dolce vita

I’m exhausted today so I’m going to keep this post short and sweet!

Class was the same as usual but Hiba and I went to go see the real statue of david. It was surreal and massive! The statue is a sign of freedom for Florence and they have a fake one outside where the real one used to be. It was moved indoors when the Romans tried to destroy it. We aren’t allowed to take photos in the museum but I managed to get one from my cell.

I found out why Toscana doesn’t use salt in their breads. They got into a fight with Pisa, their salt supplier, centuries ago so the locals had to make breads without it and it just stuck. Weird, right?

Then Chelsey and I went to a dolce workshop to learn how to make biscotti and a traditional cake from Florence. It was some of the best pastries I’ve had since I got here! Don’t worry guys, I’m bringing the recipes home with me.

earthquake!

So around 8am, an earthquake hit Bologna which is an hour north of us. Florence didn’t get any damage, but I guess 10 people died in it in Bologna.  Some people felt it here in Florence, but I slept through it all. The news stations are saying to expect more, but we all know what to do if one happens closer to us.

On a side note, we went to an Italian family business in my class today.  The two brothers run a menswear shop and have for 60 years but they are currently selling it. I guess my professor spoke to the older brother, but it was the younger brother who greeted us at the store.  He was CRAZY. He sang to us. He proposed to all the girls. He feel to the floor and crawled after a girl. And lastly, he would not talk about the business at all. The funny part was that he gave us a demo tape like we were a record company or something! haha

Tonight we ended by going to Taco Tuesday with all our friends. Most of us stayed in since there were protests in the streets about bars having to close by 10pm. Its insane here but so much fun!

sweet summertime

My roommate Hiba and I were on the search for the perfect tanning spot which we found conveniently located in the Arno River.  Many locals seem to use the river dam as the their own beach which made for a relaxing Monday afternoon.  After that it was homework and laundry all day long!

Lastly, since I was here I became Financial Officer of the organization, Wishmakers at USF which works with Make-A-Wish Foundation, Autism Speaks U – at USF added ten new members, and I was offered an internship with Nielsen Company to work in their Global Trade department with buying and selling international businesses. OH. And I am officially a Senior in college – YIKES!

Here are a few top things for me in Florence:

• Best gelateria: La Carreria which is located on the other side of the Arno and is very cheap with around 25 flavors to choose from.
• Best gelato flavor: fondente (dark chocolate) or ananas (Pineapple)
• Best pizzeria: Gusto Pizza. 5 euros for a whole pizza and it is simply the best.
• Best view of Florence: Michelangelo Piazza – it’s beautiful.
• Best market: San Ambrosio (highly debatable!) small, but cheaper than San Lorenzo
• Best supermarket: Billa. Clean, friendly but don’t ask the baker for anything in English. She only speaks Italian and becomes frustrated when you can’t understand. Oh and they play Shania Twain there – ‘nough said!
• Best place to get pasta: Yellow Bar or O.K Bar. YUM!
• Must do: Shop on the Ponte Vecchio, go to a secret bakery, see the statue of David and the Gucci museum and rub the lucky pig statue for good luck!

Family Dinner

Megan and I spent the day getting the apartment cleaned and preparing for dinner tonight.  We went out to the garden and picked flowers for the table and then we found some figs and other fruit growing in our garden so we made a fruit salad for lunch.  After that, we went to this market that only happens on the last Sunday of every month and it was full of antiques.  Most of it was flea market stuff but the two things that Megan and I really liked turned out to cost over 1000 euros. Hahaha we couldn’t believe it because everything else was around 5-10 euros.

Our family dinner was of course eventful as always. There were about 12 people who came over to the apartment and our menu consisted of salad, bruschetta, risotto, veggies, pasta, and stuffed chicken – it was very tasty! We had flowers and candles set up on the table and all the food looked great but the company was even better.   After taking tons of pictures and cooking all night we finally sat down to eat where Crystal nonchalantly said, “Hey guys, I think something’s on fire.” At that point we turn around to see this massive flame and one of the tea lights managed to ignite the entire bowl of salad on fire! We quickly ran over and threw a pitcher of water on it to find a massive hole burned through our salad bowl.  We burst out laughing when the chaos was over and blew out all the other tea lights before we had any more accidents!

The dinner party somehow ended with Nate, Jessica and I standing on the table and doing a full out karaoke performance to Lady Marmalade, while Nate was wearing a sombrero we randomly found in our kitchen cabinets today. These people crack me up.  Everyone went home for now, but tonight we are going to the secret bakery to end this perfect day.

last day in Venice

After having 4 cups of coffee with my lovely roommate, Megan, we left the hotel to head to Murano Island where handmade glass is created.  We started with a demonstration on glass blowing techniques and then for the finale he made a glass horse which is the signature piece they make there. I then shopped for a bit and headed off to explore the very tiny island!

We were running late as a group so after only an hour we had to leave to go back to Venice. The first thing we did was go on a gondola ride with all the ladies! We had so much fun and even our guide knew about Tampa Bay and our football team, the Bucs. It was about a forty minute ride and during the ride we came across another group that hired a singer to join their gondola. He had an amazing voice! After that we explored, shopped, and one of the best moments was when I stepped into the Gulf of Venice/Adriatic Sea. It was so cold and kinda thick but it was one of the most exciting moments! At a certain area the gulf becomes the sea, so I am not sure which part I was technically in – but either way, I loved it. Now, I’m back home in Florence after a very long 3 hour bus ride. Tomorrow most of the roommates are going to Cinque Terra, but Megan and I are staying to catch up with our homework and to host a dinner party for our friends.

Next Atlantis?

Once we arrived to Venice, we went off exploring and touring all of the main areas of the island.  Venice has over 400 bridges and there are people boating everywhere and even crab fishing which made me miss my brothers so much. You boys would love it here; I can already see you all in the gondola outfits! Every place we go to just gets better and better.  It’s crazy to think that every year the town sinks and in years from now, the town will be underwater.  It has been a privilege to see it and overall it is a beautiful city and the people are very sweet here.   I wish we could stay longer!

The things I love the most about the city are all the different areas and stores it has to offer.  Practically anywhere you go, you have a water front view and it is amazing to think they built the town literally in mud and it has been able to stand its’ ground for all these years. The food is very expensive, but the other items have been fairly cheap and of course one of a kind.

Our hotel isn’t in Venice which is kinda disappointing, but the hotel has a working tv, hot water WITH water pressure, and even a rooftop pool area… ahhh how I miss those luxuries daily.  After our 4 course meal it is time for bed since we all have an early start tomorrow.

Florence Design Week

Interior design has been one of my many weaknesses for some time now and being in a city like Florence does not help my obsession at all!  On top of that, since I go to Florence University of the Arts, they offer several workshops in interior design and it just so happens that this week is the official Florence Design Week of 2012.  It’s basically their version of New York Fashion Week – for furniture. Amazing, I know.

My day was spent touring the city where I found the most interesting design shops that promote the events from Renaissance artists to contemporary record styled clocks. I was in awe all day! I don’t have any pictures to show since I basically spent my days in galleries and class, but I promise to make up for it this weekend when I am in Venice.  All the USF students are heading to Venice at 7am and should return Saturday night around 10pm.

Side note: we made gnocchi with pesto today in our cooking class. New favorite thing to cook by far!

secret bakery

Last night was incredible.  We went out to our guy friends’ apartment to hangout for a bit then headed out to find a secret bakery.  A secret bakery is simply a place where you can get delicious baked goods anytime after midnight for 50 cents.  It sounds sketchy, but what you have to do is go to the address, knock on the door, a person will take your order, then open the door up 15 minutes later with everything from chocolate croissants to apple pies. You have to be really quiet though, or the neighbors will find water, eggs, or anything else to throw at you for waking them up so late in the night.  We were soaking wet from the rain, numb from the cold but those pastries made it all worthwhile.  (don’t worry joans – a mob of 20 of us went out to get them)

Today started with me and my roommates waking up at 9am and heading out to the local market.  I picked up prosciutto crudo, balsamic drizzle, eggplant, and bread all which I devoured even before lunch time.  I was able to order without using any English, but we still are having a hard time converting the sizes from grams and “ettos” to pounds, so today Kim ended up with over 2 pounds of pasta for herself haha. After the market, we met up with some friends and went to the gelato festival which had just as many gelato flavors as tourists! Most of the festival was a tourist trap and overcrowded, but the prices of gelato were reduced because of the festival.  Next, we explored some more of the town, went shopping for a bit and then sat out in the Santa Croce plaza which is a 2 minute walk from our place.

Dinner tonight was amazing as always since we went back to Ganzo for their special Wednesday pricing.  I absolutely love the people I have met here on the trip.  So many of us have become really good friends and I love that we now have our dinner dates every week! Tonight, we are having a late study date in our living room and eating some fruits and Baccio, which are the Italian version of Hershey kisses. I hope everyone is having a good time back in the states – I miss you all!

Bambinas

Today was a really slow paced day that was only filled with classes, and of course some more rain! In our cooking class we made Bucatini all’amatriciana which is a pasta dish that has a tomato and pork sauce – it was so tasty. Chef Desy calls us all his Bambinas since he has 2 daughters our age already he said we did a bellismo job today! We also learned how to make a homemade sausage/salami “toscana style”.  This simply means that a lot of the fat of the pork is left in the mix and it is also in bigger pieces than the typical salami would have.  After class I grabbed a coffee with the girls then headed to Italian which was a review session for our upcoming quiz on Thursday.  Lastly, I had my Italian Family Business course where we learned about the different types of companies in Italy and how they are based off of size and type of business. That class was really slow but at least we don’t have any classes tomorrow since it is the first day of the gelato festival here in Florence!

“Jonzi Moment” Berlin (Part 2)

So for those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting my pint-sized grandma, Jonzi, you all are missing out! She’s basically the most adorable person I know and she famous for her “special moments” which typically involve some sort of chaos and here was my moment.. ENJOY.

Charlotte’s dad is in charge of an international hotel chain in Berlin and he was able to get us free segway rentals for the day, so  Charlotte, her boyfriend Linus, his friend Max, and I all headed out to explore Berlin.  The boys raced off as soon as we got them while Charlotte and I stayed behind so she could tell me about the different buildings. Well the sidewalks are 300x the size of the sidewalks in Firenze, but with the vendors and massive amount of tourists – there’s not much room. Segways work by leaning forward to accelerate, leaning to the left to turn left and so on.  We went to pass a group of tourists before a light pole approached and just as I was about to pass, one of the tourists stepped left and I instinctively moved left which made me hit square into the light pole and go flying! Now I’m not talking about a few inches – I superman flew a few feet. The huge crowd turned to see the commotion and a few old men came up trying to help me, but I couldn’t understand a word they said since they were speaking German. At that moment, Charlotte rushed over and responded back to the man (in English) that I didn’t understand German which only confused the poor old man more. As if that wasn’t bad enough, I was so embarrassed that I rushed to get back on the segway to only make it down one more street where I eventually threw up – and I have thrown up MAYBE 6 times in my whole life. I was mortified.  (I only ended up with a few bumps and bruises)

Later that night at Charlotte’s parents’ house, we told them the whole story where instead of being embarrassed, we could not stop laughing at how far I flew.  In the middle of laughing with everyone, I realized that was the first time in a really, really long time that I have laughed that hard and that genuine.  Finally the stress from life and school has disappeared and in that moment I realized my trip of a lifetime has just begun!  In the end, I had a great time in Berlin and I was really sad to leave. We ended the trip by vowing to never let another 2 years go by before we see each other again.