alaina's thursday top ten: the first edition.

I've decided to institute a weekly blog that I have entitled Alaina's Thursday Top Ten. I plan to use it in different ways, both to compliment the Italy that I have grown to love, as well as to complain about it's less-than-charming qualities. This week, since I'm probably still in the "honeymoon" phase of my trip abroad, I will give you the top ten things I love about Florence (so far).

[Disclaimer: these are not in any particular order.]

1. Piazzle Michaelangelo. This is a Piazza situated in the southeast corner of the city, across the Arno River. From it, you have the absolute best view of the entire city of Florence. It is quite a walk from my apartment (probably several kilometers), and requires climbing several deceptively steep stairs, but as you can see, the view on a beautiful day is quite worth it.

2. The food. Obviously. I think I have made all of you drool enough with my apparently torturous photos of the food here; you get the point. Everything from the pasta to the gelato to the chocolate to the fresh vegetables is DELICIOUS. Even when I've been disappointed at a restaurant, everything is still a far cry from the chemically infused substances that Americans call food. I think that this will be the biggest problem I have in coming back.

3. The coffee. Though technically this probably goes in the food category, I think that I'm drinking enough of it to give it its own number. I have had it in many forms here, cooked in my own apartment with the moka, in latte and capuccino form, and once, as pure espresso. I've yet to have a bad coffee experience (though the espresso was a bit much for me) and I'm proud to admit that I don't even miss Starbucks....yet.

4. Walking everywhere. Strangely, I love not having a car. I can get anywhere on foot, in a reasonable amount of time. Though I've gotten lost MANY times, with my trusty map in my bag, I can always get back to my apartment, or at least to il Duomo, from which point I can find most anything. It's a completely different experience to learn a city by foot, and plus, my pants are already fitting looser because I'm walking miles a day, just to do basic things. Score.

5. il Duomo. I go past it every day that I have class (or when I need to go anywhere, really) and it's always an awe-inspiring sight. It's crazy that I walk past this famous landmark and it is the only thing that makes the fact that I live in Florence real for me.

6. Going out to bars. Drinking here is more of a social activity than in America. They really don't drink to get drunk, which is more my style, I have realized. I love getting dressed up, going out with people, and having a drink or two. Even if the people I'm with drink a lot and I don't, I still have a good time just being out.

7. il Mercato Centrale. I love buying my groceries fresh every couple of days from a huge open-air market. Again, the freshness factor is the main reason, but it is always interesting and fun to go in there and see what crazy thing I'm going to see that day. Though it often grosses me out (cows heads and stomachs just laying around), it is always fascinating. Plus, where else can you get fresh pasta made in the south of Italy? Bread made that very day? Fresh mozzarella? Any kind of dried fruit avaliable? Oh, and it's mad cheap, too.

8. My roommates. We are all quite different, but we all get along (unlike a lot of people in the program that I've been hearing about). I feel like we have a good dynamic, and similar senses of humor. Not to mention that we're all English majors, so the chats about books and movies get pretty intense. Also, Sam just gave me a KinderEgg. Brownie points.

9. My classes. As you saw in my last couple of entries, my classes here are either a) teaching me how to make delicious treats or b) reinspiring passions I had thought to be long lost.

10. SNOW. It snowed here for about 10 or 20 minutes today, and though it didn't stick, anyone who was in my apartment will tell you that I went nuts. Here's hoping to seeing more snow in Venice this weekend!

Snow, not dandruff.

My "IT IS SNOWING!" face.

the food of italy.

One of the classes I am taking here in Florence is called The Food of Italy. In it, we focus on a different region of Italy each week, taking into account its geography and history and how they have shaped the kinds of food typical to that particular area. This week, we learned about the Piedmont region of Italy, located in the northwest corner, bordering on France and Switzerland.

I thought you'd all enjoy a little (visual) taste of what I helped to make this evening. The pictures aren't the most flattering (plastic plates, plastic forks, and bad lighting will do that), but rest assured that everything was incredible.

We started with a Risotto di Barola, which is an Italian rice cooked in red wine. We started with an onion and butter base, then added the dry rice directly to the saucepan. When the rice became a little crispy, we started to add chicken stock by the ladle, allowing the stock to evaporate before adding more. When the risotto was close to being done, the teacher added the Barola (wine), more butter, and Parmesan cheese.

Like I said, not the most flattering picture, but it goes the job done. It wasn't my favorite dish of the night; I'm not a huge fan of wine, but it was definitely interesting. And the teacher said that most Italian risottos are made using the method he taught us, so it would be quite easy to substitute mushrooms or asparagus for the red wine.

Next, we made a kind of veal dish native to Milan. The veal is pounded thin, then coated successively with flour, beaten eggs, and breadcrumbs. It is then fried in either olive oil or butter for about 3 minutes on each side. After being placed on a napkin to drain some of the oil, the teacher placed two slices of thin prosciutto and a slice of fontina cheese on each chop, then baked them for about 3 minutes to melt the cheese.

This was my very first taste of veal ever! Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not a huge fan of steak or red meat in general, but this was very good.

Finally, for dessert, we made a Torte di Nocciole, or hazelnut cake. Starting with an egg yolk, flour, sugar, and baking powder base, we then proceeded to add coarsely chopped hazelnuts and beaten egg whites. Very simple.

Obviously, the dessert queen loved the cake. It would be AWESOME with some fresh strawberries or pineapple, but was good on its own as well.

It blows my mind that this is the kind of thing I get to do for a CLASS. I get a GRADE and receive CREDIT for learning to cook these incredible things. All I have to say is that everyone should be jealous of my future roommates; they are in for some insane meals when I get back.

a little inspiration.

Prepare yourselves. This may get sappy.

Italy is fully of beautiful sights, though few of them compare to the building in the photo above. That is the Basilica di Santa Maria di Fiore (or something like that) and is better known around here as il Duomo. I'm trying not to allow myself to become desensitized to sights like that, to allow them to become a part of my every day routine, because I want to feel everything here as much as I can, while I am here. I am also trying not to ever wish anything to go by faster, which is kind of hard. I often wish for the weekdays to go by faster so that I can reach the weekends, which are filled with wonders like the chocolate festival, Pisa, roomie time, and this upcoming weekend, Carnivale in Venice. I also sometimes, secretly, wish for these four months to go by faster simply because I miss my family and friends, which is something people who know me may be shocked by...as I don't often admit to these kinds of affectionate feelings. Baaawwww.

But being here has given me back something that I thought I'd lost way back in high school. I gave up English as a major when I reached college because I let my horrible experience in AP Literature color my views of what I truly love. It turns out that two years at UF was enough to remind me of my love of literature, but even since returning to English, the only writing I've truly done is the occasional scribble in a journal and the faux-academic papers I dash off in the middle of the night for my classes. I have often felt like a fraud, listing "writing" as a hobby when asked what I do for fun, since I haven't truly written something for myself in so long. I chose to take a Travel Writing course here because, honestly, it seemed like the easiest and funnest option that would count toward my major. I didn't truly consider what it would be like to write again for the first time in years.

It turns out that I love it. I am writing creatively again, and enjoying it. Our teacher, Kate Bolton, gave us our first out-of-class writing assignment today, and I am looking forward to doing it. To perfecting what I write. To sharing with a teacher what I have created. To hearing praise about something that I have done. I used to base a lot of my self-worth and self-esteem on how well I write, but that was something that I somehow let slip away from me.

Italy is beautiful; the food, art, and architecture are overwhelming, and though it is hard to be away from home, being here, for only two weeks, has already given me so much. This is the end of my sappy post. Don't expect to see another any time soon.

:)

deliciousness overload.

Okay, so it looks like I'm going to have to blog backwards, as usual. Blogger is REALLY annoying me, with this whole posting-photos-in-reverse-order thing. The order I choose to upload them in is the order they should post on the page, do we agree? Yes, yes. I think that my logic is sound, but apparently blogspot disagrees. So we will work backwards from last night.

Yesterday, Sunday, my roommates and I went out for our first real Italian dinner. None of us was truly blown away by what we got, but I feel like it's hard to go wrong in Italy. I had some kind of pasta with garlic and artichoke, and it was definitely good, and filled me up, but lacked the "wow" factor I am waiting to experience.

After dinner, we decided to forgo the tiramisu dessert in favor of Grom Gelateria, which is supposedly one of the best gelato places in Florence, and conveniently located mere steps from where we had dinner. WHAT A COINCIDENCE! Haha.

After the kind cashier gave us each several samples to try, I decided on a caramel and milk chocolate mixture, later lamenting the fact that I had missed the espresso flavor. It's okay, Alaina. There will be a next time. And besides, the flavors I got were definitely amazing, especially for only 2 euro. I feel that the gelato floodgates have broken open here...I went nearly two weeks without trying it, and in the past three days, I've had it twice. I feel a trend coming on.

On Saturday, my roommates and I checked out the chocolate festival (or "fiera di cioccolato") taking place in Santa Croce. Beneath the large white tent protecting all of the chocolate lovers from the relentless rain, chocolatiers from the surrounding area had set up booths touting the strangest and most beautiful chocolate concoctions that I, the chocolate afficionado, have ever seen. Naturally, I was extremely excited.

There were chocolate toys, chocolate liquors, chocolate spreads, chocolate jams, chocolate cakes, chocolate fudge, chocolate truffles, chocolate covered fruit, you name it, they had it. I chose to sample some chocolate covered strawberries early on. I also took full advantage of the samples that many vendors were giving out, in hopes of encouraging a large chocolate sale. I perfected the art of sample-begging over the course of the two hours. The key is to stand there, looking interested but perplexed, as if you WOULD buy, if only you were sure that their chocolate was the best.

Gillian and I also shared the BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE OF LIFE right before we left. He took a chocolate fudge-y cake, topped it with ganoche (oh my god, spelled that wrong....thick fudgy frosting, in any case), and then topped THAT with steaming hot liquid chocolate. I think that Gillian and I downed the thing in under three minutes flat. It was so good that I'm HOPING to dream about it in the near future.

One vendor was selling these little beauties, which were almost too pretty to eat. Gillian disagreed, and took home a small baggie of them. I ended up with 50 grams of chocolate mint fudge, while Marissa chose a few coffee/chocolate truffles. Sam stuck with the chocolate kebab she had at the festival, and (smartly) took nothing else home.

All in all, I would say that it was a very successful gastronomic weekend. This upcoming weekend, we are all headed to Venice with API for Carnivale, which is essentially Mardi Gras. Should be a great time, and I'm definitely looking forward to it. I'm also trying to pull together a few weekend trips, but it's proving harder than I had imagined it would be to find times that are going to work for everyone.

international shenanigans.

So my roommates and I had been planning all week for a day trip on Friday to the close city of Pisa, located about an hour outside of Florence by train. Of course, on Thursday, we received word that the weather was going to be slightly less than cooperative. After waking up to ominous skies and debating the merits of going on Friday versus Saturday, we decided that a little rain was not going to stop us. Weather be damned, we were going to Pisa!

We started at the Santa Maria Novella train station in Florence, where we purchased our one-way ticket to Pisa. It was surprisingly easier than expected. The complicated nature of the TrenItalia website had led us to expect something significantly harder.

Tickets in hand, we boarded the correct train, remembering to stamp them at these little yellow boxes before boarding. Without this stamp, your ticket is invalid, and you are likely to be kicked off the train. The train made a surprising number of stops on the way to Pisa, but we finally arrived around 1:30 in the afternoon...just in time for a real Italian lunch. One of the API directors had recommended a little place called Vineria or something like that to Sam, so we were determined to find it. Of course, the torrential downpour started as soon as we disembarked, so we decided that a cab was our best bed. It only ended up costing a little more than a Euro apiece, and was well worth it. We found the restaurant with little trouble, where I had my first bowl of "real" Italian pasta. It was calmari pasta with fresh tomatoes, spinach, and an olive-oily-buttery sauce.

I devoured it much faster than any self-respecting Italian would, but it was so worth it. After leaving the restaurant, the rain had nearly stopped, so we decided to just walk to the leaning tower, which was obviously the main attraction of our visit. We found the tower within a few minutes (after being stalked by a particularly persistent umbrella salesman, intent on selling Laura a black model). Of course, we indulged in taking the kind of photos that obviously mark you as an American tourist.

One example. There were many other varieties, group shots, and blooper photos that are posted on my facebook for the world to see.

After the tower, my roommates and I decided to get our first Italian gelato! It has been so cold here I haven't really wanted it, but I decided that if I kept putting it off, it would eventually be May and I'd be getting on the plane before realizing that I'd never had Italian gelato. I had almond flavor (I think), and it was quite good. We are still going to try Grom Gelato in Florence, which is supposed to be the most amazing gelato ever.

After gelato, it was nearly 4:15, so we decided to head back to the train station. We probably walked a good couple of miles (working off that gelato!) before we found it. Pisa actually has a very similar look to Florence, which I guess isn't surprising, since they are located so close together.

We caught the 5 o'clock train back to Florence, where we grabbed a quick dinner of Turkish kebabs (DELICIOUS) before settling down for the night. We were considering going out to the bars, but I decided I was too tired/cold/lazy to get all dressed up, so I promised Sam I'd go out with her tonight.

Also on the agenda for today is a visit to the chocolate festival taking place in Piazza Santa Croce. Supposedly they are giving away free samples (!!!!!!) but I'm sure I'll also end up buying a couple of nice varieties to take back to the apartment.

I may be getting internet in my apartment soon, so all of you who have not downloaded Skype need to do so, so that I can see your lovely faces (I'm looking at you, Kaley Goodfellow and Shannon Fahey).

the mystery of the moka.

Okay, so as usual, blogger is working against me and posted these photos in the reverse order I wanted, but I'll explain them anyway. This is an Italian moka, or their version of a coffee pot.

This is the final product. In the top of the moka, you will have coffee if you have done everything right.

The filter separates from the bottom piece. You fill the bottom part to the line with water, and then fill the filter about halfway with coffee grounds (adjusting based on how strong you want it to be. We use normal coffee, but some people apparently use espresso. Whoa.)

Like I said, add the grounds.

Then you screw the pieces together (tightly), making sure that no grounds got into the seal. It has to be airtight, or apparently water will explode out of it. We haven't experienced this yet, shockingly, but I'm sure we will before the end of our time here. Then you place the whole moka on the stove, add heat, and wait until you can hear water boiling. When the water stops, you remove from the heat (with oven mitts) and let it sit for a minute. Then you have your finished product (see top picture).

I decided that today would be a good day for the kind of entry that allows you a small glimpse into Italian life, instead of just summarizing my activities here. The pictures above are what Italians use for making their coffee every morning. The contraption works in mysterious ways that I don't care to question, so long as it makes my coffee in the morning. All I know is that if you add water, grounds, and heat, it makes you one hell of a cup of coffee. I intend to buy one before I leave to introduce all of my American friends (Shannon, in particular) to the joys of coffee made on the stove.

Gillian and I also shopped at the market today, where I bought romaine, a tomato, some dried fruit, and my very first bag of fresh mozzarella, intending to make a salad sometime this week. My roommates and I have also taken to eating dinner together pretty often; it started with our failed attempt at spaghetti earlier this week and improved greatly with Marissa's lesson in lentil soup. Last night, Gillian fixed me my very first brussel sprouts EVER and we all contributed to make simple pasta that ended up turning my stomach...we accidentally used tomato puree instead of tomato sauce. Oops. It was so acidic it gave me a stomachache. Fortunately, Gillian and Sam rescued me with combination of antacids and rice cakes.

Tonight is my first cooking class, so let's hope that our trials and errors in our home kitchen make me a more successful chef in my class.

adjustments.

Me and KJ in Twice.

Free Irish carbombs, courtesy of our new Italian friends.

Here they are!

Clubhouse.

Not a good photo of me, but this is Laura and KJ.

I knew that things would start to look up soon; I guess I just needed to vent about my frustrations in the last blog. Since then, things have been improving steadily, and while I'm definitely still getting the hang of Italian living, I'm feeling a TON better. Thanks to everyone who sent me encouraging comments or messages. It feels good to know that I still have a support system back home, and even though it may feel like it sometimes here, I'm not totally alone and lost in a foreign country.

Ironically, I went on another pub crawl the night after I posted my last blog, but this time, I resolved to just go out, have fun, and meet people instead of drinking so much. I did have a couple of shots that these really cool Italian guys bought for us, but that was all. I guess it's a good thing that I learned my limit early on, so that now I can go out and enjoy a couple of drinks without getting completely wasted. This pub crawl was a lot more fun than the last. I met a couple of girls, Laura and KJ, on the way over from Pisa to Florence on the first day, and ran into them again on Saturday. We all did the pub crawl together, and had a great time, dancing, talking, and meeting non-creepy Italians.

Then yesterday morning, Laura and I got up WAY early and walked to il Piazzale Michaelangelo, which is a Piazza located in southeast Florence. It's elevated, and has the most incredible view of the whole city. We were totally out of breath when we reached the top, but it was worth every ache and pain. We just kept looking at each other and saying, "These pictures do it no justice! I just can't capture how awesome this is!" Eventually, though, the wind got to us and we climbed back down. After that, I walked around Florence with my roommates to figure out where our classes for the semester were going to be. They have classes this morning, but I'm off until tomorrow. It's nice to have an extra day to just relax and prep, but I'm definitely ready to have classes and a routine to get into.

At this point, I'm also learning to balance my time between people. After spending the morning with Laura, I hung out with my roommates and we made dinner together. Marissa taught us how to make this DELICIOUS lentil soup, and we ended up eating the whole pot. Mmmmm. I feel like I'm branching out a little more, and best of all, I think I convinced Marissa and Gillian to do a weekend in Prague with Laura, KJ, and me! I think we're also planning to visit Pisa for a day this weekend to get the hang of the train station thing, which, from what I've heard, can be a nightmare at first.

Well, my fingers are frozen, but I hope you enjoyed the pictures! It will only let me post so many, so pictures of Piazzale Michaelangelo later. Again, thank you to everyone for the support. It's weird (but great!) to know that so many people are following me through Italy. I love and miss you all.