Auld Lang Siena

Here's a clip of a traditional Italian music concert in Palazzo Communale in the Piazza del Campo. Some of my friends' host parents sang in it!

And I just want to give a shout out to my mom--she and I once had a heated argument about whether or not singing was on the decline in America, and I suppose possibly maybe there is a slight chance her argument may have been at least partially valid... She was feeling nostalgic about Pete Seeger's 70-somethingth birthday concert and the idea that Americans don't sing together anymore, and I was staunchly arguing for the sake of argument that to the contrary, my friends and I quite enjoyed singing selections from America's Top 40 and that just because the songs have changed doesn't mean the practice has waned. But watching this concert in the Palazzo Communale sort of overpowered my argument...if Americans put together a concert of "traditional" "folk" songs, would anything on the list still be recognized today? Towards the end of the Siennese concert, the whole audience was singing along with all the songs, and I noticed both young and old people knew the words. I'm not sure I can think of a song that both my grandparents and I could sing all the words to.

Anyways.

Here are a couple pics of My Life in Italy:
Agrituristica Gabbiano, where we did our orientation
The tower of the Palazzo Communale on the Campo (and Angela's eye in the corner)
The view from the wall of San Gimignano, a city about an hour away from Siena
What we really came to San Gimignano for...the world famous gelateria! This is the line outside (and I'm proud to say we went through twice).
And finally, a glorious self-portrait at the beach! Look how un-sunburned I am!
(bathing suit courtesy of Siobhan Murray)

OK enough for tonight!!

A domani!