I woke up early today to do a little studying for our Italian final that we have at 11, but I forgot I didn't blog about yesterday, so I'm putting a hold on the studying and jumping into the details of yesterday.
So yesterday in Italian we had our conversation final which we all studied for pretty well. We each had a partner and had to talk about a topic for 5 to 10 minutes, and then we were done. Era molto facile. It was sad to leave Veronica, we really enjoyed her conversation class. After conversation we had our final review with Francesca for our grammar test (that I should be studying for right now), she encouraged us that we would do great and not to get too hung up on it or study too hard, so that reassured us all.
After class I went to Cafe Ricci for one last time with Alison and Hannah then headed back up to eurocenters to do a little studying. I headed back around 2:30, and mildly freaked out when we didn't have internet upon return because I still hadn't figured out how I was getting to Nonno's or anything involving meeting up with Toni etc. So, I took a nap instead of freaking out over it. When I woke up at 4, it still was not working, but the phone was ringing so that meant it didn't have to do specifically with ours, because we notice when the internet is down in the house, the phone line is completely dead as well, so we had a feeling everyone's Alice internet was not working properly. So to waste more time I went on a short run, and by the time I came back it was back on!
I took a shower and got ready to go out for our final dinner, studied a little more and skyped with my mom to figure out my departure plans for saturday. Decided on a departure time from SMN at 10:40, arriving in Frosinone at 1:55, Toni could go to the supermarket while waiting if I got there way after her. Plan settled.
Around 6:40 we headed out to the bus stop to go into town. Road the bus without a ticket, it was very nerve racking, but I made it to SMN without getting fined. It was weird because the bus had changed and it wasn't the normal style bus that usually is bus #4 so it was a weird ride into town. We ended up walking with Cassie and Alexa to Antico Noe Osteria, where we were 15 minutes early and they were still setting up. When we arrived Avery came up to us out of breath and said "Did you know they changed the reservation to 7:30?" It was hysterical, he had sprinted from picking up his girlfriend to the restaurant because he thought it started at 7:00, so he thought he was late, but in actuality he was quite early.
By 7:30 everyone was crowded outside in the archway except for Jackie and Cristi who were obviously late as usual. We sat down at our tables unaware of the mountains of food that were about to come. They served us a red and white wine, the best wines I have tasted over the duration of the trip. And they brought us iced cold water which they kept refilling, and then the food began pouring out.
Before the food came Benjamin started off the night by reading all of our top ten lists he had made us write for his class, it was interesting and fun to guess whose list was whose, and to see what was on it.
Now for the FOOD: First we started off with a delicious fresh Bruschetta, followed by numerous platters of meet, cheese, bread and foccacia. All delicious. For the main course we had a family style dish of fettucine with artichokes, DELICIOUS, and then a rigatoni with rabbit sauce. Also very good, but i preferred the carciofi. After the pasta dishes Roast beef was taken out, then finally an apple tart cake. The whole progression of food took about 3 hours, We were definitely in the restaurant from 7:30 to at least 10:30, and it was a great time! I would say a wonderful last dinner, although it would have been great if we could have all fit at the same table, but we were in close quarters and by the end, all the tables were mingling!
Great night, walked home, studied a little, computered, packed and the fell fast asleep before 12, and now I have to go do some more studying before walking to eurocenter for the last time :( CIAOOOOOOOOO!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
T-3, Non posso crederlo!
How are there only three days remaining here in Florence? Its just not fair how fast time flies.
Today I had planned to do big things. First I had set my alarm for 7:00am because I wanted to go on a run before I met with people to study, but my alarm didn't go off so I didn't end up running. For breakfast I ate the leftover Faro that was left on the counter, I figured it was kinda like oatmeal for breakfast, it was delicious.
Plan of the day was to study for a little at Cafe Ricci in Santo Spirito then go to the supermarket to buy a picnic lunch to bring to the Cascine where we would relax, eat, study and have a great Italian Republic day. It wasn't we couldn't have our picnic because it was an Italian festa and nothing was open, we were pleasantly surprised with 95% of things being open, but unfortunately the sky was not on our side and a large thunderstorm rained on our picnic.
I had met Acca outside Santo Spirito because we wanted to get food from the Mangiatoia near school to bring to the Cascine. We went anyways while it was getting quite chilly and about to storm. The Mangiatoia was a great late term find. Pasta dishes, meat, cotornos, and fried zucchini flowers :o) Pasta dishes cost at most 3 euro, best place ever. Today I got a contorno of spinaci and 3 fiori di zucca, erano molto buono. As we walked out of the Mangiatoia in search of a hunk of pecorino, it started to thunder and lightning, THRILLING! We stopped a few stores down the way past Palazzo Pitti toward Ponte Vecchio and found a hunk of pecorino that shocked us with the price, but it was delicious, probably worth the few extra euro.
So we went to bring our goodies to the outdoor covered terrace of the Oblate library where we had had loads of fun the night before, but obviously it was closed. So instead we went back to the Stanghellini senior household, ate our food there and studied for a little while. After I got bored of studying we went on a Medici break with Jackie. I got a 70 cent gelato pallina, because I wasn't very hungary and I had always been intrigued by the many things inside the fridges at Medici. I got a Coffee flavored gelato ball encased in a dark chocolate case with chocolate chips on it. It was delicious!
After we ate our Medici we all went our separate ways to relax and studying in the comfort of our homes on a wonderfully rainy day. I'm a loser and went to go see if the COOP was open just because I wanted to walk around and marvel at it, but unfortunately supermarkets not in centro were chiuso for the holiday, so I ended up just heading back home.
I did homework for a while then we gathered at the dinner table for our final dinner. Sadly it wasn't anything grand or special, but it certainly was delicious. We had a delicious tomato soup that she described how she made but I have a terrible memory so I don't think I'm capable of replicating it. She also made a typical florentine salad called something that starts with a P and I can't remember. But I think I am capable of replicating that salad! Then we closed with the liquored batch of the Tiramisu which was just as delicious!
After dinner we retreated to our rooms, where I watched some Glee and am currently studying, hoping the oral exam goes VA BENE DOMANI. Penso che non sia troppo difficile, ma no lo so! Ci vediamo domani raggaziiiii!
Today I had planned to do big things. First I had set my alarm for 7:00am because I wanted to go on a run before I met with people to study, but my alarm didn't go off so I didn't end up running. For breakfast I ate the leftover Faro that was left on the counter, I figured it was kinda like oatmeal for breakfast, it was delicious.
Plan of the day was to study for a little at Cafe Ricci in Santo Spirito then go to the supermarket to buy a picnic lunch to bring to the Cascine where we would relax, eat, study and have a great Italian Republic day. It wasn't we couldn't have our picnic because it was an Italian festa and nothing was open, we were pleasantly surprised with 95% of things being open, but unfortunately the sky was not on our side and a large thunderstorm rained on our picnic.
I had met Acca outside Santo Spirito because we wanted to get food from the Mangiatoia near school to bring to the Cascine. We went anyways while it was getting quite chilly and about to storm. The Mangiatoia was a great late term find. Pasta dishes, meat, cotornos, and fried zucchini flowers :o) Pasta dishes cost at most 3 euro, best place ever. Today I got a contorno of spinaci and 3 fiori di zucca, erano molto buono. As we walked out of the Mangiatoia in search of a hunk of pecorino, it started to thunder and lightning, THRILLING! We stopped a few stores down the way past Palazzo Pitti toward Ponte Vecchio and found a hunk of pecorino that shocked us with the price, but it was delicious, probably worth the few extra euro.
So we went to bring our goodies to the outdoor covered terrace of the Oblate library where we had had loads of fun the night before, but obviously it was closed. So instead we went back to the Stanghellini senior household, ate our food there and studied for a little while. After I got bored of studying we went on a Medici break with Jackie. I got a 70 cent gelato pallina, because I wasn't very hungary and I had always been intrigued by the many things inside the fridges at Medici. I got a Coffee flavored gelato ball encased in a dark chocolate case with chocolate chips on it. It was delicious!
After we ate our Medici we all went our separate ways to relax and studying in the comfort of our homes on a wonderfully rainy day. I'm a loser and went to go see if the COOP was open just because I wanted to walk around and marvel at it, but unfortunately supermarkets not in centro were chiuso for the holiday, so I ended up just heading back home.
I did homework for a while then we gathered at the dinner table for our final dinner. Sadly it wasn't anything grand or special, but it certainly was delicious. We had a delicious tomato soup that she described how she made but I have a terrible memory so I don't think I'm capable of replicating it. She also made a typical florentine salad called something that starts with a P and I can't remember. But I think I am capable of replicating that salad! Then we closed with the liquored batch of the Tiramisu which was just as delicious!
After dinner we retreated to our rooms, where I watched some Glee and am currently studying, hoping the oral exam goes VA BENE DOMANI. Penso che non sia troppo difficile, ma no lo so! Ci vediamo domani raggaziiiii!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
T-4
Today I woke up very content because the ZANZA STOP worked miracles last night. No bugs buzzing in my ear, only minimal itching, the Italian Farmacia once again has worked miracles. So I woke up got dressed and had a delicious breakfast consisting of yogurt with some cocoa crispies. Delicious as always, the yogurt here is some how so much tastier than in the states. After I ate breakfast I got my things ready to go and headed off to school... walking, because It is JUNE FIRST, so my bus pass expired, so no buses until Saturday for me when I have to lug my big huge heavy luggage to the SMN!
I arrived at school early because I obviously give myself enough time to not ever be late, and then I started getting anxious because after Italian we would have our Mauro presentations, and I am not very good at presenting, but after the presentation it meant I was done with Architecture, AND Photography, so 2/3 classes down, only Italian to go, not bad!
So, we had Italian class, having lots of fun retelling what we had done the previous day, all the while I was only mildly freaking out about the presentation. After class we decided to have one last go at Gusta Pizza, I had an ENORMOUS calzone filled with ricotta, prosciuto, and mushrooms, it was amazing and HUGE. We ate them up on the Eurocenter deck because it was beautiful out, and so we could looking over our presentations and make last minute changes.
As the bell chimed one, there was a fight over who would present first. I didn't want to get into the middle of it and cause a ruckus, so I just settled for whatever spot was handed to me. It would have been nice to go first and get it out of the way but it wasn't worth the effort they were making to get into the first spot. When Mauro entered the classroom, order was restored and we commenced presenting our projects. They were all very interesting, and I don't think mine turned out that badly which was nice. We ended up finishing the class at 4:20, longest class ever, but it didn't seem that bad. Mauro said his goodbyes to us and told us he enjoyed us as a group, we all shook his hand, then left Eurocenters sadly, knowing we probably wouldn't see Mauro and his awesomeness again.
I started to head home with Avery, Alex and Jackie, following Hannah and Alison to their favorite gelateria La Carraia, to accompany them while the indulged on their gelato. After they ate, our crew headed home, stopping at a supermarket to by some waters because we were extremely thirsty. We hung out in Piazza della Vittoria for a little while, then headed our own ways, I had a date to make some Tiramisu, and I wasn't about to miss it.
By 6:30 Claudia was back, she asked us what we would prefer for dinner, giving us about 5 different options (love that lady), and Sam and I picked left over eggplant (because I made it THAT good) and FARO! After we decided what we wanted to eat, she lead us in to the kitchen and began our second cooking lesson of the week. TIRAMISU!
4 eggs, 8 tablespoons of sugar, beat together until white and fluffly.
Add half a kg marscapone and mix.
Dip biscotti into espresso
layer bottom of bowl with biscotti, then the sugar and marscapone mix, add chocolate bits and repeat. On top layer add cocoa powder, refrigerate for a little then you have Tiramisu! A delicious one a matter of fact!
I don't really like tiramisu, and this one I loved!
We ate dinner, Faro and melanzane was delicious, and the tiramisu was an amazing addition, then we decided what we were going to do for the night. I decided to meet up with Acca at Medici at 9:30, Sam wanted to stay in. While at Medici, Jackie called me saying she wanted to go out. We planned to go to Be Bop where there was a Beatles cover band every tuesday night, so I convinced Acca to come out. We went back to his house to convince Avery to come out and then we met up with Jackie and walked in toward the Duomo.
We walked through Piazza SS Annunziata and there was a cool concert going on with a food stand so we sat there for a little until the band switched to some heavy metal not good music and we went on our way. We went to Be Bop while the Beatles were on a break so we decided to go walk around. Acca took us to the Library because there was a bar and sometimes music on their terrace on the third floor. Who would've thought I would spend my night having fun at a library? American libraries should definitely remodel to be like Italian ones because it was a lot of fun! Around 12 we got kicked out of the library because it was closing and we headed back home. We stopped into Be Bop, hot sweaty loud and crowded, and listened to a few of their songs. It was a lot of fun, just wish we could have gotten a table, after 4 or 5 songs we headed back home ready to go to bed and wake up at decent our to start studying for our Italian final.
Wednesday is a holiday so I am praying things are open so I can do a little gift shopping for people, FINGERS CROSSED!
CIAOOOO
I arrived at school early because I obviously give myself enough time to not ever be late, and then I started getting anxious because after Italian we would have our Mauro presentations, and I am not very good at presenting, but after the presentation it meant I was done with Architecture, AND Photography, so 2/3 classes down, only Italian to go, not bad!
So, we had Italian class, having lots of fun retelling what we had done the previous day, all the while I was only mildly freaking out about the presentation. After class we decided to have one last go at Gusta Pizza, I had an ENORMOUS calzone filled with ricotta, prosciuto, and mushrooms, it was amazing and HUGE. We ate them up on the Eurocenter deck because it was beautiful out, and so we could looking over our presentations and make last minute changes.
As the bell chimed one, there was a fight over who would present first. I didn't want to get into the middle of it and cause a ruckus, so I just settled for whatever spot was handed to me. It would have been nice to go first and get it out of the way but it wasn't worth the effort they were making to get into the first spot. When Mauro entered the classroom, order was restored and we commenced presenting our projects. They were all very interesting, and I don't think mine turned out that badly which was nice. We ended up finishing the class at 4:20, longest class ever, but it didn't seem that bad. Mauro said his goodbyes to us and told us he enjoyed us as a group, we all shook his hand, then left Eurocenters sadly, knowing we probably wouldn't see Mauro and his awesomeness again.
I started to head home with Avery, Alex and Jackie, following Hannah and Alison to their favorite gelateria La Carraia, to accompany them while the indulged on their gelato. After they ate, our crew headed home, stopping at a supermarket to by some waters because we were extremely thirsty. We hung out in Piazza della Vittoria for a little while, then headed our own ways, I had a date to make some Tiramisu, and I wasn't about to miss it.
By 6:30 Claudia was back, she asked us what we would prefer for dinner, giving us about 5 different options (love that lady), and Sam and I picked left over eggplant (because I made it THAT good) and FARO! After we decided what we wanted to eat, she lead us in to the kitchen and began our second cooking lesson of the week. TIRAMISU!
4 eggs, 8 tablespoons of sugar, beat together until white and fluffly.
Add half a kg marscapone and mix.
Dip biscotti into espresso
layer bottom of bowl with biscotti, then the sugar and marscapone mix, add chocolate bits and repeat. On top layer add cocoa powder, refrigerate for a little then you have Tiramisu! A delicious one a matter of fact!
I don't really like tiramisu, and this one I loved!
We ate dinner, Faro and melanzane was delicious, and the tiramisu was an amazing addition, then we decided what we were going to do for the night. I decided to meet up with Acca at Medici at 9:30, Sam wanted to stay in. While at Medici, Jackie called me saying she wanted to go out. We planned to go to Be Bop where there was a Beatles cover band every tuesday night, so I convinced Acca to come out. We went back to his house to convince Avery to come out and then we met up with Jackie and walked in toward the Duomo.
We walked through Piazza SS Annunziata and there was a cool concert going on with a food stand so we sat there for a little until the band switched to some heavy metal not good music and we went on our way. We went to Be Bop while the Beatles were on a break so we decided to go walk around. Acca took us to the Library because there was a bar and sometimes music on their terrace on the third floor. Who would've thought I would spend my night having fun at a library? American libraries should definitely remodel to be like Italian ones because it was a lot of fun! Around 12 we got kicked out of the library because it was closing and we headed back home. We stopped into Be Bop, hot sweaty loud and crowded, and listened to a few of their songs. It was a lot of fun, just wish we could have gotten a table, after 4 or 5 songs we headed back home ready to go to bed and wake up at decent our to start studying for our Italian final.
Wednesday is a holiday so I am praying things are open so I can do a little gift shopping for people, FINGERS CROSSED!
CIAOOOO
Monday, May 31, 2010
T-5 Days, Photography Complete!
So my plan to try and go places I've never been and explore constantly during my last week here has not gone as well as I had anticipated. I forgot that I am not bionic woman, and am quite the opposite, so I get tired a lot and I realized on mondays and tuesdays when I have 6 hours of class, that pretty much exhausts me enough to deter my exploring. But that doesn't mean I didn't accomplish anything today, I accomplished a lot!
Woke up early to go to Mamma's bakery to study Italian with some classmates. There I'm ashamed to say I ate a muffin. . A raspberry chocolate chip muffin, it was totally worth it. While studying we met two women who were drinking their coffee as well. One was from California, and had dropped out of UC Davis 30 years ago, but recently got a degree, and her friend a mother of 2 boys had moved to Florence 12 years ago and still lives here. Inspirational to me! I didn't get much of her story, but knowing its possible to move here and make a life, and speak fluent Italian IS POSSIBLE! There is hope for me yet!
After Mamma's we went to class, had jokes and fun with Veronica and Francesca, reviewed a little bit then went to get a quick lunch so we could return to Eurocenters to finish our photo projects that were due today. Our mission for lunch was Gusta Pizza, but as we rounded the corner we noticed the doors were bordered up and then it came to us.. It was monday, lots of stuff was still closed! So the group split up, Jackie and I daring to try a little supermercato's panini that a few people said were really good. Boy they were right! I had a delicious panino, with delectably soft, yet crunchy bread, mortadella, pomodoro, pesto and mozzarella, and boy was the woman generous with the mozzarella, she put an entire ball on, and the whole sandwich was only 3.50. Made me a little sad I hadn't ventured into the store earlier, in fear of leaving Gusta Panino, but at least I made it in once! And I won't lie, I preferred it to Gusta Panino, Gusta just has more ingredients, but the market was 100% more fresh, and the woman was so cute and old who was working there, so she got my points! Won't be going to Gusta this week, if I want a panino it will be from the little old lady again!
So after we ate we went back up to Eurocenters, I began burning my project onto its DVD in its correctly labelled Benjamin format. Chatted with professor a little before class, then started photo class and viewed everyone's final project. Wasn't a bad class, I got to work on my Mauro presentation a little bit and then Professor took us to the corner Gelateria, Santa Trinita, where I tried a 2 euro combo of ANANAS e YOGURT! (pineapple=bomb)
Then I ventured across the street to the Farmacia where I asked the store keeper what he had for mosquitos. He responded they had many things, creams, sprays, things for before and after, and asked which one I'd like. I told him I would need them all, THAT is how bad my face looks, and how bad my hand itches and how bumpy every part of my body is at fault of LE ZANZARE ITALIANE! I left the store with a ZANZA STOP plug and an anti itch stick that can easily fit into my pocket or purse so that I can apply it at any time, I'm really excited about it.
After the successful trip to the Farmacia I headed on home catch the bus number four for one of the last times of my time here, because tomorrow is June, so my monthly bus pass is up and I don't want to spend money on individual tickets. Just will have to buy one for Saturday to get to the stazione with my tons and tons of luggage (not looking forward to that). When I got home Claudia was there to greet me and apologize for not feeding us properly last night, it was wonderful to see her :o). We chatted for a little then I ran into my room to plug in my ZANZA STOP, praying it would work, and thankfully it seems as though it has done the job thus far.
Claudia came in a little while later asking for Sam because we had our cooking lesson starting soon. I wasn't exactly sure where she was, so I was the sole learning chef for the day. Claudia took me into the kitchen and explained how we would be making the eggplant and the sauce. In the sugo, there would be chopped up carrots, half an onion, celery, and basil (she never gives specific quantities, so i'm screwed when I reattempt the recipes!) cooked a little bit and the tomato would be added and heated and stirred.
For the eggplant portion of the meal, it was mainly on me. She showed me how to wash and cut the eggplant into slices. I then had to flour the eggplant slices, and put them in a frying pan that had already heated oil and a few pieces of sage (which I picked from the garden). While I was frying the eggplant slices, taking them out when they were golden brown (d'oro), she was putting hunks of parmigiana in the blender and finishing up the tomato sauce. When most of the eggplant slices were done I had to lay them down in a pot, layer by layer, adding sauce then parmigiana atop each layer of eggplant. When it came to the end, she told me I put way too much cheese on top and a little much sauce, but it was okay it was Lia Style Eggplant Parm. We put it in the oven to bake for 20 minutes or so then we sat down to eat it with a little bit of pasta on the side. The excess of cheese was the perfect amount to me! Samantha, Gabri and herself all enjoyed the creations of me, I was proud, and hoped I could remake the delicious dinner at home without herself. Doubtful, but I will try someday!
Dinner was delicious, I was forced to retell how I had made everything to Samantha in Italian. We watched the usual Viva Las Vegas tv program for a little, and then we figured what we would be doing for the remainder of the trip, discussed when we were leaving and what we would miss. Sad dinner, but to come in the week is a Tiramisu lesson, sauce making to bring home, and making biscotti al prato. Somehow I will be doing a LOT of cooking tomorrow, wednesday and friday before I go out to dinner with a friend. I felt bad having to tell Claudia and Gabri we wouldn't be here thursday (because of our class final dinner) and friday (because I was invited out), but they understood. When Claudia left the table Sam and I started talking in english in front of Gabri, suddenly he told us to stick out our hands and he lightly hit each of them chastising us for speaking in english and said solo parlate in italiano, Ops, we forgot! They are so good about not letting us speak english at the dinner table, i love it! I'm gonna miss them!
Almost done with the day, doing a little studying, watching an episode of Glee then off to bed! Get ready for exciting T-4 TOMORROW!
Woke up early to go to Mamma's bakery to study Italian with some classmates. There I'm ashamed to say I ate a muffin. . A raspberry chocolate chip muffin, it was totally worth it. While studying we met two women who were drinking their coffee as well. One was from California, and had dropped out of UC Davis 30 years ago, but recently got a degree, and her friend a mother of 2 boys had moved to Florence 12 years ago and still lives here. Inspirational to me! I didn't get much of her story, but knowing its possible to move here and make a life, and speak fluent Italian IS POSSIBLE! There is hope for me yet!
After Mamma's we went to class, had jokes and fun with Veronica and Francesca, reviewed a little bit then went to get a quick lunch so we could return to Eurocenters to finish our photo projects that were due today. Our mission for lunch was Gusta Pizza, but as we rounded the corner we noticed the doors were bordered up and then it came to us.. It was monday, lots of stuff was still closed! So the group split up, Jackie and I daring to try a little supermercato's panini that a few people said were really good. Boy they were right! I had a delicious panino, with delectably soft, yet crunchy bread, mortadella, pomodoro, pesto and mozzarella, and boy was the woman generous with the mozzarella, she put an entire ball on, and the whole sandwich was only 3.50. Made me a little sad I hadn't ventured into the store earlier, in fear of leaving Gusta Panino, but at least I made it in once! And I won't lie, I preferred it to Gusta Panino, Gusta just has more ingredients, but the market was 100% more fresh, and the woman was so cute and old who was working there, so she got my points! Won't be going to Gusta this week, if I want a panino it will be from the little old lady again!
So after we ate we went back up to Eurocenters, I began burning my project onto its DVD in its correctly labelled Benjamin format. Chatted with professor a little before class, then started photo class and viewed everyone's final project. Wasn't a bad class, I got to work on my Mauro presentation a little bit and then Professor took us to the corner Gelateria, Santa Trinita, where I tried a 2 euro combo of ANANAS e YOGURT! (pineapple=bomb)
Then I ventured across the street to the Farmacia where I asked the store keeper what he had for mosquitos. He responded they had many things, creams, sprays, things for before and after, and asked which one I'd like. I told him I would need them all, THAT is how bad my face looks, and how bad my hand itches and how bumpy every part of my body is at fault of LE ZANZARE ITALIANE! I left the store with a ZANZA STOP plug and an anti itch stick that can easily fit into my pocket or purse so that I can apply it at any time, I'm really excited about it.
After the successful trip to the Farmacia I headed on home catch the bus number four for one of the last times of my time here, because tomorrow is June, so my monthly bus pass is up and I don't want to spend money on individual tickets. Just will have to buy one for Saturday to get to the stazione with my tons and tons of luggage (not looking forward to that). When I got home Claudia was there to greet me and apologize for not feeding us properly last night, it was wonderful to see her :o). We chatted for a little then I ran into my room to plug in my ZANZA STOP, praying it would work, and thankfully it seems as though it has done the job thus far.
Claudia came in a little while later asking for Sam because we had our cooking lesson starting soon. I wasn't exactly sure where she was, so I was the sole learning chef for the day. Claudia took me into the kitchen and explained how we would be making the eggplant and the sauce. In the sugo, there would be chopped up carrots, half an onion, celery, and basil (she never gives specific quantities, so i'm screwed when I reattempt the recipes!) cooked a little bit and the tomato would be added and heated and stirred.
For the eggplant portion of the meal, it was mainly on me. She showed me how to wash and cut the eggplant into slices. I then had to flour the eggplant slices, and put them in a frying pan that had already heated oil and a few pieces of sage (which I picked from the garden). While I was frying the eggplant slices, taking them out when they were golden brown (d'oro), she was putting hunks of parmigiana in the blender and finishing up the tomato sauce. When most of the eggplant slices were done I had to lay them down in a pot, layer by layer, adding sauce then parmigiana atop each layer of eggplant. When it came to the end, she told me I put way too much cheese on top and a little much sauce, but it was okay it was Lia Style Eggplant Parm. We put it in the oven to bake for 20 minutes or so then we sat down to eat it with a little bit of pasta on the side. The excess of cheese was the perfect amount to me! Samantha, Gabri and herself all enjoyed the creations of me, I was proud, and hoped I could remake the delicious dinner at home without herself. Doubtful, but I will try someday!
Dinner was delicious, I was forced to retell how I had made everything to Samantha in Italian. We watched the usual Viva Las Vegas tv program for a little, and then we figured what we would be doing for the remainder of the trip, discussed when we were leaving and what we would miss. Sad dinner, but to come in the week is a Tiramisu lesson, sauce making to bring home, and making biscotti al prato. Somehow I will be doing a LOT of cooking tomorrow, wednesday and friday before I go out to dinner with a friend. I felt bad having to tell Claudia and Gabri we wouldn't be here thursday (because of our class final dinner) and friday (because I was invited out), but they understood. When Claudia left the table Sam and I started talking in english in front of Gabri, suddenly he told us to stick out our hands and he lightly hit each of them chastising us for speaking in english and said solo parlate in italiano, Ops, we forgot! They are so good about not letting us speak english at the dinner table, i love it! I'm gonna miss them!
Almost done with the day, doing a little studying, watching an episode of Glee then off to bed! Get ready for exciting T-4 TOMORROW!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
T-6 Days and 106 Mosquito Bites
Sunday AM. Woke up at 9ish, ate a yogurt I had bought at the COOP yesterday. Can we talk about COOPs and Italian supermercatos and how I have so much fun exploring them? Seriously, supermercatos are definitely in my Italian Top Ten. They just make me HAPPY!
So Sam and I ate breakfast and did homework for a few hours before we left to go meet up with a bunch of people at the diner, to eat and do work. Monday we have our final photo project due and and Tuesday we have our architecture power point presentation for Mauro, so we had a lot of work to get done. I met Vishnu at the diner to do our power point around 1:00, they denied us access to the internet because it was so busy, so we just ordered food then prepared to go do our work somewhere else. I ordered a chicken wrap with mozzarella inside, it was a nice change from hard core italian food, but I won't be eating there again, save the American food for when I'm in America.
After lunch, we headed to the library to do work. Unfortunately the sign outside the library said DOMENICA CHIUSO, and we believed it so we went on our way searching for a place with WIFI and enough space to do our work. We decided to go back to my house and do work since we have a good work desk, so we walked back through Piazza del Duomo to use some of our Assaggios from the Gelato Festival, I grabbed a small taste of Stracciatella then we went on our way to catch number four to get to my house.
Vish and I worked on our project for a few hours then I went to a park to do a little reading, then I returned home to do more work and wait for Claudia to come home for dinner.
Sam and I soon began discovering the infestation of mosquitos in our room, and began freaking out. The amount of bug bites I have on my body is absolutely ridiculous. We didn't do many new things today, but we did commence our mosquito massacre. Claudia didn't end up coming home for dinner, so we made ourselves frozen pizza, bundled up in sweatshirt and sweatpants so that the mosquitos couldn't get to us. We worked more on our projects then started to go to bed when we noticed the ceiling COVERED in mosquitos...
Let the massacre BEGIN
We went into the closet to find brooms, we spread out, climbed the tables and beds and began smacking flies left and right. I feel a little bit bad about leaving the wall splattered with mosquito guts, but if you saw my face and my arms, you would have no mercy for the mosquitos or the walls.
Finally we thought we had killed a decent amount of the mosquitos so I decided to go to bed. Around 2:00am Samantha and I found ourselves staring at eachother on the verge of tears because the buzzing and biting in our ears wouldn't stop. I put my ipod in my ears to ignore the buzzing and I curled into the fetal position and buried my body completely with coves. It was really hot, but I was eventually able to fall asleep.
Not a very exciting day besides the killing of the mosquitos, but I still enjoyed just being in Florence on a beautiful day!
So Sam and I ate breakfast and did homework for a few hours before we left to go meet up with a bunch of people at the diner, to eat and do work. Monday we have our final photo project due and and Tuesday we have our architecture power point presentation for Mauro, so we had a lot of work to get done. I met Vishnu at the diner to do our power point around 1:00, they denied us access to the internet because it was so busy, so we just ordered food then prepared to go do our work somewhere else. I ordered a chicken wrap with mozzarella inside, it was a nice change from hard core italian food, but I won't be eating there again, save the American food for when I'm in America.
After lunch, we headed to the library to do work. Unfortunately the sign outside the library said DOMENICA CHIUSO, and we believed it so we went on our way searching for a place with WIFI and enough space to do our work. We decided to go back to my house and do work since we have a good work desk, so we walked back through Piazza del Duomo to use some of our Assaggios from the Gelato Festival, I grabbed a small taste of Stracciatella then we went on our way to catch number four to get to my house.
Vish and I worked on our project for a few hours then I went to a park to do a little reading, then I returned home to do more work and wait for Claudia to come home for dinner.
Sam and I soon began discovering the infestation of mosquitos in our room, and began freaking out. The amount of bug bites I have on my body is absolutely ridiculous. We didn't do many new things today, but we did commence our mosquito massacre. Claudia didn't end up coming home for dinner, so we made ourselves frozen pizza, bundled up in sweatshirt and sweatpants so that the mosquitos couldn't get to us. We worked more on our projects then started to go to bed when we noticed the ceiling COVERED in mosquitos...
Let the massacre BEGIN
We went into the closet to find brooms, we spread out, climbed the tables and beds and began smacking flies left and right. I feel a little bit bad about leaving the wall splattered with mosquito guts, but if you saw my face and my arms, you would have no mercy for the mosquitos or the walls.
Finally we thought we had killed a decent amount of the mosquitos so I decided to go to bed. Around 2:00am Samantha and I found ourselves staring at eachother on the verge of tears because the buzzing and biting in our ears wouldn't stop. I put my ipod in my ears to ignore the buzzing and I curled into the fetal position and buried my body completely with coves. It was really hot, but I was eventually able to fall asleep.
Not a very exciting day besides the killing of the mosquitos, but I still enjoyed just being in Florence on a beautiful day!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
T-7 Days
Today starts my week countdown of days left in Florence. Unlike the majority of the group, my countdown is a sad one. I don't want to leave Florence, my host family or my Eurocenter teachers, if only it were a real 14 week semester maybe I would be a little bit ready to go home, but next saturday will be too soon. And get this! I'm not even going home! I get to travel for a month! The rest of the students in my group have been counting down the days and couldn't be more excited to step back on American ground, but not me!
Days here are numbered, and recently we have been finding new restaurants, new places to go out, and new museums that we haven't been to and I'm afraid there just won't be enough time to see it all!
I'm going to write an entry every day for my last 7 days in Florence, hopefully they won't be filled with descriptions of how hard I studied that day, but all the fun things I did along with a little bit of studying!
First off Friday we explored and found a relatively cheap restaurant for lunch after going to the Strozzi with Veronica and Francesca for class, gonna miss those ladies. We got to eat outside under a large umbrella and I had a delicious pasta dish with a mushroom and sausage cream sauce it was amazing!
Last night I went up to Piazzale Michelangelo to watch the sunset then met up with the girls at a Mexican Bar Tiajuanas. Service was horrible, but the food and drink was good. Got back home around 1:00, and knowingly set my alarm for 4:40, so I could wake up to take pictures of the Sunrise. I figured it wouldn't be so bad because I don't have class on Saturday so I could go out for a couple of hours way early and then go back to bed until forever.
So I was woken up by my alarm at 4:40, but didn't end up pulling myself out of bed until 5:12. It was okay though because I was still able to get some good shots of the sunrise. There were very nice colors in the sky this morning and it was relaxing to be in town with only a few people out and about. I stayed out until a little after 6:00 then headed back to my bed to fall asleep.
I woke up around 10:00 had breakfast and then got ready to go in centro to check out the Gelato Festival and to find a restaurant that my mom wanted to look at. In Piazza del Duomo we bought our tickets, 4 euro for 5 assaggi, then roamed the tents to spend our first ticket. We ended up at a homemade popsicle stand and I got a delicious Pompelmo flavored popsicle that was perfectly refreshing for the hot day. After that Anna and Sam went off to do their architecture project and I just went wandering aimlessly around town.
I checked out the Mercato Nuovo trying to find the right sciarpe for Zizi Linda. Also trying to find little gifts for people at home. I wandered toward the Santa Croce area and toward Antico Noe where I had a delicious baguette sandwich with Artichokes, Porchetta and Brie. From there I munched on my sandwich while I walked back toward the SMN area looking for Via del Moro, where a Buon Ricordo restaurant is situated. Everywhere I walked there were jacked italians walking around with numbers on their chests, apparently there had been a road race or some sort of event going on that I missed, the city is happening this weekend, thank god it isn't raining.
I wandered around for a while trying to find the road then I finally found it. I checked out the menu then went inside to get a Carta di Visita on order from my mom. I waited awkwardly in the doorway to get someones attention because I didn't immediately notice the presence of their business cards, and finally this little old man peeked his head around the corner, pointed at me and then came over to assist me. I ask him "avete una carta di visita?" and he hobbled over to a desk and gave me a small pile of his business cards. Success!
Walking through Piazza della Signoria I spotted a bride and groom, so I did the Marisa thing and chased after and documented their walk through the piazza. Like mother like daughter :)
I then started wandering back toward the Bargello and Santa Croce to meet up with Sam and Anna and do a little work and get a drink at the Diner where there was outside seating and wi-fi. Cristi, Jackie, Hannah, Alison and Phil all ended up there as well and we spent a relaxing afternoon sipping iced tea, doing work and chatting. Around 4:30 we headed back into the heat of the Gelato festival to use another ticket, I used it at a stand with gelato from the Gelateria Triangolo delle Bermuda. I got Caffe Crunch, it was molto buono. We roamed around with our gelatos then headed back to our home to nap before dinner and going out.
Skyped with the fam. A little sad I can't be home celebrating Alex's graduation. Let's bring everyone here to Italy, then celebrate?? Seeing Nonno Saturday, he seemed very excited and got me really excited. Can't wait to sip cappuccinos on the patio and do nothing all day, make some pancakes maybe? Sounds like a great life!
For dinner Claudia left us insalata and pesce. Healthy meal, no carbs, although we did find a package of New Yorkers- American Chocoalte Chip Cookies with 37% Chocolate Chips... whatever that means, they were good.
After dinner we walked into town to go to Santa Maria Novella to meet up with some friends. There was a huge stage in the Piazza so we were hoping there would be entertainment, but nothing ever happened. We hung out there for a while chatting, then went further in town to our normal bar Naima, where we found the other half of our group, we stayed out for a while and ended up going to a discoteca for a little while then returned home.
Days here are numbered, and recently we have been finding new restaurants, new places to go out, and new museums that we haven't been to and I'm afraid there just won't be enough time to see it all!
I'm going to write an entry every day for my last 7 days in Florence, hopefully they won't be filled with descriptions of how hard I studied that day, but all the fun things I did along with a little bit of studying!
First off Friday we explored and found a relatively cheap restaurant for lunch after going to the Strozzi with Veronica and Francesca for class, gonna miss those ladies. We got to eat outside under a large umbrella and I had a delicious pasta dish with a mushroom and sausage cream sauce it was amazing!
Last night I went up to Piazzale Michelangelo to watch the sunset then met up with the girls at a Mexican Bar Tiajuanas. Service was horrible, but the food and drink was good. Got back home around 1:00, and knowingly set my alarm for 4:40, so I could wake up to take pictures of the Sunrise. I figured it wouldn't be so bad because I don't have class on Saturday so I could go out for a couple of hours way early and then go back to bed until forever.
So I was woken up by my alarm at 4:40, but didn't end up pulling myself out of bed until 5:12. It was okay though because I was still able to get some good shots of the sunrise. There were very nice colors in the sky this morning and it was relaxing to be in town with only a few people out and about. I stayed out until a little after 6:00 then headed back to my bed to fall asleep.
I woke up around 10:00 had breakfast and then got ready to go in centro to check out the Gelato Festival and to find a restaurant that my mom wanted to look at. In Piazza del Duomo we bought our tickets, 4 euro for 5 assaggi, then roamed the tents to spend our first ticket. We ended up at a homemade popsicle stand and I got a delicious Pompelmo flavored popsicle that was perfectly refreshing for the hot day. After that Anna and Sam went off to do their architecture project and I just went wandering aimlessly around town.
I checked out the Mercato Nuovo trying to find the right sciarpe for Zizi Linda. Also trying to find little gifts for people at home. I wandered toward the Santa Croce area and toward Antico Noe where I had a delicious baguette sandwich with Artichokes, Porchetta and Brie. From there I munched on my sandwich while I walked back toward the SMN area looking for Via del Moro, where a Buon Ricordo restaurant is situated. Everywhere I walked there were jacked italians walking around with numbers on their chests, apparently there had been a road race or some sort of event going on that I missed, the city is happening this weekend, thank god it isn't raining.
I wandered around for a while trying to find the road then I finally found it. I checked out the menu then went inside to get a Carta di Visita on order from my mom. I waited awkwardly in the doorway to get someones attention because I didn't immediately notice the presence of their business cards, and finally this little old man peeked his head around the corner, pointed at me and then came over to assist me. I ask him "avete una carta di visita?" and he hobbled over to a desk and gave me a small pile of his business cards. Success!
Walking through Piazza della Signoria I spotted a bride and groom, so I did the Marisa thing and chased after and documented their walk through the piazza. Like mother like daughter :)
I then started wandering back toward the Bargello and Santa Croce to meet up with Sam and Anna and do a little work and get a drink at the Diner where there was outside seating and wi-fi. Cristi, Jackie, Hannah, Alison and Phil all ended up there as well and we spent a relaxing afternoon sipping iced tea, doing work and chatting. Around 4:30 we headed back into the heat of the Gelato festival to use another ticket, I used it at a stand with gelato from the Gelateria Triangolo delle Bermuda. I got Caffe Crunch, it was molto buono. We roamed around with our gelatos then headed back to our home to nap before dinner and going out.
Skyped with the fam. A little sad I can't be home celebrating Alex's graduation. Let's bring everyone here to Italy, then celebrate?? Seeing Nonno Saturday, he seemed very excited and got me really excited. Can't wait to sip cappuccinos on the patio and do nothing all day, make some pancakes maybe? Sounds like a great life!
For dinner Claudia left us insalata and pesce. Healthy meal, no carbs, although we did find a package of New Yorkers- American Chocoalte Chip Cookies with 37% Chocolate Chips... whatever that means, they were good.
After dinner we walked into town to go to Santa Maria Novella to meet up with some friends. There was a huge stage in the Piazza so we were hoping there would be entertainment, but nothing ever happened. We hung out there for a while chatting, then went further in town to our normal bar Naima, where we found the other half of our group, we stayed out for a while and ended up going to a discoteca for a little while then returned home.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Tre Cento Euro, e Molte Divertente!
225 Euro payment for Florence For Fun to provide a 6 hour each way coach bus ride, 3 nights in a 3-star hotel named Hotel Cavour outside of Sorrento, 3 breakfasts and 2 (3 course) dinners. Not too shabby ehh??
Didn't think it was too bad of deal, but some how I came home with having spent nearly 80 extra euro on I don't even know what! I didn't really care though because the weekend was amazing, and it was worth every penny I spent.
All week I continued to wake up early, trying to make good photographs for my final project. Every time my alarm went off, it proved harder and harder for me to wake up. Usually I am able to wake up in a second, so I am starting to worry about waking up for 6:00am practice next year. Hopefully I can get back into my 9:00 bedtime habits, and 5:30 am won't seem so bad!
Anywho, last week we got dumped with work, so aside from a Gelateria Medici run almost every night we were confined to the home, writing Mauro's paper, writing journal entries and studying up on our Italian. Monday through Wednesday were very relaxing, it was a little sad though because Claudia was away in Rome on business, so Samantha and I ate alone Monday and Tuesday, then Gabri and Claudia returned to the dinner table Wednesday, obviously with something delicious for our plates! We then delivered the sad news that we were going to Amalfi for the weekend and that we would be leaving Thursday at 6:30 and arriving Sunday around midnight, so we wouldn't be at dinner until Monday. They seemed a little sad, but I think they got over it pretty quickly!
Thursday I packed my little suitcase up before I left for class (I had bought it the day before for only 10 euros!). I left the very economical and convenient little suitcase stuffed to the brim at home while I had Italian from 10-12 and photography from 1-4. At the end of class I rushed home, made sure I had everything necessary for a wonderful weekend packed, and then I relaxed until it was time to catch the bus. Once again, the bus left me in extreme state of anxiety. Samantha and I had checked the bus schedule, a bus was to come at 5:57, 6:04, 6:12, 6:17 etc. We went out in time for the 5:57 bus, knowing it takes ten minutes to get to SMN by bus and obviously I wanted to be early for our 6:30 meeting time. Good thing all four of the buses that were scheduled to come, did not come! Talk about me FLIPPING out, even Samantha who is never worried about being late for anything was getting nervous, which was making me 10x more anxious than necessary. We called Anna just to tell her we were going to be late and to not let the trip leave without us, and finally by 6:27, bus numero quattro pulled up to our stop and we piled in with our suitcases and hearts racing. When we arrived at SMN it was nearing 6:45, we were late, but surprisingly we were not the latest of the group! By 6:50 our tour guide Cassandra had us walking to our bus, and by 7:00 we were en route for La Costa Amalfitana!
Bus ride was long, hot and mildly uncomfortable. Stopped at an Autogrill where I got a pretty disappointing salad, and got to not be stuffed in a bus for 45 minutes. By 10:00 we were back on the bus, and by 2:00am we had arrived at Hotel Cavour. By 2:15 I was fast asleep, with my alarm set for 7:10.
At 7:10 my alarm went off, just as I had asked it to. Anna and I went up to the breakfast room at 7:15 in our Pjs, ate some cornflakes and drank some coffee. After we ate we went back to the room to get dressed for Capri. We were supposed to meet in the lobby by 10 of 8:00 so we could walk down as a group to Sorrento's port to catch the ferry for Capri. When we all met it was clear everyone was sick of the rain and ready to catch some rays. All the girls were wearing the sun dresses and guys were in shorts and t shirts, even though it was still a little on the chilly side, but we were praying for it to warm up, and it didn't matter if we were cold just as long as our skin saw some sun on the island of Capri!
On the boat ride over I was beyond tired from the journey the night before, so I fell asleep immediately and was successful at drooling all over myself. But it didn't matter because I felt rejuvinated once I stepped foot on the Island of Capri. Our first activity was a boat tour of the island (10 euro down) which I initially didn't sign up for because I prefered seeing the Grotta Azzurra (entrance fee 11.50), but our tour guide told us it was closed due to weather conditions and choppy water, so I decided I could spend the 10 euro on the boat tour instead. It was worth it! We visited the Grotta Verde and Bianca, and we boated past the Grotta Azzurra, and it was clear why it had been closed. Even if a tiny little row boat had attempted to get through the opening, heads surely would have been knocked against the top of the opening... not my kinda fun! We boated around the entire island, through one of the famed Faraglioni and past the houses, really mansions, of many famous people. We saw the homes of Sophia Loren, Julia Roberts, Mussolini's crows nest, and many others. After an hour we returned to Marina Grande and our free time on Capri commenced.
We took the Funiculare into the center with all of our stomachs growling. The plan was to grab lunch then walk through town and down to the public beach at Marina Piccola. Hannah and Alison's host family had recommended a restaurant "Gemma" that was somewhere on the Island of Capri and well known because of their pizzas. Their host family told them it was the best pizza one could find in all of italy (in their opinion). So we went off in search of "Gemma". I went to the Informazione and asked the woman "Sai un ristorante si chiama Gemma?" Lei ha detto SI! Then preceded to tell us it was simply up the stairs on the right, so close! So we gathered the troops, Cristi, Hannah, Alison, Katie and Jackie, and we went to go attest to whether or not Gemma had the best pizza in Italy.
They had a gorgeous indoor terrace looking out of Marina Grande which was perfect for us because it still wasn't quite warm enough for us to be wearing our dresses outside for lunch. All 6 of us glared at the menu and ended up each getting the Margherita. I wanted the capriociosa, but it was 11 euro, compared to the 8 euro margherita and there was cover charge to pay so I opted for the cheaper. I don't know what I missed, but I can certainly say that the Margherita was absolutely delcious, and was definitely one of the tastier pizzas I've had in Italy. Cristi splurged for Nonno's Soup along side her Pizza and it was really worthwhile. THE most delicious soup ever! Overall, the recommendation of Gemma was right on, the only strange thing was that there was a cover charge, and service was not included, so I ended up paying half the price of my Pizza in service fees, booo... the food was worth it though!
After lunch we started the excursion down to Marina Piccola. We stopped numerous times taking photographs, trying to figure out where we were actually going and buying GRANITAS! Granitas were our tour guide's favorite thing about the trip to the Amalfi Coast, and I had to agree. Freshly squeezed lemons and oranges in a bitter but sweet icey refreshing drink, the perfect remedy for overheating in the sun, which luckily started happening to us after lunch! Sun was out, we were walking up and down stairs, and the Granita was a perfect cool down solution. nom nom nom.
By 1:30 we made it to Marina Piccola, we laid out our towels on the rocky public beach and soaked up the sun. I immediately fell asleep, once again drooling everywhere, but it was the perfect relaxing afternoon. Around 4 we started the hike back up the cliff to get back to Marina Grande to catch the boat back to Sorrento. The weather ended up being gorgeous, only raining lightly for 20 minutes during our hike back to Marina Grande, and the day was deemed successful.
Upon our return to Hotel Cavour we all showered up and get ready for 8:45 dinner. We were served homemade spaghetti with tomato sauce, bruschetta, insalata, vino and ACQUA! The most amazing part of the meal was getting free unlimited water. It was simply amazing, and it was like we were living the life of high rollers who could afford ACQUA! Amazing! After dinner there were plans to go out but everyone was so pooped they just stayed at the hotel and hung out, I was even too pooped to hang out, I went straight to bed, and probably began the drooling fest again. Luckily, we only had to meet on saturday by 10 to go to Positano, so I was able to sleep until 9:10, grab breakfast and prepare for a wonderful day of nice weather in the town of Positano where Under The Tuscan Sun has given me hope to find a man like Marcello, haha.
By 10:00 Saturday morning we were on our way to beautiful Positano. The entire group ooed and awwed as we drove down the coast, teetering over the cliff edges and looking at the bright blue water and beautiful towns stuck in the side of the mountains. We arrived in Positano a little before 11:00 hiked down hundreds of stairs to get to the beach. Surprisingly painful walk, when we stopped at the bottom I couldn't stop my calves from shaking, it was ridiculous.
We were given 50 minutes to check out the city and grab lunch to bring on the boat tour which started at 12:00. We walked up into the town a little bit, then went to a panini shop that was recommended to us by our tour guides called Vino e Panino. There I had a sandwich made on crusty fresh bread with mortadella, mozzarella, pesto, insalata, and pomodoro. It was chuck full with fresh ingredients and beyond amazing. Better than any Gusta Panino I've ever had... I didn't think it was possible!
We loaded the boat with our paninos in hand and started up the coast. We first boated past Positano to a little are where we could do some cliff jumping... COOL! I was the second person to say I was in, everyone was a little hesitant about it, but numerous people ended up following me, another girl and phil after we reached the shore. We were a little hesitant to start scaling the cliffs, but a group who was already there assured us that it wasn't very difficult and we should be fine, so up we went! Some started at the small, but I was ambitious so I went to the highest ledge first and prepared myself to jump! Took me a few minutes, and the scariest part was climbing up the rock, but I finally got to the top and then was encouraged to jump, it was a lot of fun, and certainly a lot higher than any diving board I have been off, I think it was around 45 feet high, FUN FUN FUN! I jumped off the highest two more times, and off the medium one once and then we all swam back to the boat and continued the tour.
Next stop: Grotto!
We boated near a grotto further up the coast than the cliffs. We were pretty cold from jumping in the water and being on the boat because the sun went away, but they gave us the option of swimming through the cave. How could I say no? Despite the fact I was already shivering, Hannah and Alison dove right in (they didn't cliff jump), and then I followed. SHortly after me, Anna, Phil and Dan were on there way in and it was totally worth it. We swam through a cave with crystal clear water and cool rock formations. Hung out in there for a little while then swam back to the boat. It was so beautiful, and only made me wonder how much more beautiful the Grotta Azzurra of Capri could be.
After our Grotto experience we got back on the boat, and wolfed down our sandwiches. We were hungry after fighting against the waves to enter the cave. It was totally worth it! The sandwich tasted so good, and was the perfect thing for a boat lunch, and the driver began to bring us back to Positano where we would have the rest of the day FREE!
When we arrived back, we went to the bathroom, then went to the beach because the sun finally came back out and it was HOT! We layed out for a few hours relaxing, then around 4:30 we headed up through the town to find Granitas and the bus stop so we could get back to our meeting place to return to Sorrento (without walking up ALL the hundreds of stairs).
We returned to the hotel by 6:15 and dinner was set for 8:00. We showered and got ready, because after dinner we were going out on the town, woop woop. For dinner we had individual homemade pizzas (they were a little weird), salmon, roasted potatoes and rum cake. And of course WATER! Delcious dinner, and afterwords Cassandra led us into town to a bar that they always go to that has a large outdoor section with a dance floor, bar and tables. It was early when we first arrived so a few of us walked down the road to a gelateria names Primavera that is supposedly famous, and lots of famous people love it there. I thought it was pretty good (obv. medici is better). We strolled down the main drag of Sorrento with our Gelato then headed back to the bar. It was a lot of fun, we all danced, had a great time, and talked with some italians. All in all great night!
Sunday we checked out of the hotel at 10, loaded the bus and headed to Pompeii! Pompeii was great. We had an Italian tour guide who made our visit to Pompeii 100% better, and there was no complaining, because everyone was fascinated with Pompeii and its ruins. For lunch we ate at one of the places outside Pompeii, we had 6 euro pizzas from a dumpy little place, and surprisingly most of the group said that the pizza was the best they have had. Worth the 6 euro I guess!
After lunch, the bus drove us up Vesuvio as high as we could, until we had to get up and hike to the tippity top. When we got out of the bus it was much cooler than it had been down in Pompeii, and there was a crazy thunderstorm happening just over the top of another near by mountain. It was pretty cool. We got our tickets for the hike up, then started it ASAP because we didn't want to get stuck in a huge storm. The hike was pretty difficult, my calves were certainly burning, but we made it to the top within 25 minutes, walked the perimeter of the crater, looked at the gorgeous coast line below, attempted to find the city of Pompeii and only got a little bit wet because it just began to sprinkle.
The view were gorgeous, and it was definitely worth the hike. I can say I've hiked mount Vesuvio now! After we hiked back down, we loaded the bus, I was pysched to be sitting, and pretty excited that my own bed was in my future. It had been a long long long weekend filled with lots of things, and I was ready to do nothing! We pulled into SMN around 11:00pm, and I was safely drooling again in my bed by 11:45, successful weekend! I'd do it again!
Monday we had Italian class, photo class and then cooking class. We had a lesson with Claudia to make Gnocchi con sugo di noci. She made us do the majority of the work. I had to hammer the walnuts apart and Sam had to take the nuts out. She made us mash the potatoes, add all the right ingredients and start rolling out the gnocchi. I'd say we did 75% of the work with her guidance, and it was clear that we were working too slow for her liking but it was okay, she was patient! THe end result was fantastic. A few mishapen Gnocchi, but like Claudia says about her healthy 8 grain biscotti, "Brutti ma Buoni!". Great cooking lesson, and I think I remember all the ingredients so I am looking forward to making walnut sauce when I return home.
Our last weekend in Firenze is ahead of us. So crazy! Gelato Festival and Italian Food Festival this weekend and possibly a day trip to the Cinque Terre! Can't wait!
A dopo!
Didn't think it was too bad of deal, but some how I came home with having spent nearly 80 extra euro on I don't even know what! I didn't really care though because the weekend was amazing, and it was worth every penny I spent.
All week I continued to wake up early, trying to make good photographs for my final project. Every time my alarm went off, it proved harder and harder for me to wake up. Usually I am able to wake up in a second, so I am starting to worry about waking up for 6:00am practice next year. Hopefully I can get back into my 9:00 bedtime habits, and 5:30 am won't seem so bad!
Anywho, last week we got dumped with work, so aside from a Gelateria Medici run almost every night we were confined to the home, writing Mauro's paper, writing journal entries and studying up on our Italian. Monday through Wednesday were very relaxing, it was a little sad though because Claudia was away in Rome on business, so Samantha and I ate alone Monday and Tuesday, then Gabri and Claudia returned to the dinner table Wednesday, obviously with something delicious for our plates! We then delivered the sad news that we were going to Amalfi for the weekend and that we would be leaving Thursday at 6:30 and arriving Sunday around midnight, so we wouldn't be at dinner until Monday. They seemed a little sad, but I think they got over it pretty quickly!
Thursday I packed my little suitcase up before I left for class (I had bought it the day before for only 10 euros!). I left the very economical and convenient little suitcase stuffed to the brim at home while I had Italian from 10-12 and photography from 1-4. At the end of class I rushed home, made sure I had everything necessary for a wonderful weekend packed, and then I relaxed until it was time to catch the bus. Once again, the bus left me in extreme state of anxiety. Samantha and I had checked the bus schedule, a bus was to come at 5:57, 6:04, 6:12, 6:17 etc. We went out in time for the 5:57 bus, knowing it takes ten minutes to get to SMN by bus and obviously I wanted to be early for our 6:30 meeting time. Good thing all four of the buses that were scheduled to come, did not come! Talk about me FLIPPING out, even Samantha who is never worried about being late for anything was getting nervous, which was making me 10x more anxious than necessary. We called Anna just to tell her we were going to be late and to not let the trip leave without us, and finally by 6:27, bus numero quattro pulled up to our stop and we piled in with our suitcases and hearts racing. When we arrived at SMN it was nearing 6:45, we were late, but surprisingly we were not the latest of the group! By 6:50 our tour guide Cassandra had us walking to our bus, and by 7:00 we were en route for La Costa Amalfitana!
Bus ride was long, hot and mildly uncomfortable. Stopped at an Autogrill where I got a pretty disappointing salad, and got to not be stuffed in a bus for 45 minutes. By 10:00 we were back on the bus, and by 2:00am we had arrived at Hotel Cavour. By 2:15 I was fast asleep, with my alarm set for 7:10.
At 7:10 my alarm went off, just as I had asked it to. Anna and I went up to the breakfast room at 7:15 in our Pjs, ate some cornflakes and drank some coffee. After we ate we went back to the room to get dressed for Capri. We were supposed to meet in the lobby by 10 of 8:00 so we could walk down as a group to Sorrento's port to catch the ferry for Capri. When we all met it was clear everyone was sick of the rain and ready to catch some rays. All the girls were wearing the sun dresses and guys were in shorts and t shirts, even though it was still a little on the chilly side, but we were praying for it to warm up, and it didn't matter if we were cold just as long as our skin saw some sun on the island of Capri!
On the boat ride over I was beyond tired from the journey the night before, so I fell asleep immediately and was successful at drooling all over myself. But it didn't matter because I felt rejuvinated once I stepped foot on the Island of Capri. Our first activity was a boat tour of the island (10 euro down) which I initially didn't sign up for because I prefered seeing the Grotta Azzurra (entrance fee 11.50), but our tour guide told us it was closed due to weather conditions and choppy water, so I decided I could spend the 10 euro on the boat tour instead. It was worth it! We visited the Grotta Verde and Bianca, and we boated past the Grotta Azzurra, and it was clear why it had been closed. Even if a tiny little row boat had attempted to get through the opening, heads surely would have been knocked against the top of the opening... not my kinda fun! We boated around the entire island, through one of the famed Faraglioni and past the houses, really mansions, of many famous people. We saw the homes of Sophia Loren, Julia Roberts, Mussolini's crows nest, and many others. After an hour we returned to Marina Grande and our free time on Capri commenced.
We took the Funiculare into the center with all of our stomachs growling. The plan was to grab lunch then walk through town and down to the public beach at Marina Piccola. Hannah and Alison's host family had recommended a restaurant "Gemma" that was somewhere on the Island of Capri and well known because of their pizzas. Their host family told them it was the best pizza one could find in all of italy (in their opinion). So we went off in search of "Gemma". I went to the Informazione and asked the woman "Sai un ristorante si chiama Gemma?" Lei ha detto SI! Then preceded to tell us it was simply up the stairs on the right, so close! So we gathered the troops, Cristi, Hannah, Alison, Katie and Jackie, and we went to go attest to whether or not Gemma had the best pizza in Italy.
They had a gorgeous indoor terrace looking out of Marina Grande which was perfect for us because it still wasn't quite warm enough for us to be wearing our dresses outside for lunch. All 6 of us glared at the menu and ended up each getting the Margherita. I wanted the capriociosa, but it was 11 euro, compared to the 8 euro margherita and there was cover charge to pay so I opted for the cheaper. I don't know what I missed, but I can certainly say that the Margherita was absolutely delcious, and was definitely one of the tastier pizzas I've had in Italy. Cristi splurged for Nonno's Soup along side her Pizza and it was really worthwhile. THE most delicious soup ever! Overall, the recommendation of Gemma was right on, the only strange thing was that there was a cover charge, and service was not included, so I ended up paying half the price of my Pizza in service fees, booo... the food was worth it though!
After lunch we started the excursion down to Marina Piccola. We stopped numerous times taking photographs, trying to figure out where we were actually going and buying GRANITAS! Granitas were our tour guide's favorite thing about the trip to the Amalfi Coast, and I had to agree. Freshly squeezed lemons and oranges in a bitter but sweet icey refreshing drink, the perfect remedy for overheating in the sun, which luckily started happening to us after lunch! Sun was out, we were walking up and down stairs, and the Granita was a perfect cool down solution. nom nom nom.
By 1:30 we made it to Marina Piccola, we laid out our towels on the rocky public beach and soaked up the sun. I immediately fell asleep, once again drooling everywhere, but it was the perfect relaxing afternoon. Around 4 we started the hike back up the cliff to get back to Marina Grande to catch the boat back to Sorrento. The weather ended up being gorgeous, only raining lightly for 20 minutes during our hike back to Marina Grande, and the day was deemed successful.
Upon our return to Hotel Cavour we all showered up and get ready for 8:45 dinner. We were served homemade spaghetti with tomato sauce, bruschetta, insalata, vino and ACQUA! The most amazing part of the meal was getting free unlimited water. It was simply amazing, and it was like we were living the life of high rollers who could afford ACQUA! Amazing! After dinner there were plans to go out but everyone was so pooped they just stayed at the hotel and hung out, I was even too pooped to hang out, I went straight to bed, and probably began the drooling fest again. Luckily, we only had to meet on saturday by 10 to go to Positano, so I was able to sleep until 9:10, grab breakfast and prepare for a wonderful day of nice weather in the town of Positano where Under The Tuscan Sun has given me hope to find a man like Marcello, haha.
By 10:00 Saturday morning we were on our way to beautiful Positano. The entire group ooed and awwed as we drove down the coast, teetering over the cliff edges and looking at the bright blue water and beautiful towns stuck in the side of the mountains. We arrived in Positano a little before 11:00 hiked down hundreds of stairs to get to the beach. Surprisingly painful walk, when we stopped at the bottom I couldn't stop my calves from shaking, it was ridiculous.
We were given 50 minutes to check out the city and grab lunch to bring on the boat tour which started at 12:00. We walked up into the town a little bit, then went to a panini shop that was recommended to us by our tour guides called Vino e Panino. There I had a sandwich made on crusty fresh bread with mortadella, mozzarella, pesto, insalata, and pomodoro. It was chuck full with fresh ingredients and beyond amazing. Better than any Gusta Panino I've ever had... I didn't think it was possible!
We loaded the boat with our paninos in hand and started up the coast. We first boated past Positano to a little are where we could do some cliff jumping... COOL! I was the second person to say I was in, everyone was a little hesitant about it, but numerous people ended up following me, another girl and phil after we reached the shore. We were a little hesitant to start scaling the cliffs, but a group who was already there assured us that it wasn't very difficult and we should be fine, so up we went! Some started at the small, but I was ambitious so I went to the highest ledge first and prepared myself to jump! Took me a few minutes, and the scariest part was climbing up the rock, but I finally got to the top and then was encouraged to jump, it was a lot of fun, and certainly a lot higher than any diving board I have been off, I think it was around 45 feet high, FUN FUN FUN! I jumped off the highest two more times, and off the medium one once and then we all swam back to the boat and continued the tour.
Next stop: Grotto!
We boated near a grotto further up the coast than the cliffs. We were pretty cold from jumping in the water and being on the boat because the sun went away, but they gave us the option of swimming through the cave. How could I say no? Despite the fact I was already shivering, Hannah and Alison dove right in (they didn't cliff jump), and then I followed. SHortly after me, Anna, Phil and Dan were on there way in and it was totally worth it. We swam through a cave with crystal clear water and cool rock formations. Hung out in there for a little while then swam back to the boat. It was so beautiful, and only made me wonder how much more beautiful the Grotta Azzurra of Capri could be.
After our Grotto experience we got back on the boat, and wolfed down our sandwiches. We were hungry after fighting against the waves to enter the cave. It was totally worth it! The sandwich tasted so good, and was the perfect thing for a boat lunch, and the driver began to bring us back to Positano where we would have the rest of the day FREE!
When we arrived back, we went to the bathroom, then went to the beach because the sun finally came back out and it was HOT! We layed out for a few hours relaxing, then around 4:30 we headed up through the town to find Granitas and the bus stop so we could get back to our meeting place to return to Sorrento (without walking up ALL the hundreds of stairs).
We returned to the hotel by 6:15 and dinner was set for 8:00. We showered and got ready, because after dinner we were going out on the town, woop woop. For dinner we had individual homemade pizzas (they were a little weird), salmon, roasted potatoes and rum cake. And of course WATER! Delcious dinner, and afterwords Cassandra led us into town to a bar that they always go to that has a large outdoor section with a dance floor, bar and tables. It was early when we first arrived so a few of us walked down the road to a gelateria names Primavera that is supposedly famous, and lots of famous people love it there. I thought it was pretty good (obv. medici is better). We strolled down the main drag of Sorrento with our Gelato then headed back to the bar. It was a lot of fun, we all danced, had a great time, and talked with some italians. All in all great night!
Sunday we checked out of the hotel at 10, loaded the bus and headed to Pompeii! Pompeii was great. We had an Italian tour guide who made our visit to Pompeii 100% better, and there was no complaining, because everyone was fascinated with Pompeii and its ruins. For lunch we ate at one of the places outside Pompeii, we had 6 euro pizzas from a dumpy little place, and surprisingly most of the group said that the pizza was the best they have had. Worth the 6 euro I guess!
After lunch, the bus drove us up Vesuvio as high as we could, until we had to get up and hike to the tippity top. When we got out of the bus it was much cooler than it had been down in Pompeii, and there was a crazy thunderstorm happening just over the top of another near by mountain. It was pretty cool. We got our tickets for the hike up, then started it ASAP because we didn't want to get stuck in a huge storm. The hike was pretty difficult, my calves were certainly burning, but we made it to the top within 25 minutes, walked the perimeter of the crater, looked at the gorgeous coast line below, attempted to find the city of Pompeii and only got a little bit wet because it just began to sprinkle.
The view were gorgeous, and it was definitely worth the hike. I can say I've hiked mount Vesuvio now! After we hiked back down, we loaded the bus, I was pysched to be sitting, and pretty excited that my own bed was in my future. It had been a long long long weekend filled with lots of things, and I was ready to do nothing! We pulled into SMN around 11:00pm, and I was safely drooling again in my bed by 11:45, successful weekend! I'd do it again!
Monday we had Italian class, photo class and then cooking class. We had a lesson with Claudia to make Gnocchi con sugo di noci. She made us do the majority of the work. I had to hammer the walnuts apart and Sam had to take the nuts out. She made us mash the potatoes, add all the right ingredients and start rolling out the gnocchi. I'd say we did 75% of the work with her guidance, and it was clear that we were working too slow for her liking but it was okay, she was patient! THe end result was fantastic. A few mishapen Gnocchi, but like Claudia says about her healthy 8 grain biscotti, "Brutti ma Buoni!". Great cooking lesson, and I think I remember all the ingredients so I am looking forward to making walnut sauce when I return home.
Our last weekend in Firenze is ahead of us. So crazy! Gelato Festival and Italian Food Festival this weekend and possibly a day trip to the Cinque Terre! Can't wait!
A dopo!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)