daniel smith

Well it’s my very last day here in Siena. Tomorrow I start the long journey back to Sydney. This morning I went to the markets here in Siena. Ok, so anyone coming next year beware if you are going to the markets. Bring 1) lots of money, 2) lots of water, 3) lots of backpacks [...]

Well I’m a free man (to a certain degree!). I’ve finally finished the course here in Siena and am now an official tourist :P The concert went really well (not often I am happy!) so I’m very excited. I will tell you all more soon because I think there is too much to tell! First [...]

Very sorry I couldn’t write yesterday, right now is the busiest yet over here :P First of all, to my family in Sydney, please vacate any hotel guests you have opened my room up to over the past months and please don’t forget to pick me up from the airport – I will be home [...]

Ciao tutti! Yep, the last Thursday of the course – this really should be filmed for a reality series or documentary! Just to answer a few questions, the funny looking toilet thing in the photo below with no lid is a bidet (no urinating please) :P I don’t use it though – kinda freaked out [...]

Well today is the last Tuesday of the course here in Siena. The 120 applicants have now been narrowed down and today the final few active students for the last part of the course and concerts were announced. I don’t know how but I’m so excited and so honoured to have been successful in winning [...]

It’s washing day! It’s washing day! A very exciting day of the week indeed where I get to wash my clothes from the previous week :P Can be quite a spectacle to watch, especially on hot days where I walk to the laundromat carrying my bag of dirty clothes. Today however, it’s raining so I [...]

Carrying a backpack over 20kgs for about 90mins per day is not really my idea of fun, but as the course begins to come to a close I’m wondering why I bought compilation books of scores :P I’m sorry I haven’t written in a while, it’s been hectic lol. Am very much ready for hibernation [...]

Well it’s nearly Palio time here in Siena so the normally calm city has been overtaken with tourists literally! It’s quite scary and very difficult to walk through the city, especially as a parade takes place by one of the contradas showing off their horse! The photo below is of one of these parades (and [...]