On the train to Siena
With officially one week of school down, thousands of steps recorded and some amazing meals made this week, Florence is starting to feel like home. Monday was a no class day to start off the week easy and help us all get ready while also doing some more exploring throughout the city. Tuesday I woke up, made some eggs on toast and apricot jam, looked at my class syllabus and headed to class. My professor is quite a character, with a thick Italian accent, wearing the same beat up brown beanie to class everyday and passion for art. He talked to us about the meaning of the class and how we can become better scholars through learning about the function of urban space and contemporary art. I have never been in a class that is solely held outside versus inside a classroom, so with each class consisting of different walks throughout the city and exercises to help us learn, our first class was started in the streets of Florence. The next couple of days in class consisted of more walking, talking, picture taking, a few panini stops in between lectures and meeting my classmates.
It felt like living in groundhog day, waking up each morning, making eggs on toast, walking to coffee, making my way to class, walking around the city, going back to my apartment, doing my homework, going for a run and waiting for the roommates to return, cooking dinner and going to bed. My routine is feeling pretty set other than a few fun daily differences like trying new restaurants with new people and trying to find the best gelato in the city. But it is starting to sink in, the feeling of small city life. Growing up going to small schools in big cities I think I have gotten used to the patterns of school life being apart from home life, but in Florence there is a feeling of needing to escape at times, or wanting to find something new in order to stay sane. Living with seven roommates in a small flat in the middle of the city constantly having conversations about travel plans and what dinner we are going to cook is a new life for me that is full of joy but also comes with a sense of overwhelment.
With this, I have been cherishing my nightly routine of cooking dinner, catching up with the roommates and then taking a hot shower before reading my book and going to bed at 9:30 each day. With an average of twenty plus thousand steps daily, my body is feeling the effects of over walking syndrome, so the elderly woman's night routine is keeping my endurance for more steps high.
Today, I ventured to the small Tuscan town of Siena which was very different from the other small towns I have been to since being in Florence. After getting in from the train, it took me about 25 minutes of small panic trying to find a way to get into the city, with my google maps telling me to walk through private property and a sketchy bus system in sight I ended up taking a taxi to get to the city center, only about ten euro which saved my legs and reduced my stress. Once I got into the city, it was fun walking around the small streets that surround the center church that is next to two restaurants and a large sitting deck. Something in me was not feeling immensely inspired to stay in the city too long, so after finding the most amazing pair of blue steel toe doc martens at a vintage shop, I walked to the outer the rim of the city and sat at a park doodling the skyline and eating a five euro sandwich from the supermarket. I spent a while there enjoying the sun and views of the city and then strolled back into town before walking back to the train station.
