have your cake and eat it, too.

What would my second-to-last day in Florence be without gelato?

That is cheesecake and sacher torte flavors. Grazie, Perche No!

Italians trying to speak English has always amused me (just as I am sure my very bad Italian enterntains them), so when I saw this the other day...I had to photograph it.

Randomly saw this gem on the Ponte Vecchio while Sam, Marissa and I were wandering it yesterday...

"Death is named McDonald's."
Thanks for the advice, Italy.


After finishing up my exams, the roommates and I headed to Trattoria Cibreo, also known as Cibreino ("Little Cibreo"). Cibreo is widely acknowledged as being one of Florence's best (and therefore most expensive) restaurants. Trattoria Cibreo shares the same kitchens and chefs, but puts out different food for a fraction of the cost.

This was the line to get in as we were leaving. You literally have to arrive within minutes of its opening, since it only has 8 tables. Luckily, we managed to snag one with little trouble.


I went with a passato di pesce, which was a kind of fish bisque. It as a bit spicy and quite tasty, but not extremely filling. Their portions were sized with the assumption that a person would order both a primi and secondi piatti (at least two courses), so when we only ordered one each, we were left a bit unsatisfied.


So of course we had to order dessert.

Aaaaand I don't know why blogger insists upon uploading this picture sideways, but this is a flourless chocolate torte that Gillian and I shared. It. was. so. good. I felt that Cibreino definitely would have lived up to its repuation had we not been the broke students that we are and ordered a secondi piatti each.

Now I'm off to spend the rest of my life packing. Joy.

drawing to a close.

Am I going insane, or is it really May 12? That can't be possible, since yesterday was January 25. I just arrived in Florence, right? There is no way that I have been here for nearly four months already.

Sadly, that is the truth, though. My time abroad is drawing quickly to a close, and until today, I think, I was a little bit in denial about it. As ready as I am to go home and see my family and get out of this tiny apartment, I am going to miss Florence, living abroad, my roommates, buying fresh food, and a million other things that I could never recount.

Things might get hairy over the next couple of days as I finish my final exams, pack everything up, and attempt to cram as much Florentine culture into my days as humanly possible, but I hope to update again before I have to leave my apartment on Saturday. After I move out, my parents and I will travel to Rome, Naples, and Pompeii before I return to Pisa to fly to Alicante, Spain for three days. Then, I'll go back to Pisa to fly home on Tuesday, May 25. It's sure to be a whirlwind of a week, but I suppose that it's a fitting close to my whirlwind semester.

Speaking of whirlwinds, it seems like it was just hours ago that Gillian and I returned from our second trip to San Gimignano (when in reality we went last Saturday).

For those who don't remember, San Gimignano is a tiny gem of a Tuscan town, located a little over an hour south of Florence close to Siena. It's known for its beautiful scenery, medeival feel, and, of course, the world champion of gelato: Pluripremiata.

Unlike last time, it was actually open [and crowded, to say the least.] I was a happy camper.

Remember this?

The line was nuts and the girls working behind the counter were...brusque, to put it politely. But I walked out with a giant cone of joy, in the form of tiramisu, banana, and nutella gelato.

It only costs 3 euro to make my day.

Then Sunday, my parents arrived in Italy after a hectic series of plane rides that finally ended in Pisa. I spent the better part of Monday showing them all of the major sights of Florence, and we managed to hit two restaurants I've been meaning to try: Acqua al Due and Trattoria Casalinga. I was quite impressed with Casalinga, and while Acqua was a fun night, the food wasn't quite what I expected.

My parents first Italian gelato experience: Grom!

In front of the Ponte Vecchio on Monday.

The parents.

At the Piazzale Michaelangelo.

My dad treated the whole city like a museum, stopping to inspect every little detail. He was particularly fascinated by the vehicles, including this little toppolino, or "Little Mouse". In this picture, a woman is telling him not to lean on the car or it might dent! Whoops.

Tuesday, I woke early to eat breakfast with my parents before they headed to the Galleria Uffizi while I took two of my finals. I feel comfortable with how I did on both. After that, the parents and I went to Mario's, where my mom finally got to experience ribollita after all of my chatter on this blog about it.

Mom&Dad departed Tuesday afternoon (in the pouring rain) bound for Cinque Terre! I haven't heard from them since yesterday night, but I hope that the hike went well. As far as I know, they are headed for Siena tonight, and will return to Florence on Friday night to help me move out on Saturday morning.

Today, I met up with Bethany and Mary for our last Wednesday lunch at Sergio's :[ It would have been a sadder affair, but the restaurant was hopping, and we had to eat quickly. No time for nostalgia when it's Italian lunch time! Gillian and Sam met me in the San Lorenzo market after that to finish up some last minute souveneir shopping...no matter how much I shop it just seems like my list keeps getting longer and longer!

Then, Gillian and I finally took on lampredotto, a Florentine specialty made from a cow's fourth stomach. [I can tell that you are salivating at the thought!] We were both a bit intimidated by it, but we absolutely HAD to try it, so we decided to just buy one sandwich to sample.

Looks innocent, right?

My first bite...

Sam digs in...

Bethany gets in on the fun, too...

Verdict?

I personally liked the taste, but couldn't get over the combination of my mental block about eating cow's stomach as well as the very SLIMY texture. Gillian and I each braved another bite, trying to give it another chance, but it was a no-go. We tossed over half of it in the trash. Oh, well! At least we gave it a shot.

I finished off my Wednesday with my final practical cooking exam, in which my teammates and I prepared a bruschetta as well as a panna cotta. Both turned out great, and we were all pleased with how it went. Since I've been feeling a bit under the weather this week (sore throat, congested, headache) I decided to rest up tonight in preparation for our final days here. I actually packed one of my suitcases and started in on my big one...as soon as I do laundry, I should have no problem finishing up Friday night!

I hope to write again before I leave, but be assured that I will update a few times while I'm travelling if I don't get to. Ciao!

trip to sicily.

Just a quickie, since I know that you all love my food pornography...

Today, the regions that we were focusing on were Sicily and Sardenia, which are the two largest islands off of Italy's coast. Sicily is the large island at the tip of Italy's "boot" toe, and Sardenia is due west of Tuscany. Obviously, being islands, they are well known for their seafood!

First up? Probably one of the best pasta dishes I have had in Italy to date:

penne alla norma.

The sauce was made by first sauteeing red onion in olive oil. Once it had carmelized a little, we tossed in garlic, tomatoes that had been boiled, peeled, and chopped, basil, and the usual salt&pepper. While the sauce was thickening, we deep fried strips of eggplant in oil, adding them in just before the sauce was done. Toss the al dente penne with the sauce, top with parmesan and extra strips of eggplant, and voila! Deliciousness. I may have gone back for seconds.

Next up was calamari imbottiti, which is stuffed squid. A lot of people in my class were real babies about trying this dish, but I sucked it up and gave it a try. I wasn't SUPER impressed; it was a bit "fishy" for my taste, but at least I tried it!

Since everyone was being a pansy about trying the imbottiti, the teacher deep fried some of the extra calamari bits, like we Americans like.

The calamari was stuffed with breadcrumbs, parsley, and the chopped tentacles, lightly fried, then simmered in a tomato sauce made with white wine until tender.

Finally, my group was in charge of the dessert (how does that always happen?). We made a cassatta siciliana.

Sandwiched between layers of pre-made sponge cake soaked in liquer is a blend of ricotta, sugar, candied fruit, and chocolate chips. On top, we made a glaze with water, food coloring and powdered sugar, before finally topping with a berry puree and freshly diced strawberries. Honestly, there was just too much going on in this dessert. It was too sweet, and the combo of the chocolate chips AND the candied fruit was a little strange. It wasn't bad, but definitely a little intense for me (didn't stop me from polishing off my portion...)

Now that I'm back from class, I'm totally exhausted due to the pills I took earlier today for my ALLERGIES which have been acting up! Something about this Florentine pollen is really aggravating my nose; I've been having sneezing attacks and my eyes are constantly puffy and watery. I'm surprised that I haven't terrified the locals with my teary appearance. So today, I meandered down to the farmacia and demanded relief from the man at the counter, who handed me a box, took my eight euro, and gave me no directions on how often to take the pills, etc. Welcome to Italy.

sleepy stomach.

I think the mere title of this post says more about my current state of tiredness than anything else. For some reason, since I got home from cooking class, I have just been beat. Unfortunately, with a research paper to write, bedtime will likely not be until some unmentionable hour past midnight. Yuck.

Cooking class was somewhat uninspiring again tonight, but I thought I'd share the fruits of my labor with you anyway.

We started with a stereotypical Italian antipasto (deja vu?), bruschetta al pomodoro. The usual went into the tomato mixture: chopped tomato, olive oil, salt, fresh garlic, oregano, and fresh basil. Toss, let sit, then top toasted Tuscan bread with tomato-y goodness. Add a little red pepper to spice up your life.

I was REALLY excited about our primi piatti when I first read the recipe today, but the end result was less than impressive. Orchiette al cime di rapa is an ear-shaped pasta made with turnip greens and anchovies. Of course, everyone in the class freaked out at the idea of anchovies, but in the end, you honestly could not taste them. The dish ended up being bland, boring, and sadly without any real flavor or identity. I liked the pasta shape, but ended up topping it with anything and everything I could get my paws on (salt, pepper, red pepper...more salt...and parmesan).

Parmesan cheese makes everything better.

Again, reading the recipe for this next dish, flan di zucchine, excited me much more than the actual food. I personally sliced enough zucchini to feed Ethiopia, then we blanched it. Layer the slices in the bottom of a pan and top with a mixture of egg yolk, parmesan cheese, beaten egg whites, and a dash of nutmeg. Top with more zucchini slices and bake.

Blah.

I did, however, love our main course, pesce al spada di marinara. We baked fillets of swordfish topped with chopped tomato, olive oil, chopped black olive, capers, breadcrumbs, and an array of spices. Simple, delicious...and hot. I may have burned my tongue wolfing it down.



Aaaaaand the finale! The dessert we made was actually not on the syllabus, but since we weren't scheduled to make one today, our very kind cooking teacher showed us the "proper" way to make a tiramisu! (Briana, tell Matt that I'll make him some when I get home.)

In case you were wondering, the proper way to make it is sans liquer, with straight espresso, lady fingers, eggs, sugar, and marscapone. Boom. Using a 100 g marscapone to one egg to one tablespoon of sugar ratio (depending on how much you want to make), separate the eggs, mixing the sugar into the yolk and beating the white until VERY VERY stiff. Add marscapone to the egg yolk mixture then mix in the whites. Prepare the espresso, then quickly dip the lady fingers in the coffee (do NOT leave them there to soak or they will be too soggy). Place a small amount of the marscapone mixture in the bottom of a pan, topping with the coffee-soaked lady fingers. Top with the rest of the marscapone. Refrigerate. Serve topped with cocoa.

Boom. Delicious. Simple. Italian.

Now I'm off to...procrastinate a teensy bit more before I finally settle down to write about Caterina and Marie de'Medici, Queens of France. You'd think they would be more interesting than they actually are.

Buona notte!

under the tuscan clouds (and the umbrian sun).

API really outdid themselves this weekend. We all agreed that this excursion was the best of the three overnight trips we went on, full of languid relaxation, wine, and enough chocolate to chill out even the most stressed out college student (though it is difficult to be stressed when you are living in one of the most beautiful cities in one of the most beautiful countries in the world).

We departed at 8:30 AM on Saturday, headed for the city of Siena, located smack in the middle of the Chianti region of Italy, obviously well known for its wine and oil production. We started the day, as usual, with a two hour tour.

Siena is a part of the UNESCO Heritage project, meaning that all buildings must be built in the medeival style (on the outside; of course, the insides are allowed modern amenities). This means that the entire city retains a realistically ancient look.

Our tour guide was incredibly energetic and funny. She explained to us about the contrade, or "quarters" of Siena. The different neighborhoods are like teams, which compete in a horse race that takes place twice every year, on July 2 and August 16, called the palio. The contrada that wins essentially just gets bragging rights, but they take the whole team thing very seriously. You are inducted into a contrada at birth, and you can never change, unless you want to switch to your husband's contrada when you marry.

Siena's baptistery, which actually looks a lot like Florence's, as far as colors go.


The cathedral.

Here, you can see how the cathedral was actually built, by covering a plain brick facade with the beautiful marble. Building the entire thing of marble would be incredibly difficult because of the weight of the material as well as the cost.

Wells were a sign of wealth in the old days, not because they were expensive to build, but because only the wealthy had the connetions to get a permit from the government to build them.

The main square, Piazza di Campo, where the palio race is actually held. They do three laps around the piazza in about 75 seconds.

The "square" is actually seashell shaped, which our guide said had something to do with the immigrants that came to Siena, washing up on the shore like seashells.

After the tour, we had some free time for lunch. We got a recommendation from the guide, but after wandering around and looking for it, we gave up and settled for the first place that looked decent.

I wasn't super impressed with my picci all'amatriciana. I have been making the amatriciana in my kitchen for the past couple weeks and I personally thing mine is much better. Plus, the restaurant charged a 15% gratuity on top of the cover charge! WHAT?

I bought the banner of one of the contrada, the lupa, or she-wolf, which is also the symbol of the entire city of Siena. It was also the contrada of our tour guide, and she spoke so passionately about it, I couldn't help but be sucked in.

Siena is also known for a treat known as panforte, which literally translates to "strong bread." It has been around since the Crusades, when it was made as a kind of trail mix for the soldiers.

It's a kind of mixture of nuts, honey, different spices, and dried fruits all crammed together to make a kind of ancient, chewy granola bar. I got a grassato al cioccolato (or something like that) which had a layer of chocolate ganoche on the outside. Yummyyy. I snacked on it while we rode the bus to and from the thermal baths that afternoon.

More from Piazza di Campo.

After lunch, we boarded the buses and headed to one of Italy's famous thermal baths. These are actually fueled by heated water that comes from a kind of spring that results from all of the volcanic activity in the area. The water is infused with all kinds of awesome minerals that are good for different systems of your body, depending on what baths you go to. The ones we visited smelled very strongly of sulphur (reminded me of home!), and were supposed to be excellent for your skin, liver, and kidneys.

We spent the afternoon lounging in these heated pools, which were like a warm bath more than hot tub, like I was expecting. It was so relaxing and it brought back all of my desires for a nice hot bath (or hot tub)....

The outside of the spa.

Our hotel for the night was actually not located in Siena, but in a small town called Chiancino, where I shared my room with Marissa and Gillian, while Sam was put in a different room because she signed up a bit late for the trip. We were served a four course meal at the hotel! While the food was...you know, hotel food, it was really nice to be waited on (for free!).

Obviously, we started with bread...

And the always-nececssary water and wine...

We were STARVING by the time our antipasto came out, so we may have overindulged a little at this point.

Cheese! And bread. We think the spreadable cheese was tomino, and then a hunk of mozzarella.

Followed by fried vegetables and rice balls...

Primi piatti was a vegetable soup, which I didn't like so much. Now that I've been spoiled by Mario's and Sergio's thick, delicious soups, brothy just doesn't do it for me anymore.

Vegetable lasagna (I didn't eat all of that...whoa). It was flavored with cheese sauce and nutmeg, which was an interesting combination. I wished I had foregone the soup so that I could have finished this.

Roasted chicken was our main course, or secondi piatti. They also served french fries, but I told them not to give me any. I was getting incredibly full by this point and needed to save room for dessert.

Tiramisu cake! It was good, but not astounding.

After dinner, we were all STUFFED and exhausted, so we pretty much just went back to our room and talked for awhile before passing out until morning. We boarded the buses at 9 AM, headed for the Umbrian city of Perugia.

The mandatory two-hour tour included some pretty spectacular views.

Perugia is also known as the "Green Heart of Italy." Pretty!

The city was originally founded by the Etruscans, but was later taken over by the Romans, who built the aqueduct you see here.

Etruscan arch.

More beautiful views.

Unfortunately, the city which is well known for its chocolate-making as well as its beauty, is also now famous for the Amanda Knox case. For those of you who don't know, she was the American study abroad student who murdered her British roommate in what she claimed was an accident during a weird sexual game. U-S-A!

A stop at the chocolate store was necessary.

After hanging in Perugia until around 2 PM, we boarded a bus bound for the Chianti region of Italy, much closer to Florence than Perugia. The ride was about 2 hours, and full of twists and turns...I felt bad for anyone who gets carsick, because that was an intense bus ride. And the driver seemed to have very little respect for the laws of physics.

We went to the Castle Verrazzano, which was owned at some point in the past by the man who actually discovered New York. The vineyard has been owned by the same family since the 7th century...and let me tell you, what a life this family has lived.

The entire property was gorgeous. When we arrived, we were greeted by the vineyard owner, who gave us a little talk about the history of the castle, as well as respecting the wine for its flavors and history, and not just thinking of it as alcohol to get you drunk because, as he put it, "even a baby can get drunk"...but not everyone can appreciate the subtleties of a good glass of wine.

We also took a quick walk through the wine cellar...

The oak of the barrels gives the wine an "oak-y" flavor.

Finally, the wine tasting began. We started with an inexpensive bottle of "table wine," after the owner explaned to us a bit about how to hold the glass and experience the wine with senses other than taste. I'm certainly no wine connoisseur, but I have learned a thing or two here in Italy.

They served us enough food throughout the tasting to constitute an entire meal, starting with salami, prosciutto, and Tuscan bread...and olive oil, of course.

Later, we sampled some pecorino cheese and salad...

The waiters poured us a second glass of wine, a Chianti Classico, which is one of the post popular wines in the world, even if it's not necessarily the best or most expensive. This was my favorite of the three we tried, and I ended up buying a bottle.

Finally, we sampled a sweet dessert wine, which was served with these little cookies...whose name I am blanking on at the moment. You are supposed to dip them in the wine, but after one bite of that, I was done with that little experiment, and enjoyed them separately.

Roommates and I enjoying our wine-tasting experience!

We boarded the bus one last time, full of wine and cheese, our skin softened, and our muscles relaxed. A fully successful weekend, capped by a quick and beautiful drive back to our home city...now who could ask for more?