Goodbye Siena

Actually I had totally forgotten about these images from my last week in Siena for a very long time. Until I cleaned out my external drive and came across this folder Goodbye Siena. I guess I did not want to see it. If you have followed this journey a bit you know that Italia is a huge part of me and that I have fallen in love with a tiny city called Siena and my Tuscan life. I have every now and then dedicated travel posts to my stay there and checking on my Blog postings today I realized I had not written anything personal or travel connected in a very, very  long time. So this is from my last week in my most beloved Tuscan city of them all.

 The images are in no specific order and are not in one great story. They are connected to my story and if you don´t like it personal you can skip ahead and wait for the next photo shoot hitting the Blogosphere ;-) 

This was the neighborhood next to mine the "Unicorn" Leocorno having one of it´s festivities after the Palio week.

A day I will tell my kids about

On Monday, the day was finally here. The 2^nd of July. A day awaited for a whole year from all Sienese people and also from me. The Palio. Till the very day I considered not going to the actual horse race (I have been to a lot of the practice races), because let´s face it I am slightly  claustrophobic and with my super low blood pressure I tend to faint standing in the sun for too long. And this is what we were about to do. We would stand in the sun with a humongous amount of people and wait.  While melting away, we would count the minutes till the canon ball announced the arrival of the jockeys. This is not exactly my ideal situation to watch horse races. But then I made a decision during the midday and I gathered all my strength for the task ahead. Luckily I have some pretty awesome roomies, which know how things are done in this town. A lot of tourists waited in the full midday sun since two pm, when the race would not start till eight. So here is how we proceeded, we rested and relaxed during the day and as half past six came along we squeezed simultaneously through a tiny street, the last one still open at that time. It felt like pushing through the birth canal all over again. Via Dupré is not even broad enough for two cars to pass next to each other, but what felt like ten thousand Sienese people, they now how it´s done. Forget queuing and organization, we are in Italy!

Even if till now my description of the big day sounds weird, it is a day I am sure I will tell my kids about. One day when they come into the house after running around between cherry trees and basil, when I am about to lay them down for the night and their big hungry kids eyes are glued to my face as I am about to tell the goodnight story.

I will tell them of a town, far, far away. Hidden between the Tuscan hills, where tradition is hold higher than any value in the life of many people. I will tell them of noble man and race horses, of Carabinieri dressed  Armani (yes they will know what that means)…

… I will tell of a tension I have never seen before in a crowd so passionate.

… I will tell them that the minimum 35° degree sun felt refreshing after finally arriving in the piazza.

Give me Carabinieri, in uniforms designed by Armani with white noble horses … and I´m in heaven!

PS, being obsorebed and swolloed up by the cities biggest event. Nothing else matters on this very day… the day of the Palio.

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Early morning silence, finally some cool air, we leave our palazzo and set out for the Campo (city piazza). The first morning practicing run of the Palio. I was convinced that at five am, the piazza will be a lonely field… well I did not account the Sienese absolute passion for the biggest event of their year.

As the first round of horses and jockeys exited the city hall, I forgot I was total sleep deprived, I forgot my bed and I heard hooves. Hooves galloping their soothing sound as just horse hooves can make this lovely morning music. I would get up for this moment at really any time in the night.

This was my morning romance, horses, dust, my lens and me.

The world in a world

Next week is going to be WILD, I know it for sure. You see, there is the world, like the normal world we all know and then there is the world in Siena. These two things are wide apart from each other and the world in Siena frankly has rules of it´s very own. I mean like medieval rules… this city is different. The whole long year evolves around a single event for senese people. The Palio. The HUGE horse race in July, around the city piazza. There are seventeen rivaling neighborhoods (Contrade) and the highest thing for each member of each neighborhood is to win the Palio. Nothing else comes even close in significance to this event. Each year ten horses can start in the race, each one sponsored by one Contrada. The participants are drawn secretly and a horse can even win without it´s rider for the Contrada. Yes you read that one right, jockeys fall off thier horses and they do that on the corner to my street, also known as the corner of death...   So I am living in the Contrada del Torre (neighborhood of the tower) and surprisingly we were excluded from the race, because someone had this genius idea to kill a goose for each year the Contrade del´oca (neighborhood of the Goose) has not won the Palio. Told you... wildly different world.

Laurea delle coinquiline

Grazie per questo giorno indimenticabile!!

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Thank you for this unforgettable day!!

That one time I ran into a Persian chef cook from San Francisco…

I was out with two girlfriends as were about to finish our dinner in my favorite restaurant in Siena. When I was surprised by a waiter speaking very good English at the table next to me.  As we´re about to leave, I was asked from where in the states I am from and three minutes later I realized that the new befriended cook, Hoss, would need a translator the next day. To interview the owner of this wonderful dining place. I was sooo in. Italian food, first hand. Insights in the kitchen. Chatting with the inventor of delicacies my mouth has craved so often. Hello!!

So, the next day I accompanied Hoss to interview the chef, he took a wonderful hour to answer questions. You will be able to read about all the insights in Hoss´s article – I will share on FB + Twitter when he publishes it.

After this, for me unexpected he showed us all the kitchen, pasta machine, cellar, pizza oven included. The owner Giuseppe Chiarelli himself took some time to prepare some fresh pizza just for us and we were able to follow each step, even more, he invited us to return the next day, so he could set up a nice rustic pasta/dish display. It was amazing.

Say what you want! Yesterday was golden dust in the air! Oh yes! And I ran around to catch some. With my lens of course.

~ Enjoy.

Preview:

Behind the scenes in my absolute favorite restaurant in Siena.

More to come soon!

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Hinter der Kulisse in meinem absoluten Lieblingsrestaurant in Siena.

Bald kommt mehr!

Wonderful Tuesday to you!

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Einen schönen Dienstag dir!

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Under the Tuscan sun

After handing in my first Italian paper – yes ITALIAN - it was time to go out and get some of this Tuscan sun! My roommate Alba and I went to one of our canteens and searched for a nice spot under olive trees. With a panorama at our feet and two books in our labs. While resting and soaking in the warm air we were listening to a symphony out of a cello lesson in the palazzo behind the garden, dogs barking and one of the sienaese drum bands practicing on the streets. Our sweet life.

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Unter der Sonne der Toskana

Nachdem ich heute meine allererste italienische Hausarbeit – ja ITALIENISCHE - eingereicht hatte war es an der Zeit endlich raus zu gehen und etwas von dieser toskanischen Sonne zu tanken. Meine Zimmermitbewohnerin Alba und ich gingen zu einer unserer Mensen und suchten einen netten Platz unter Olivenbäumen. Mit dem Panorama zu unseren Füßen und zwei Büchern in unseren Händen. Während wir die Seele baumeln ließen lauschten wir der Symphonie aus einer Cellostunde aus dem Palast hinter dem Garten, Hundegebelle und dem Üben einer der Sienesischen Trommelband. Unser süßes Leben.

Tea reloaded

One of the little things I truly miss about the student life in Germany are all these small cafés, made for students, run by students. These tiny getaways right around the corner. Where you just hang out and do nothing but sharing time or listening. I guess it´s because Germans are better with creating indoor coziness. Don´t get me wrong, there are some truly awesome places everywhere, but I still think Germans are better in creating that feel – which is totally out of a necessity. The weather is simply not that awesome as in Tuscany all the time! As simple as that. To my utmost joy I came across the place of places in Siena some time ago and since the first day I set my tiny leather boot on the red cobble stone I had this urgent wish to run wild with my camera. Ok, it could have been wilder, but here is my little love letter for the “Tearoom”.  My recommended backgroundmusic.

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Eins der wenigen Dinge, die ich tatsächlich von meinem deutschen Studentenleben vermisse, sind all diese kleinen Cafés, für Studenten, von Studenten. Diese niedlichen Oasen gleich um die Ecke. Wo man einfach nur zum relaxen, plaudern und zuhören hingeht. Ich vermute es liegt daran das die Deutschen besser darin sind, dieses Flair zu kreieren. Versteh mich nicht falsch, es gibt ganz wunderbare Minioasen an sehr vielen Orten, jedoch denke ich das es den Deutschen etwas mehr liegt – aus einer gewissen Notwendigkeit heraus. Das Wetter ist einfach nicht ständig so sagenhaft umwerfend wie in der Toskana. Da hast du´s. Zu meiner übergroßen Freude bin ich schon vor einiger Zeit über den chilligsten Ort, der chilligsten Orte in Siena gestolpert. Seit dem ersten Tag, als mein kleiner Lederstiefel, die roten Kopfsteine betrat wollte ich dort mit meiner Kamera durchgehen (run wild). Natürlich hätte es etwas durchgedrehter sein können, aber hier ist meine Liebeserklärung an den „Tearoom“. Meine kleine Musikempfehlung.

Our St. Patrick's Day BBQ with the international students in Siena.

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Portrait session with Yoko

Since September I share this nice apartment in the city center of Siena with four girls. Now this might sound horrible for some of you, but in reality it´s just fun and we get along surprisingly well. Our fun mix of nationalities is made of two Italians, one Catalan, one Japanese and one German. Sadly just now the time for Yoko has come to move on. As usual, way too soon. But I did not want to let her go before a little Session with her. So here is the first Asian Session ever! I loved it! Thank you Yoko for the fun time! I took her to one of my favorite places in Siena. A private garden not ten minutes away from our house. We were strolling around, greeting the donkey (Yes, my friends a donkey in the city center) and rolling on the new grown, spring scented grass. ~ Enjoy!!

And have a lovely spring weekend!

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Seit September teile ich eine Wohnung in der Mitte von Siena mit fünf Mädels. Was sich jetzt vielleicht für den ein oder anderen wie ein Albtraum anhört ist für uns jedoch jede Menge Spaß. Unsere bunte WG Mischung von Nationalitäten besteht aus zwei Italienerinnen, einer Katalanin, einer Japanerin und einer Deutschen. Leider muss Yoko uns schon bald verlassen, viel zu früh, wie so oft. Allerding wollte ich sie nicht gehen lassen, ohne vorher eine kleine Session mit Ihr zu machen. Also hab ich die Freude heute meine allererste asiatische Session mit euch zu teilen. Mir hat es super gut gefallen. Danke Yoko für die entspannte Zeit! Ich habe sie an einen meiner Lieblingsorte in Siena entführt. Ein privater Garten nicht einmal zehn Minuten von unserem Haus entfernt. Wie sind dort rumgestromert, haben den Esel begrüßt (ja ein Esel meine Freunde, in der Stadtmitte) und sind auf dem nach Frühling riechenden Gras rumgerollt. ~ Enjoy!!

Ich wünsche euch ein schönes Frühlingswochenende!

CiocoSi

Sunday´s are for chocolate!!

This weekend is the "CiocoSi" (Festa del Cioccolato) Fest of Chocolate, in Siena. That means that on the beloved market square are all kinds of delicacies made of chocolate. Lot´s of vendors and literally mountains of pralines! Amazing!

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Sonntage sind für Schokolada!!

Dieses Wochenende ist das „CiocoSi“ (Festa del Cioccolato) Fest der Schokolade, in Siena. Was genau bedeutet das auf dem geliebten Marktplatz ganz viele Köstlichkeiten aus Schokolade zu finden sind. Viele Händler und im wortwörtlichen Sinne, Berge von Pralinen. Unglaublich!

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So, it was Saturday again and as there were three new members in our Photo walk group in Siena, we decided to go for a photo walk during midday in the city center. What I did not realize when I was planning it, was that there was Giro d´Italia right here in Siena this very day. Most of the streets were blocked and people from outside Siena could not even get close anymore. `What the heck is Giro d`Italia?` you might ask… It´s like the biggest bike race all across this beautiful country. Yes and this time, lucky me, the finish line was not even five hundred meters from my home. Italians in general love their bicyclists. Really! They have high respect for every biker on every however tiny country road. So this was an event for all the small and tall fans. I really enjoyed just being in the middle, while I realized how long it has been since I have practiced sport photography… embarrassing. Anyway, enjoy the tiny selection!!

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Diesen Samstag kamen drei neue Leute zu unserer Fotospazierganggruppe in Siena und deshalb beschlossen wir einen Spaziergang in der Innenstadt zu machen. Was ich überhaupt nicht realisierte war, das Giro d´Italia genau an diesem Tag mitten in Siena war. Die meisten Straßen waren gesperrt und Leute von außerhalb kamen schon seit einigen Stunden nicht einmal in die Nähe der Innenstadt. `Was ist denn jetzt dieses `Giro d´Italia`?` fragst du dich. Das ist so ziemlich das größte Radrennen durch das ganze Land der Sonne. Ja und diesmal war die Zielgerade nicht einmal fünfhundert Meter von meiner Haustür entfernt. Italiener, darf ich mal verallgemeinern, lieben Ihre Radfahrer. Wirklich! Auf jeder noch so kleinen Landstraße wird ihnen sehr respektvoll begegnet. Also dieses Rennen war eine sehr wichtige Sache für die Kleinen und Langen Fans. Mir hat es wirklich sehr gut gefallen mittendrin dabei zu sein, jedoch hab ich mit Schrecken festgestellt wie lange ich schon nicht mehr Sportfotografie geübt hab… peinlich. Wie dem auch sei, hier eine winzige Auswahl, für dich!

Have a sportive week!

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Eine sportliche Woche dir!

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Sunset with Snow

This is a very quiet time of the year, even more so with the winter, snow, cold, surprise in Tuscany. Therefore I have some quiet sunset with Snow pictures and warm greetings from my Tuscan just semi warm kitchen ;-).

 

~ Happy Thursday! Saluti.

Sunday´s are for tearooms, long conversations with a good friend, the smell of a fire place next to your table... 

quietness. 

Snow in Siena

It started late in the evening and my roomy was looking at me with joyous eyes. Rici, if it´s still snowing after we finished our movie, we should go out for a walk. So shortly after midnight we left our palazzo in the middle of town. Shouts and screams greeted us on the street and before short we found ourselves in a city square filled snow ball fights. This was too good. After my roommate defeated all the other exchange students (proud of her) we continued our walk to the dome. Taking in it´s peaceful, soulless sight.  The magical atmosphere was not over yet – next morning the whole town was sliding, rolling and squeaking about this surprise visit. Ok, not the whole town, kids, dogs, but I may report, some adults as well… And then finally I was confirmed of my long lasting presumption! Every town square (piazza) should have a steep slope! No, honestly! Every town should have one! Simply best thing ever!!

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Es begann spät in der Nacht und meine Mitbewohnerin schaute mich mit erwartungsvollen Augen an. Rici, wenn es immer noch schneit wenn wir den Film zu Ende geschaut haben, dann müssen wir rausgehen. Somit haben wir kurz nach Mitternacht unseren Palazzo verlassen. Schon auf der Straße wurden wir von freudigen Rufen gegrüßt und kurz darauf fanden wir uns auf dem Piazza in einer einzigen Schneeballschlacht wieder. Das war einfach zu gut! Nachdem meine Zimmernachbarin alle anderen Austauschstudenten besiegt hatte (bin stolz auf sie) führten wir unseren Spaziergang Richtung Dom fort. Diese verwunschene Atmosphäre war jedoch noch nicht vorbei. Am nächsten Morgen war die ganze Stadt am rutschen, kullern und vergnügten quieken. Ok, vielleicht nicht die ganze Stadt, aber alle Kinder, Hunde und ich darf auch den ein oder anderen Ausgewachsenen hin zu fügen. Zu guter Letzt wurde ich in einer meiner schon immer und sehr lang gehegten Vermutungen bestätigt. Jede Stadt sollte auf dem Marktplatz einen kleinen „Hang“ haben den man im Fall das es schneien sollte vereint hinunter rutschen kann. Wirklich ich hab es schon immer geahnt, aber das hat es übertroffen! Zu gut!!

I told you there was a wild snow ball fight! See all these??? Ok, I admit, snowflakes... 

The glass

Sometimes, just sometimes there are these days when the glass is half empty. We all know them. And I think it is just a part of being human. The art of life is to see the glass half full again. So today very much to my surprise it started to snow. This means for the Italians I share this city with they prepare for the state of emergency by staying home. I on my part took my camera and walked out for a stroll. With a smile on my face puzzling all the three people I came across. I had all Benetton Sales to myself. But today was not the day for Benetton. Today was the day for my new photographer gloves! I wanted to get them some while ago and finally they are mine. I weatherproofed them! They are wonderful!

So what is to be done on a day like this? 1) I try to keep calm and put the kettle on.

This is my all round solution. It really helps. Promise!

2) Then I remember one of my favorite books. It´s called “Life without limits” from Nick Vujicic. He overcame all the struggles of a life without limbs and became an international motivational speaker. Honestly? His story is absolutely amazing! Read about it or watch some clips on youtube and let yourself be inspired. He is a freaking living miracle!

So then there is just one nice thing left to do, go out, get some fresh air, have the city to yourself and take pictures. Enjoy with me some of the “snow” impressions. ;-)

Portrait session with Jesus

We set up our session during the only three days when it was raining in a row in all of December. We kept pushing it one day ahead and then another. At the end we were out in this magical hour of durst before the sunset and I could not have been happier!! I loved the durst and the mysterious touch it gives to the session and all the popping colors. So nice! It was really fun to stroll around our canteen garden, this is where we eat. The building in the background was a church once, I guess, like four hundred years ago. Jesus is student from Spain and I have to admit I was totally doing a little dance, because I wanted to take pictures of his hair!
YES.