Dolce Senesi

In the midst of all the trip business I've been sharing with you, I have completely overseen the priorities - DAILY LIFE, which is so beautiful in Siena!

First of all, the Campo is the center piazza of the city. Siena is situated on two hills (and surrounding areas), with the Campo in the center (they call it the "drain", and there really is a central drain in there). When it rains, it's a crazy-good drainage system.

And rain, it has. It has rained on us practically every day. In other places, and on other touring experiences, this may seem like a hindrance, but the kids have learned to really appreciate it. Often, the day starts off stifling and warm (when you have A/C nowhere, your body learns to handle the weather differently), then the clouds blow in, and we get a little cloudburst (this stay, usually with some thunder, even we rarely see lightning), then it's cool with a nice breeze the rest of the time. The weather groups say that this is supposed to stop tomorrow, and it'll get a little warmer, but that's fine - we can pit out our clothes this week, and bring them back home for cleaning in our washing machines at home. Dirty laundry is the best packing material for pricey gifts - no one's going digging through that!!!

And the kids are learning to appreciate the sweets of Siena. We're still on the search for the best gelateria (I know my favorite one, but often students challenge me on this by the end of the trip), and we have some avid seekers. But, in Siena, baked goods are the BOMB. There are:
Ricarelli - soft, sweet cookies which are dusted with powdered sugar. I bring these home every trip, but they often harden before you can serve them to family, so they're probably not coming home with me this time (sorry, Mom);
Cantucci - really hard cookies which look (and are made) like biscotti. Caveat: if your child brings these home, don't eat them straight up - you'll break your teeth on them! They're intended to be served with vin santo, a very strong after-dinner wine - you fill shot glasses halfway with the vin santo, then put the cantucci in the glasses to soak, before eating them. I guess you could use regular wine to serve these, if your kiddo brings them home without vin santo, but it's just not the same . . .
Panforte and Panpepato: I am not the biggest fruitcake fan (even though I AM a fruitcake - parrotheads!!!), but this is something completely different. It's a small, round cake, but far thicker in consistency than cake, with nuts and candied fruit in it. I serve this in small slices to friends and family - a little goes a long way. The ingredients differ a little between the two, but they both have the same intent, which is totally accomplished - YUM
If your child brings anything else home (ciambelli or ciambellini - little cookies; dolci tipici - typical sweets), feel free to share on these, or ask questions! Above are the standard, common ones.

Of course, there are Baci ("kisses"), which are sold throughout Italy. It's something I encourage kids to buy when we're hanging out in the international lobby, waiting for our flight, to bring home to you. They're a little bigger than Hershey's kisses, and always have little bits of hazelnuts in them. Several of the kids on the trip have discovered their love for Nutella (seriously, Alex, Nutella on goldfish?), so you may see some containers of that in their bags, too. Please know I DON'T enourage that! :) It sits right next to the peanut butter at home . . . DUDE

This week, the music school in town (Chigiana - originally sponsored by the Chigi family) is hosting the beginning of their summer music program, and they have concerts every night. Each concert (like at home) is sponsored by a different group or company, and sometimes they give great discounts for students (i.e. our kids), so I encourage students to check out the concerts, if they're interested. Actually, during our last night (when we have our pizza-making party at the culinary school), they have a concert in La Piazza di Jacopo Della Quercia, which is pretty much an open locale. They have a small amount of seating, but the public can sit on the steps by the Duomo and still enjoy the beautiful concert. We may just go there together after our fabulous dinner of pizza, to enjoy our last evening in Siena!

Then, there's always the option to just hang out at home or in the Campo in the evenings, an absolutely enchanting experience!!!

Grazie tanti!
Laura :)