wondering what might actually turn up! We went there last year and were keen to try it again. It did not disappoint.

From there we went to Japantown, a small area of japanese food and shops, then ubered back to our hotel. Dinner was at The Slanted Door, another place we tried last year – pan Asian food down in the Ferry Building on the Bay. Looking forward to a sleep in tomorrow!😴😴😴

It was hard tochose photos from today, but here are a few.

If you saw my facebook post, you will have seen a little but about eco-printing. Basically it’s a technique to use the natural dyes present in foliage to print on fabric. Caroline had tried it and thought it might be fun to do together, and it’s less messy than our dyeing extravaganza of last year!

We used a silk/wool mix and some cotton, which had to be pre-prepared by soaking in soy milk for a day. Caroline had gathered some foliage (including eucalyptus leaves of various types, oak and blackberry), and so we went down to her studio, about 20 minutes away near Napa City, to do the messy part of dipping the fabric in diluted vinegar, the leaves in ferrous sulphate, arranging the leaves on the fabric, sandwiching it with gladwrap and rolling around a piece of PVC pipe.

Then it was back to her place to steam the rolls in Dan’s wood steamer for a couple of hours.

After the break for Thanksgiving festivities we unrolled our cooled bundles yesterday. The effect is interesting, and I’ll be able to take it home as there’s no residual foliage but it will take a month for the colour to cure enough to be washed.

After doing that we headed to Sonoma, about an hour in the rain, for a bit of a look around and for a visit to a quilt shop. Unfortunately no photos, it was just too wet! We did have a very enjoyable wine tasting though – at the tasting room in town of a winery called Fulcrum who make pinot noir, chardonnay and savignon blanc. A nice variation from some of the amazing cabernet we’ve had at Caroline and Dan’s.

Wine tasting here is generally not free – in the Napa Valley we paid $40 per head – quite moderate (!) in an area where the sky can be the limit! In Sonoma we paid $25 per head – refunded as we bought some wine. In general the set up for tasting is a bit more elaborate – no glasses on top of an old barrel in the corner of the winery here!

So here are a few shots of the eco printing and the tasting facilities at Brasswood, the tasting facility we went to near St Helena here in the Napa.

A fine start to the day here, and I went for a walk up to the Bryant winery as the view was now clear after the rains. Just me, a shy squirrel and some titchy birds.

Thanksgiving dinner preparations started early with Dan preparing the turkey for smoking, and then Caroline and I spent part of the afternoon experimenting with eco-printing down at her studio near Napa City. Then it was back to finish dinner prep and steam our eco-printed fabrics. All will be revealed tomorrow after two hours of steaming and the reveal!

And then, a magnificent smoked turkey, all the trimmings and a fine wine. Happy Thanksgiving!