Walk This Way...

Sorry this has taken so long. I have had a ridiculous couple of days. Yesterday, I went to class, came home and did some homework while waiting for the most recent bout of rain to pass, and then decided to take advantage of the sunshine. I headed out to the Bobogli Gardens, which are behind the Pitti Palace.

They were HUGE. Unrealistically huge. I think some Italian towns are smaller than these gardens. However, when I began this journey, I was blissfully unaware of this fact. Can you blame me? It looked a lot smaller on the map. I quite literally got lost for the better part of a half hour. And it was GLORIOUS. Nothing short of glorious. Every inch of these gardens are gorgeous, you are literally stumbling onto classical statues all over the place. By the time I found the exit, I was starving and my feet were insanely sore, but I did not care. Not at all.





Today we got up and met our bus at 8:00 AM, which was all but impossible, along with the KU kids, and we headed to Siena. Which is gorgeous. Points of interest about Siena::
1. It is known as "Medieval Pompeii." In the 1300s, Siena was the place to be. They had the largest cathedral in Italy, but they wanted to expand it. Like, two or three times the size. So construction started. And then, it was 1348 and someone invited the Black Plague. Which wiped out 75% of the city's population. Needless to say, they never quite got back up on their feet. So the whole city, with a few minor exceptions, looks like it did in 1348.
2. Siena essentially invented the fruitcake. Siena was beseiged by the dirty Florentines, and the town was going hungry since they couldn't trade for more food. So a nun invented this cake to soothe the pain in and give energy to the fighters. This cake involved ginger, candied fruits, and nuts. Does this sound familiar to anyone else?
3. Siena is divided up into 17 neighborhoods. Who are crazy competitive. Twice a year, they have a horse race in the town square. And the winner gets to display their colors for a long time. The competitive nature was palpable even in September, very much between races. Sienese are crazy.

And we made a brief excursion to San Gimignano, a town with only one main street. HOWEVER, on this main street, there was both the Torture and Death Penalty Museum ((which was ... delightful)) and world famous champion awesomeness gelato.Life is good :) My feet hurt, so I think tomorrow is going to be devoted to homework.