Barcelona

A couple of weeks ago, I woke up and  really felt the urge to seize the day. How could I carpe the diem? Logging on to RyanAir of course! I came across a major deal to Barcelona, Spain that would leave in only a few short weeks. Quickly I asked if anyone wanted to go with me in the flat and Kenan took the bait. Here's the catch: we had to fly into Girona (and hour away from Barcelona) at 1:15 on friday (getting us to Barcelona at 3:15) then fly out of Girona on Sunday at 7:15. So there you have it a day in a half in a huge city--- how in the world could we possibly see everything? Well, you can't. But seize the day, you could possibly see a lot of incredible things. So here is my top-5-things-to-do-if-you-only-have-a-day-and-a-half-in-Barcelona. (You got it, another list). 

1. Parc Guell

Remember when you used to play Candyland in your mountain cabin on a rainy day? No? Okay... remember when you used to play Candyland when you were little? Yes? And remember when you wished there was a place you could go that mirrored the whimsical world of Candyland? Parc Guell is probably the closest you can get to the land of Candy (sans candy and the chocolate puddle monsters). From the metro you must walk up hundreds of steps (or for those who don't like stairs there is an escalator) to get to the Park. Totally worth every one of those steps. You come to winding gravel paths and discover the sight of Gaudi's Gingerbread-esque house. But thats not the only thing there. Besides wonderful views of the city, beautiful natural arbors, and incredible walking trails, you can find colorful displays of lizards and mosaics. If you have more than a day and half, I suggest spending the day relaxing in the sun of the Parc, people watch, and listen to the many "parc" performers. I absolutely loved my short time spent in the Parc... took me straight back to the days where I used to play Candyland with my parents at out mountain cabin.

2. Montjuic

Montjuic was the last thing we did, but it was certainly one of the best. You take a "funicular" from the metro station to a station where you can buy tickets for flying gondola's that take you up to a castle on top of Montjuic. The views from the gondola are breathtaking. We were there at the end of the day where the light was low and it was a perfect break from the hustle and bustle (yeah-- i just used that expression) of the center city. We spent a couple of hours up there writing and sketching and just sitting in the sun relaxing after a long day of walking. I can only imagine what it would be like around sunset!

3. Sagrada Familia

Sagrada Familia is Gaudi's masterpiece in the center of the city. It's like Barcelona's Duomo fast forward hundreds of years. The only thing I could think of when I saw it (besides its unique architecture and immense beauty) was the drip castles I spent hours on at the beach... Wow. Didn't know I was reminiscing of childhood activities so much when in Barcelona. But it's really hard not to with all of the childhood structures created by Gaudi's ingenious mind. The church was more beautiful on the inside with the sun shining through the beautifully orchestrated stain glass windows and incredibly ornamented ceilings. What we noticed most about the inside of the church was that it was actually very lit-- allowing sunlight to come in on all sides. The majority of the churches we have seen are all dark only allowing sunlight to glisten through the stain glass windows. The price to go inside is somewhat expensive (compared to our free admission to every museum in Paris), but is definitely worth it. And you get a discount with a student visa!

4. Sunset at the Olympic Stadium

Well, this was more of mistake than anything. We had just gotten to Barcelona and wanted to go to Montjuic for the sunset. Finally figuring out the metro system, we headed to the area where Montjuic supposedly was. Thanks to an international mobile phone conference we got lost and went the wrong way up the mountain. But not all who wander are lost and when you take the road less traveled by , it makes all the difference. (Obviously constructed that last sentence all on my own...) But I really do suggest going here for a sunset. The light reflecting off the water was picturesque and it gave an incredible view of the city! It was such a great find!!

5. The Gaudi Houses

Both of us were a little too cheap to go inside either of the casa's but honestly the outside was enough for me. The organic shapes and festive colors took me right back to Dr. Seuss. They were incredibly designed and surprisingly on one of the main streets where all of the brand name shops are. A spectacular view, and I can only imagine just how spectacular it would be on the inside!

With all of this walking, food is more than necessary. The first night, we went to a lovely restaurant called Pitarra. It has supposedly some of the best paella in the city. Of course, that was what I ordered  and Kenan got Tuna with potatoes. The two were shared and it was so good. We ordered a small bottle of wine for dinner and afterwards, I truly had the best dessert in Europe. (I said this last week...) It was coconut ice cream (real coconut shreds inside) served with a chocolate lampshade (basically a chocolate bowl with a wafer middle) and a rasberry swirl. But no that was apparently not enough when we were offered a pitcher of Sangria "on the house". Hey, we'll take it. The owners and waiters could not have been more nice and I recommend the restaurant to anyone who goes. As other food excursions go, the St. Josep Market is jam packed with colorful fruits and vegetables and fresh meat and fish.

Barcelona was truly a great experience! Maybe I should seize the day more often?

An Update

Lately, as my traveling schedule has multiplied from the first of the semester-- I seem to "live for the weekends". But this week as the sun finally peeked out of the clouds and brought the first real warm weather of the year, my weekdays are quite lively as well. I was able to get in a few great runs, a picnic by the Arno, and nice long walks. With this kind of weather--- I can't get enough of Florence. There are so many different landscapes to stumble upon and I'm really starting to appreciate the size of the city as well. I never thought I would consider it quaint!

School is in full session, and we have begun our first tests and quizzes... It's hard for me to really concentrate on pen and paper and textbooks when there is a whole new world for me to explore, but my goal this weekend is try and get back in the swing of things. (Mom, Dad: I'm not failing.) 

But for two of my favorite classes (Sketchbook and cooking-- wait you call those classes Ainslie?) it was a busy week! For Sketchbook in Florence we headed to the Accademia and spent most of our time sketching the David. Yes, THE David. He was more incredible than I had imagined. Of course I had seen the replica outside of Palazzo Vecchio, but never had set eyes on the real one. I still can't imagine how someone could take a block and carve a masterpiece like that. It was really great to be able to sketch the incredible work of art as well. As you can not take pictures inside the Accademia, it was my own little snapshot of the statue.

For cooking, we learned all about Pasta. And if you know anything about me, you know that my favorite food is pasta. We learned where certain dishes come from, what sauces to put on what pastas, the difference between fresh (a thicker pasta made with egg used for ravioli etc.) pasta and dry (less heavy, you don't have to refrigerate it) pasta is. Then we even got to make some of our own fresh pasta!! (see below for the recipe) We also learned how to roll the dough into the old shape of Maccaroni (in the past pasta had been called Maccaroni--all shapes--not pasta). With our homemade pasta we made our first fish dish.

Corzetti con Pascatrice

I personally think it could be made with any pasta, but we used a type of fresh pasta

Or you can make your own pasta:

300 gr flour

3 eggs

oil

salt

Make a foundation with the flour on the table, add the eggs in the middle, salt, and a few drops of oil. Work with the dough with your hands for about 10 to 15 minutes until it gives the elasticity of skin. Cover it with saran wrap and let it rest for 10 minutes at room temperature. 

Roll the dough/ flatten and cut into circle shape (3 cm diameter). You can use cookie cutters!

6 servings

400 gr  Monkey Fish (you can substitute swordfish--- cook for 2 min. longer)

4 ripes tomatoes

20 black olives

30 gr. pine nuts

1 garlic clove

1 bunch of basil

Oil

Salt 

Pepper

Wash the tomatoes, place them in boiling water. After a minute or so, take tomatoes out of water, peel, take out the seeds, and cut into cubes.

Cut the fish into cubes as well. Peel the garlic and saute in oil. Then add the fish in the same pan. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes and then add the tomatoes, pine nuts, olives (chopped), salt and pepper, and then cook for 8 minutes more. 

Cook the pasta in boiling water for 5 to 6 minutes, strain. Saute the pasta in the pan with the fish. Serve with chopped basil (tear don't cut basil to keep the flavor).

voila!

For our second dish, I enjoyed it so much and found it pretty easy that I made it for the flat on Thursday. I didn't exactly measure out everything to a T, so it wasn't as good as the kind we made in class, but nevertheless I really enjoyed it. It will definitely be a dish I make over and over again--- maybe one day I will get all the proportions correct.

Strozzapreti con Spinaci 

Serves 6

400 gr strozzapreti pasta (or any dry pasta would do)

120 gr spinach

30 gr white almonds

3 sun dried tomatoes (preserved in oil)

100 gr fresh goat cheese 

oil

salt

pepper

Boil Water.

Wash the spinach and dry. Chop 100gr of the spinach and put in a no stick pot.

Chop the almonds very fine and chop the sun dried tomatoes into 4 or five pieces. Add both into the pot of spinach. Sprinkle with salt and pepper an add 8 tablespoons of olive oil. Warm the mixture in a bagno marie (double boiler) for 15 minutes. Make sure to mix a few times.

Cook the pasta in the salty boiling water, strain and mix with the spinach mixture you just made. Place the pasta in a serving plate.

This is where it is up to you. If you are a goat cheese lover, add the cheese (has been cut into pieces) and sprinkle with more pepper and the raw left over spinach. However, if you are like me, and not the biggest fan of goat cheese, the dish is completely delicious and flavorful without it. 

Stay tuned for my post about our short but sweet trip to Barcelona! Ciao for now.

88 Thoughts About Paris

Ahh, Paris. It was the first trip in a long time where if you asked me "How was your trip?" I would not have shrugged a bit and wouldn't have just said "oh, it was good." and leave it at that. No. It would be more like... "Paris was great, it was so great, why don't you just sit right down and listen to hours upon hours of me telling you how great it was. In fact I'm going to tell every person I met, every thought I had, and every sight I see... sound good?" Not the answer you were expecting, was it? Paris was so perfect, it still feels like a dream. Did we really see all of that in 2 and a half days? Wait, I saw the Eiffel Tower? No... I couldn't have, it was just a weekend!

Since we don't have hours upon hours to sit here and chat about Paris, I compiled somewhat of a list about my happenings in this beautiful city. I like lists, but not the lets plan out my whole life list, or these are the things I must get done in the next hour lists (unless I have lots of things to get done in the next hour of course). No... more like the irrelevant, sporadic thought lists that make more sense in my head than down on paper. I will do my best to give you the full experience of my weekend in my 50 thoughts about (my trip to) Paris list.

1. Ryan Air isn't as stressful as I thought it would be.
2. I'd like to see what Beauvais (the place, 1 hr outside of Paris, that we flew into) is really like.
3. Peanut M&M's are the travelers paradise
4. When you have 3 people, a taxi isn't too expensive (for one ride)
5. Our hostel was one of the most lively place I saw in Paris.
6. Late night food shouldn't ever consist of Kabobs (but we didn't have any dinner...so it's okay, right?)
7. You should stay away from dorm style hostels if you snore, just a thought.
8. Dorm style hostels are actually really great, minus the snorers that don't stay away from them.
9. The French DO actually serve a baguette at every meal, and not JUST as a side.
10. A French baguette IS actually the greatest bread you'll ever taste.
11. Ascending from the metro station to the Pyramids outside of the Louvre was a great treat.
12. The Louvre almost looks like a shopping mall inside.
13. The Mona Lisa is actually really small.
14. Wait, the Code of Hammurabi is found at the Louvre? AND the Sphinx?
15. A vegetarian sandwich= green beans, cheese, potatoes, beets, and "salad" enclosed in a baguette.
16. How many baguettes do you think restaurants in Paris go through a day?
17. The Museo d'Orsay was the most amazing Museum I've been to.
18. You're not allowed to take pictures in the Museo d'Orsay.
19. I did. (Found the sign at the end of my visit...I promise!)
20. Toulouse Lautrec is deemed my favorite artist, sorry Degas and Rauschenberg.
21. With a student visa, we got into all of the Museums for free (except for one...)
22. Shakespeare & Company is actually the most beautiful bookstore you will ever see.
23. Fact: You don't have to be a descendant of the great writers to work there.
24. Question: Well then, how in the world can you?
25. Paris IS almost as wonderful in the rain.
26. The Pompidou Museum is incredibly hard to find, if you follow the signs. So don't follow the signs.
27. The Pompidou was our third museum of the first day.
28. Duchamp's Urinal has gone missing. (but really... where the **** was it?) Oh well...
29. If you don't know French, you should probably ask for an english menu.
30. Soup and bread (with butter) on a cold, rainy day is even better in Paris...
31. I just found out that Pain Perdu is french toast.
32. I had Pain Perdu with chocolate, fresh mint, and a scoop of ice cream for dessert.
33. It was not french toast, but rather my favorite dessert I have had in Europe.
34. Sadly, I did not see Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and the other greats at Midnight.
35. Breakfast of Champions: Half of a baguette with butter and jam and Black Tea with milk.
36. The Eiffel Tower is more beautiful than I expected it to be. (That's saying something)
37. I took too many pictures of the Eiffel Tower. I'm keeping all of them.
38. The walk from the Eiffel Tower to the Arc de Triomphe was lovely.
39. Champs Elysees wasn't as fabulous as I expected, thought I don't know what I expected.
40. Although there was huge line outside of Palace "Abercrombie and Fitch" Why? I don't know.
41. You could smell the infamous A&F cologne from the streets though...
42. I'm really glad we ended up going into our fourth museum, The Orangerie.
43. Monet's water lilies provided serenity and time to think. They were incredible too.
44. Menu: Sandwich Emmental: Baguette (of course), butter, and Emmental Cheese.
45. What it really meant: Sandwich Emmental: Bread and whole stick of cold butter.
46. St. Germain was probably my favorite district we saw.
47. Even in the winter (with no leaves or blooms) the Luxembourg Gardens were beautiful.
48. Once we got the hang of it, the metro system was incredibly easy and useful.
49. Pigalle (or Pig Alley), where Moulin Rouge is, was an interesting sight to say the least.
50. (But) the area includes a house of Van Gogh, studio of Toulouse Lautrec, and the cafe in Amelie.

So I've hit fifty... Did I mention that my special irrelevant, sporadic thought list is in no specific order (other than chronological)? We are only 3/4ths through the second day! This might actually turn out to be hours upon hours... I'll continue.

51. Kenan getting invited in to one of Pigalle's infamous...um...shops brought me to tears.
52. DON'T wait for a table at a nice french restaurant, people WILL pass you to the open table.
53. Salmon Quiche gave me my salmon fix without the price. Oh yeah, it was GOOD too.
54. Beef Tar Tar is actually raw. Like RAW, dog food raw. Kenan won't be ordering that again.
55. Amelie's in Charlotte came up in conversation at least 10 times (sorry Julia and Kenan...)
56. You can't get a drink (even soda and juice) for under 4 euro. Order tap water. They have it.
57. The most amazing couple from Napoli helped us get back to the Eiffel Tower at night.
58. We didn't get their name, but hope to magically see them in America (on their honeymoon...)
59. The Eiffel tower is just as amazing in the rain and even more incredible at night.
60. I took too many pictures of the Eiffel tower. I'm keeping all of them. (Oh, I already said that.)
61. For goodness sakes, GO to the bathroom before you wait in line to go up the tower.
62. The city is actually alive at night. Like the buildings were dancing and everything.
63. Number 62 was supposed to be joke, if you didn't get it move on to 64.
64. The sky at night on top of the tower was incredible, it lit up because of the stormy weather.
65. It's really windy on the tower, so try not to be blown away. Haha... double meaning.
66. There are little to no public restrooms in Paris when you really need them.
67. We made it to midnight (in Paris). Still, no Hemingway. (or Owen Wilson for that matter...)
68. The Notre Dame is beautiful. Inside and out.
69. They had a service going on, while hundreds of tourists walked inside to take pictures. Weird.
70. Unfortunately, I did not see Quasi Modo.
71. The Deportation Memorial was moving. Sadly, I did not get to the Holocaust Memorial.
72. I could walk around that city near the river all day.
73. The hot chocolate in Paris is not hot pudding like Italy, but liquid. It's really good, too. Big Surprise.
74. ALWAYS stop and sit in a dog park. ALWAYS. I've never been so happy. (Maybe...)
75. This guy was the awkward 6th grader who has already hit puberty. And the biggest dog I've ever seen.
76. I met a new dog friend who let me scratch his back in the sun for at least 30 minutes.
77. Paris is even more perfect with a blue sky and sun.
78. Don't just walk into a restaurant because you have to use the bathroom and expect to like the menu.
79. Too many of these thoughts have included the use of the word bathroom.
80. It was almost too hard to get on the bus to leave the city.
81. The ride back in the french countryside made it a little easier to leave.
82. Clouds are prettier in France.
83. French really is the most beautiful language in the world.
84. The Beauvais Airport gave me the least stressful security experience I've had. Thank you.
85. We met yet another friendly person from Napoli. Sadly, he advised me not to visit Napoli for an extended period of time. But people are so friendly there!
86. Paris, however, did help me appreciate the intimacy of Florence (a city I once thought was huge).
87. Either way, can I go back?
88. Just because the number 87 is too random I decided to add another.

There we have it... 88 Thoughts About Paris. I'm proud of you if you got through them all. As a reward, I will actually end this post with only a little rambling. It was an amazing weekend that I will alway remember. (It will be hard not to as I took approximately 726 photos... obsessive? A bit.) I really am starting to experience the beauty of studying abroad. Every weekend is a magical experience and I am so lucky and SO happy to be here. So... how cheesy did that sound?

A few Snapshots from Paris... 

Au Revoir! Ciao!

Risotto Bicolore

Serves 6

Spinach/Green:

150 gr Rice

80 gr Spinach

50 gr Grana Cheese 

30 gr Butter

Vegetable Stock

1 Onion

Chop 1/4 onion, wash well with the spinach and slice. Saute both with oil for 3 minutes. Take off half of them and blend with 1 ladle of stock. In the left over spinach and onion, add the rice, saute. Add 1 ladle of stock and once absorbed (sticky texture) add the blended spinach. Add more stock (1 ladle at a time-- each time your risotto looks sticky) until the rice is al dente. (About 15 minutes) Turn flame OFF and stir in cheese and butter. (Use can probably substitue any hard cheese like Parmesan for the Grana cheese!)

Pumpkin/Yellow:

300 gr Pumpkin

150 gr Rice

30 gr Taleggio Cheese

1 Shallot

Vegetable Stock

1 Bay leaf

Chop the shallot and cube (small) the pumpkin. Saute with oil and bay leaf for 5 minutes. Salt. Cover and cook for 10 minutes more to get the pumpkin soft, add stock if needed. (If you are preparing dishes yourself start spinach now) Add the rice and then like the spinach recipe add stock one ladle at a time (when risotto is looking sticky) until al dente. Turn flame off and stir with Taleggio cheese. Place with Spinach risotto. (You can replace the Taleggio cheese with mildly soft ones like Fontina or Gouda).

In the end, this was probably (if not the best) one of the best risotto dishes I have ever had. The spinach one was my favorite but with the bitter taste of the spinach and the sweet of the pumpkin they really tasted great served together!! Our professor showed her presentation skills once again and this was the final product! It was incredibly delicious; my mouth is watering just thinking about it. If I had to choose to make one-- I would probably choose the spinach, but both are worth trying! Also, everything is in grams so converting it to american measurements would probably be helpful to start out with. Enjoy!

And for dessert, because two kinds of risotto just wasn't enough....

Souffle' Di Cioccolato

Serves 6

100 gr Bitter Chocolate

100 gr Gianduiotto (substitute with milk chocolate if needed)

3 eggs

80 gr Sugar

1 tbs Flour

Aluminum Foil Cups

Vanilla Ice Cream

Melt the chocolate in Bagno Marie (double boiler). After, add the butter (that has been cut into smaller pieces and mix until creamy.

In a separarte bowl, beat the eggs with sugar and then add the flour. After, add the melted chocolate into the mixture.

Butter and flour individual aluminum cups, place half of mixture inside. Put a small block of "gianduiotto" (they should be cut into half) and then cover with more chocolate cream.

Cook in the oven for 6 minutes at 370 degrees Fahrenheit.

Serve with ice cream! 

                                     

Just your Average Monday

My day consisted of Sunny weather, homework, reading, and classes. My night: Couscous with curry and sauteed mushrooms and red pepper, my first sketch assignment, music, and nostalgia. All in all a simple Monday with no complaints. Each day, I find myself gradually feeling more aquatinted with Florence and realizing just how much it has to offer. There is ALWAYS something going on. I'm excited for the weather to get a little warmer, so I can get out and really see what this city has to offer. (I've said this before haven't I). It really hits me when I come back from a trip and feel like I'm headed home. This little two bedroom apartment is becoming a place that I'll never forget. I can even say that I look forward to the smell of sewage, a crowded kitchen, a lack of lighting, and frigid temperatures (kinda, sorta) because to me and my 5 other roommates its home. In other news it's midnight here, so Happy Valentines Day to all my loved ones! Who knows, maybe this year I'll make a big heart card out of construction paper and put it in your homemade mailbox. Annnd now I'm sleepy. So buonasera everyone!

Involtini di Tacchino al Prosciutto

(Turkey and Ham Rolls on a Bed of Spinach)

Serves 6

6 Turkey Slices
125 gr Fresh Spinach
6 slices Prosciutto
6 slices Scamorza Cheese
1 clove Garlic
Fresh Cream
1 Zucchini
Oil
Salt
Pepper

Cut the zucchini in julienne shape. (Hot dog style y'all) Flat the turkey slices with a hammer: add salt, pepper, sliced scamorza cheese, and zucchini. Roll the meat slices around ingredients. Then roll the prosciutto slices around the turkey rolls.

Saute the spinach in oil, garlic, and salt. and placed the spinach at the bottom of a baking dish. Place the rolls on top of the spinach, add 50 grams of fresh cream, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 200 degrees.

Panna Cotta

(Cream Custard)

Serves 4

300ml (1/2 pint) double cream

2 tablespoons sugar (or more for taste)

About 8 drops of vanilla essence

1 teaspoon powdered gelatine

Simmer the cream with the sugar and vanilla for 2-3 minutes. Dissolve the gelatine (do not use more or the cream will be rubbery) in 2 tablespoons cold water and beat well into the cream. Pour into a serving bowl or four small ramekins. As the cream is very rich, small portions are best. Chill for a few hours until set.

Venezia

Venice, I had seen it in movies, read about it in textbooks, looked at photographs of it from friends, and have always wanted to go there. Yesterday, I finally got the chance! Kaitlin and I decided against a long weekend trip and spend less money for a day trip to Venice on the first day of Carnival. Instead of messing with the train system and paying more money, we decided to let Bus2Alps plan our transportation (and just our transportation) there and back. Arriving around 1, we had eight hours to explore whatever we wanting in the city. Our first thought was to go see an Island off of the main city islands, Burano. It is built with many different colored buildings and homes and looks absolutely brilliant in pictures. Unfortunately, we didn't go on the water bus with the rest of the Bus2Alps crew and ended up not getting to Burano-- as people, including two clowns, kept giving us wrong instructions. It was one of our first experiences of truly being lost in translation. 

Nevertheless, after about an hour of water-bussing around, we were back to San Marco and were too hungry and too wide-eyed to be bummed out from missing Burano. We made it our first goal to find food-- and fast. It was about 3:30 by then and neither of had eaten that much today. We finally found a restaurant that served pizza for a good price. I ordered a Margherita pizza and Kaitlin had one with prosciutto and potatoes on it. We soon learned that it was a chain restaurant, but it sure didn't taste like it! It was probably the best pizza I have had since I have been in Italy. But really anything would have tasted good at that moment. After lunch, dinner... linner? we set out for some exploring. We tasted hot wine from the wine fountain that the Carnival festivities had brought to Venice. It was incredibly sweet, but it kept my hands warm.. so I was happy. Then we went inside of the St. Mark's Basilica. This had to have been one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen. Inside was covered in gold and the vibrant colors that popped from the exterior of the building were beautiful against the blue grey skies.

Afterwards, Kaitlin and I checked out some of the Carnival activities and marveled over all of the costumes. Later we had met a lady who actually lived in Venice and she told us that this was the smallest crowd she had seen in a long time. She had been told it was because of the weather and the economic situation in Italy. Either way, I didn't mind and it was fun seeing adults have as much fun in their costumes as kids do when trick-or-treating. We set off later to explore around the city to see what we could find. There we so many hidden alleyways and turns that you could spend days just walking around this city and still not see everything. It was all so beautiful. The greyish-blue of the water versus the light pink and yellow of the buildings made my heard turn every few seconds. 

Kaitlin and I had bought masks earlier in the day, and I told myself that as the sun went down, my mask would come out. Sure enough, it was dark outside and I made an attempt to put my mask on for the rest of the night. But a couple of minustes later, I had to take it off because my ears no longer had my hat or hair covering them and they were about to break off. But that doesn't mean the fun was over. We stopped to buy postcards for souvenirs and noticed the Ponte Rialto on one of them. Soon after we went searching-- and finally found the beautiful bridge that (sort of) gives the Ponte Vecchio a run for its money (but only a little bit....) Crossing the bridge and a hundred pictures later we stumbled upon many bakeries and small shops.

Trying the many sweet delicacies of the Carnival was also on our list. So when the bakery looked good enough (which was almost always), we took a pit stop in side to look around at the pastries. We even tried a couple too. My favorite was a type of fritelle with cream inside and filled with bits of raisins. It was so good!  After a while, both Kaitlin and I were starting to get too cold to walk any longer. Luckily we came upon a really cool bookstore that had picture books, guide books, chapter books, italian books, english books... you name it piled on top of one another on shelves and tables and gondolas even. I looked around for any familiar books to purchase, but this shop sort of turned into more of an art project (it was so beautiful and colorful) rather than a book store. However, it kept us warm and the owner was so friendly! When we were leaving he told us ciao and that he loved us both. All in all I'm so happy we decided to go inside "the most beautiful bookstore in the world" (said the sign out front.)

Finally, it was an hour before we had to get back on the water bus to meet the Bus2Alps crowd in Florence. After returning to San Marco to see the last bit of the Carnevale festivities that day, we decided it was too cold to wait outside so we found a small "snack bar" for some tea. We sat there looking at our pictures and talking about the day, thankful for the hot tea and sample of cookies the owner gave us as a surprise. It was a really busy but great day and we were glad that we got to see as much as we did in one day. I definitely hope to get back to Venice sometime in my life when the weather is warmer to see more of the gorgeous city as well as Burano. However I don't know if I'll be taking Bus2Alps there (maybe somewhere else though), as we had to wait an extra hour for the buses to arrive... of course we chose the bus with the girl who was turning 21 at midnight and decided to be as loud as possible. But hey you only turn 21 on a bus once in your lifetime and luckily they all passed out shortly afterwards. 

Great first real adventure out of Florence (besides Pisa, I guess)! I have also updated the pictures so check them out here or on the link at the top of the page! Ciao ya'll! (kidding about the y'all part)

Santa Croce and The Most Beautiful Jogging Path in the World

I've been bad about posting things lately because I've been so tired and wasn't up for trying to string a few somewhat-witty words together. But the last few days have been insane. Not bad insane, but good insane. So insane that I'm going to pump out two whole blog posts today. 

The morning after the basketball game (three days ago), we all woke up sleepy eyed to head to class. Fortunately for me, I only had one class that day and instead of a classroom with powerpoint, we got to have a tour around Santa Croce. This was one of the church/museums I had been wanting to go to, so it was nice to finally get to look around with our teacher, Cecilia, explaining the different art and murals we saw on the wall.  

We also learned that the facade of green and white marble was not as old as the building. It used to be covered in brick and was definitely not at all as colorful as what we see today. Inside there were whole new discoveries. Works of Giotto, one of Florence's most fames artists, were displayed all over the interior of the church. Donatello's (another Florentine artist as well as sculptor) Annunciation was also hanging there. 


Here was when I was blown away (if I could have been any more blown away): Dante, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and Galileo (as well as many others) all had burial monuments in Santa Croce. I was surprised that both Dante and Galileo were both buried in a church as Dante was exiled and Galileo was a scientist (considering the whole science vs. religion debate-- won't into those waters today...). But Danta is actually buried in Ravenna, Italy and only has a monument for him, as Florence was his home city. As time went on, and people, including the Church discovered that Galileo's findings were true, some of his remains including his middle finger (hmm... is this saying something?) and his spine were placed in Santa Croce. 

Two realizations came from the Santa Croce Visit. Not knowing every single detail about a place before you go makes the discoveries that much more special. There is still A LOT more I need to see in Florence, a place full of incredible history and character. I am so ready for it to get warm so I can step outside with out being blown backwards by the wind or have icicles in my hair.



 Two days ago, I decided to change up my normal running pattern and sort of "explore run" (I guess you could call it.) Instead of turning right I decided to to take a left and just keep on going... After a while I realized I was starting to incline and the city was being washed away by a canopy of trees. By this point I decided to walk around and explore a bit and found a map of the "Most Beautiful Jogging Path in the World". Hah, okay I'm sure it's pretty but every city thinks they could contain such a title. Well, guys I believe Florence has won it. By no means am I a big runner, fast runner, long distance runner, but with a new year and new place, I am trying to be much more of a committed runner. And I have never seen a trail more grand than this one. Every time  I looked to my right there was a different, more beautiful view of the city; keep going, you have it the countryside with olive and cyprus trees to your left and right. Every turn from the main road looked like a new adventure and I am very excited to go back and discover a new road. I even found a place I had been google mapping for the last week trying to figure out where it was. I took a few photos on my way around the city with my iphone-- I guess you could consider me apart of Zooey Deschanel's photography running club in Yes Man... or, ya know...not..

Carolina Blue Skies in Florence

I can picture it now.

Seven years ago from this exact day, I was watching the Carolina Duke game at my mom's house in our living room. This year, about 20 other UNC students, and a few random people, stayed up to watch the ultimate rivalry on a projector at a local bar here in Florence. Seven years ago, Raymond Felton ran the called play instead running towards the open basket after JJ Reddick had air-balled a shot. Seven years ago, UNC lost to Duke by one measly point in the last seconds of the game. I cried. I bawled. My mom honestly didn't know what to do.  Last night, well... rather this morning, UNC lost a heartbreaker by one. measly. point. We were all about to cry, bawl, but at six in the morning we were all too tired, so breakfast of pancakes did the trick instead.

Seven years ago, Felton, one of the greatest point guards in UNC history, made a mistake and the game was done. This year, Zeller, made a small mistake too, and well the game was done. But neither of these mistakes took away how great both players are. With 23 points, Zeller carried UNC most of the game, so it was never anyone's fault. Just like, the game against duke (seven years ago... yeah that one) wasn't called because of a mistake made by Felton.

In the end, practices start up again, the sky is still Carolina blue and this weekend I'm headed off to Venice for one of the greatest festivals in Europe, Carnevale............ (haha)

The point of this post was one: to share my love of college basketball and two: to say that even when other parts of my life have changed (I'm no longer sitting on my couch crying my eyes out after a basketball game), but one thing will never change and that is I will always pull for carolina blue.

But wait, just one more thing... Seven years ago it was... you guessed it! 2005. I do believe Raymond and team beat Illinois on April 4th to win... what was it? Oh yeah, the National Championship.

We shall see. We shall see.

I know what you're thinking.. yes, it's about food.

Class wise, I had a great day today. First and foremost I didn't wake up to my alarm blaring at 6:30 to only get dressed in the dark and sleep-walk to italian class. NOPE. NOT ANYMORE. I was able to change my class to 6:00 on monday and wednesday (that's right only 2 days a week, instead of 3!) So naturally, my day started out exceptionally well. My first class, we learned about Giotto and Dante and the different aspects in writing and art in the Renaissance. I haven't really learned much about this time period, so this will possibly be more of a difficult class, but a rewarding one. We are headed to Santa Croce next class, and that is one of many outside the classroom visits. Ever sense college, I have often found that classes would be better if we could actually visit the places we are learning about. It's really great to know that I finally get the chance. Then again, to me, that is one of the many gems of studying abroad.

Then I had cooking. Oh boy, did we make a masterpiece. Well, our professor happened to make it look pretty and know all of the recipes, etc. But again, I was amazed that took part in creating such a delicious meal. Our main dish was a turkey roll with prosciutto wrapped around that. Inside the roll was scamorza cheese and zucchini. All of the rolls were places on a bed of spinach. I don't remember the last time a had a meal with that much meat in it-- but it was incredible! We topped the dished with 2 fried spinach leaves (for decoration). For dessert we made Panna Cotta, sort of a vanilla bean gelatin served with strawberry and blackberry sauces. After watching our professor design her food in such a beautiful way, I decided to try my own food art. Although, I must say it was hard not just going ahead and eating both. After the meal, we all decided that we were really going to like this class. Go figure! Turkey, Proscuitto rolls and Pana Cotta and it's only the first day of cooking? If you would like to know the recipes to either of these, you are more than welcome to ask!

Last but not least, I headed over to Sketchbook in Florence. Today we worked with models and learned the ways of getting the right proportions in your drawings. I had a great time sketching and letting my hands go where they wanted to on the paper. We used charcoal, usually not my favorite medium, but for this assignment, it all just seemed to work. I must add that all of our models remind me of Lisbeth Salander. Thin, short black hair, dressed in dark clothes--- when I put that in my mind, it makes drawing seamlessly normal models into another Steig Larsson adventure...well, kind of.. At the end of the day (Dad- I added that phrase for you because I know how you love it so much) I really think I'm going to love this class. I took painting last semester and missed the stark bold strokes that a pencil or charcoal gives. I can give my drawings life and one can see the process. With paint, the "adventure" that went into the piece often disappears with the final strokes. There are no smudge marks or slightly visible erased lines. I love the gestural feel a sketch gives, and I'm excited to see the transitions and growth that will hopefully be noticeable in my sketchbook at the end of the semester.

I also must add something that just won't seem leave my mind... GO TO HELL DOOK.

This is What I've Been Wanting

Last night, we all thought that it was time to stop cooking and finally go out to eat again. We went to a restaurant that Kaitlin and I's pre-session Italian teacher, Irene, remember her? suggested. Earlier that night I had skyped my Mom and told her that I hadn't eaten anything tat was any better than her cooking. She was amazed and couldn't comprehend that her cooking was that good. Well, sorry Mom... Baldovino may be your competition. It was incredible. In fact, I think I may have confessed my love for the place every five minutes. The candles, the tables, the sweet wait staff; everything was just perfect.

We had scoped out the menu before going there to see if it was worth it and the "tuscan hummus" caught my eye. Kenan was nice enough to share it with me... and oh my god. It wasn't made out of chickpeas but rather cannellini beans and gave it a smoother texture. Sesame and garlic were added as well. It was served with this wonderful Arab sesame seed bread that was toasted and better than any pita I have ever had. (Not that I needed any more bread after the complimentary bread slices we received.) The olive oil was so flavorful and intense-- something that I have been looking for since I have gotten here.

For my main meal, I had a potato and leek soup that was wonderfully rich and light at the same time. I couldn't finish all of it after the hummus appetizer, but with the cold weather outside, it made for a perfect meal. We all passed our plates around and tasted each other's meals. There were so many different flavors but it was all so amazing. I don't know how many mmm's I heard that night.

Since we were so happy with our night, we decided to get a dessert... or two. The thickest cheesecake you will ever try and the darkest, richest chocolate cake (you will ever have). Both delicious and not too much. 

Needless to say, we had a great time. 

In other news this recently has become a food blog. No longer is it my adventures abroad. But rather, the food that I eat abroad. I promise guys, I'm doing other things than eating! But there are only so many pictures of Florence I can take. Next weekend we start our month long weekend adventures and I booked a cheap flight to Barcelona! The adventure is just beginning!

Tonight I made a bruschetta topping with cannellini beans, red peppers, parsley, salt and pepper, and garlic. It was something I always had at home and was fun to try it on my own. The mixture urned out to be really great!

I didn't realize until I posted this how color coordinated my meal was. But hey! It's all comprised of my favorite yellow color. If you are EVER in Florence, you must try Baldovino out. It was exactly what I've been wanting all along.

Pasta, Pasta, and more Pasta

It has been a slow week with classes starting, but a good one. Unfortunately I was sick again but it feels like everything is officially gone so that is very good news! It's also been an incredibly cold week as well. We have seen snow flurries the past few days and this morning, I took a run and could barely move forward with all of the wind gusts. We might be headed to Greve in the Chianti region tomorrow, but are unsure of the transportation with the recent snow. It might be another laid back weekend in Florence, but in the few weeks ahead I have a Venice Carnevale day trip with Kaitlin, Paris weekend with Kenan and Julia, then possibly Munich, and finally Rome with the school.  February is shaping up to be a pretty busy month, so I guess I'll be able to stand Florence for another weekend (just kidding guys, of course I can).

I will tell you we have been eating enough this week. I got a huge package of mushrooms at the store last weekend, so basically everything I have been eating has contained a little bit of olive oil, a little bit of herbs, and a little bit (or a lot...) of mushrooms. 

On Monday I made bruschetta for lunch (fit with mushrooms, parsley, olive oil, and sliced tomatoes!) The next day, I spiced up my food life with adding tomato and balsamic to my pasta (I wasn't sure how the balsamic would taste but it turned out to be pretty good! Then again, you can't really go wrong with such a simple meal). 

Then last night, I was really just pulling everything out of the pantry and decided to add apple and onion to my mushroom pasta. It was just for fun, but I ended up liking all of the flavors together and I'll probably try the meal again. So that's my week of mushroom delight. 

I must include Kaitlin's "drunken spaghetti" to my week of meals. We took taste the rainbow to the next level. Green spinach and red tomatoes for the salad, Purple pasta (that had been dyed by red wine) all served on our typical blue patterned plates. I must say, when i saw the meal I was a bit skeptical. I had never tried purple pasta before, but was definitely willing to. It ended up being one of my favorite meals we have cooked so far! The flavors were so unique and really delicious. I'll never turn my nose up to purple pasta again. 

Maybe I'll actually go to the supermarket, and not have to be restrained to just mushrooms and pasta. Stir fry? Chicken? Anything but pasta? Sounds good to me. If you have any (stove top) recipes (because we don't have an oven) send them my way! Believe me, I'll try anything.