top 5 of firenze

I've been here officially 6 weeks so I figured I'd go ahead and make a list of my top 5 favorite things, in no particular order, thus far:

1. The Arno - This river, which flows for 241 km, runs straight through the heart of Firenze. It never looks the same two days in a row, whether it be a difference in the color of the water or the size of the ripples. Living in the Oltrarno area [literally translated to 'beyond the arno], I've had the opportunity to marvel at its beauty daily.

2. The Mercato Centrale - I literally love this market. Fresh fruits and veggies are abounding [as are very dead rabbits, horses, deer and pigs] and the prices are unbeatable. I'll never forget the first day I went and bought 4 huge bell peppers for 1 Euro. From what I've been told, most students find the market too overwhelming and thus settle for smaller grocery stores. But to me, this massive indoor building is a gastronomic heaven just waiting to be explored. 

                            

3. The Gelato - Need I say more? You know how in America there is a Starbucks on every corner? Well in Italy, there is a gelateria on literally every corner. So far my favorite flavors are Fondente [dark chocolate], Caramello [caramel] and Cookies [apparently there isn't an Italian word for cookie?]. I've gotten into a [bad] habit of getting a 2 Euro cup of gelato every day after lunch - can you say highlight of my day? I also just discovered that they sell gelato by the kilo...this could be dangerous. 

4. The Sunsets- I know I know...there are beautiful sunsets all over the world. But I swear there is something magical about looking over the entire city and seeing the sun set behind the Duomo. There are 2 things I check every morning on my computer before going to class: weather.com [which incidentally is wrong 90% of the time] and the time of the sunset. If I'm lucky, I can time my evening walk perfectly and catch the sun setting as I cross the Arno to get to my apartment. 

5. The Duomo- The Duomo, which literally means Cathedral, is one of the most spectacular buildings I've ever laid eyes on. It's incredibly large and the detail on both the interior and exterior is unbelievably impressive. I've studied the piece of architecture before and now, as I walk past it daily, the history behind the building comes alive right before my eyes. I just imagine Brunelleschi, Giotto and many other famous architects slaving away together on this masterpiece. The focal point of the city, my list would not be complete without mention of Il Duomo. 

And with that, I'm off to Venice for Carnival! I'll update when I return but I'm anticipating some really crazy stories and photos. Until next time... Arrivederci!

whatta weekend!

Having my parents in town was amazing. Not only was it great to spend time with them but I also really enjoyed showing them around 'my' city and introducing them to a few of my favorite things about Florence. For the record, they loved Tarocchi just as much as my roommates and I do! The pear ravioli was a hit and we ate there 3 times in just the short week they were here! Anyways, after realizing that they had seen more of Florence in 5 days than I had since my arrival back in January, they inspired me to take advantage of the beautiful weather and I had a spectacular weekend doing touristy things in Firenze.

view from the top

 On Friday afternoon, I climbed to the top of the Duomo (all 463 steps) and saw Florence in all of its glory. We decided to wait around until the sun started to set and boy am I glad we did. Not only did we see a fantastic sunset but we also saw a beautiful pink and purple sky stretching over the Ponte Vecchio on our walk back to the apartment. Being at the top of the Duomo and listening to the church bells ring at 5 pm really made me stop and realize how incredibly beautiful this city is.

Saturday morning, Devon and I woke up refreshed and ready to take advantage of another beautiful day! We headed to the Boboli Gardens, the gardens that sit behind the Pitti Palace aka the old home of the Medici family. My parents had raved about how beautiful it was when they were there even in the rain, so I was even more excited to explore it on a beautiful day.

We spent almost 3 full hours wandering around the immense gardens and didn't even finish seeing all of the property! We also explored their porcelain museum, which was a marvel in itself. 

After a long morning of walking around, we decided to slow things down a bit. Ever since I arrived in Florence, I've wanted to buy a pair of these really cool desert boot-like shoes that I see everyone wearing! I've been in and out of almost every shoe store in this city looking for the perfect pair, but to no avail. I guess the stars aligned for me on this wonderful Saturday because I stumbled upon a quaint little store that sold ONLY desert boots. After going back and forth between a few different colors, I finally bought them and couldn't be happier. I haven't taken a picture of the actual shoe, but pictured to the left is the shoe!

Midterms are quickly approaching and it's time to start getting serious about schoolwork. I don't know whether it's the exorbitant amounts of gelato or countless Italian distractions but I've found it very difficult to motivate myself to do schoolwork while here. But the time has come to revert back to my UVA tendencies and buckle down for the next week or so. On Saturday, Devon and 2 of our friends from UVA [and probably the rest of my program, at that] are going to Carnivale in Venice for the night! We're all incredibly excited as this is supposed to be one of the craziest festivals that Italy has to offer. Then, in just one short week, Brigid, Devon and I are off on our UK getaway! It's hard to believe it's almost Spring Break. This time last year I was preparing for Rome with some of my favorite girls [whom I miss oh so much, le sigh].

Anyways, I'll end with a video of my parents trying limoncello for the first time! For those that don't know, neither of my parents drink alcohol. But as they say, when in Italy do as the Italians do! On their last night in Florence, I asked the waiter to bring them each a small glass of limoncello so that they could taste. I was quite surprised with my dad's lack of reaction but my mom's face is spot on.  Ciao for now and, as always, thanks for reading!!

ps. the video won't upload right now because our internet is so shiesty but i promise i will upload it soon!

guest blog!

guest blog written by my parentals after their week spent in italia!!

So Ron and Wendy come to the end of an incredible week in Florence, with our daughter, Marlene, as hostess.  We cannot thank her enough for putting up with all our questions and taking time out to be with us.  We are so envious that she gets to be here for another 3 months!  As to Florence - it was much more than we ever expected.  There is just so much to see and do here - every street has a long history and thank goodness, the Florentines are not only proud of that history, but also they have gone to great lengths to preserve it.  It is hard to pick a favorite day or site - they were all awesome and overwhelming.  a few observations: Italians smoke - a whole lot, but thankfully it was banned from restaurants 7 years ago.  Still, there is smoke everywhere They are very much into a green environment - at least from what we could see.  At our hotel, our key had to be inserted in a slot in the room to keep the electricity on.  No key, no electricity!  think about the number of times you have left a hotel room with all the lights on... The city is remarkably clean - we saw very little in the way of litter which is amazing given that there is a gelato store on every corner. Off season is definitely the time to come - cannot imagine what it would be like in the summer when they say it is wall to wall tourists.  There were a few places like the Ufizi where it was a bit crowded - but overall it was not, so we did not have to wait in line nor were we jostled or rushed out of a particular site.  Florence is expensive - yes one can stick to the trattorias and eat relatively cheaply - but one pays for water if one wants it and even for bread in some - unknowingly.  The fact that there is no tax and you don't have to tip helps a bit.  But the eater must beware of what they are ordering and what they are getting. Having said that - we did have some awesome meals at reasonable prices because hostess Marlene has found some great restaurants! Would we come back?  Maybe if we could rent a car and travel around a bit.  We feel like we saw all the top sites and a good bit of the lesser ones - we averaged at least 3 churches a day and have now a pretty rudimentary understanding of the differences in painting in the middle ages versus the renaisssance.  And by studying the paintings, we actually learned a whole lot about Christianity in general and the symbolism in  the paintings. All in all - an excellent adventure made all the more special becase we could share it with Marlene!

amalgamation of happenings

One of the things I looked forward to the most about coming to Italy was the food. Everyone always raved about the pasta, the pizza, the rich and creamy sauces...everything. So, when I learned about an opportunity to take a food and culture class that involved both tastings and hands on cooking, I signed myself up instantly. Up until now I've been mildly disappointed, example being the time I was conned into trying tripa [tripe] aka INTESTINE aka I almost vomited after I learned what I had just ingested. Well anyways, to make a long story short, we had a field trip this past Friday where we spent 5 hours cooking with the help of professional chefs and it was one of the best experiences I've had since I arrived in Firenze. We made, from scratch: 

Pasta dough, which we then hand cut and turned into ravioli. 

ricotta, mozzarella and spinach filling...drooling yet??

Inside of the ravioli there was a spinach and ricotta filling that we also made 

preparing the ravioli 

We also made gnocchi! Not only was it my first time making gnocchi, but it was also my first time tasting it. I'm not sure I'll ever taste gnocchi quite so good ever again...these literally melted in your mouth the second they touched your tongue! So delicious. Below is a photo of the beginning of the process - peeling and grounding the potatoes into tiny little bits!

mmm potatoes

We made crustinis topped with eggplant, peppers and tomatoes [respectively] 

crustini!

And to top it all off, we ended the meal with some delicious tiramisu [which is surprisingly easy to make!!] Sadly my camera ran out of battery after the antipasti was served, so I didn't get a chance to document the rest of the great meal. 

In other news! Mom and Dad are in Florence! We spent yesterday, their first day, walking around the city and showing them a few of the important landmarks. After a hearty dinner, I think the jet lag started to really set in and they called it an early night. I'm taking them to Tarocchi tonight, so I really hope it lives up to their expectations! 

One more exciting update. Devon and I went to The Diner this morning to satisfy our American food craving. We were sat in the back room of the restaurant, which features a big glass window that looks into the kitchen. I noticed one of the chefs was particularly cute, so I smiled at him. 

To make a long story short, towards the end of the meal he gave our waiter a flower and asked him to deliver it to me. Flattered, I thanked him in my broken Italian and continued on with my meal. After we had paid and were putting our coats on, the waiter approached me again and said that the chef wanted to say goodbye to me. A little embarrassed, I went over to the glass window and he asked me 

for my number and asked if I wanted to go out with him later. I scribbled down my number with absolutely zero intention of actually ever hearing from him but, much to my chagrin, he just called me! I answered timidly and after about 20 seconds of conversation I realized he literally speaks NO english. I have no plans to actually go out with this guy, but it is still kind of a cool story. Devon and I have a weird way of always befriending people in the food industry...C'est La Vie!

me with my flower!

CIAO FOR NOW :) 

secret bakery

We found it!

We found what, you ask?

The secret bakery!

For those that don't know, there is a 'secret bakery' [location undisclosed] in Firenze that is all the craze. I knew the general location, but had never been able to find it. Until...Tuesday night! You see, the secret bakery staff slaves away all night baking the croissants for all of the other cafes in town. If you are lucky enough to find the famous bakery, you've essentially found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

outside of the secret bakery with some of my friends from my apartment

The bakery is open from 1AM till 4 AM. It is a foggy glass wall along the facade of a building that has no distinguishing marks on it. But, as you start to get closer and closer, you can smell the unbelievable aromas of freshly baked pastries. Once you reach the mysterious building, you give the door a few soft knocks and a chef clad in full attire pops his head out and quietly asks what you want.  Think hot, flaky, deliciousness overflowing with a delectable chocolate filling...for just 1 euro.

best late night food that ever existed

Other exciting updates:

1. I rented a bike! While it's far from the pristine road bikes that are kept in my dad's 'shrine' that is our basement, it gets the job done! It's a nice shiny blue and comes equipped with a big basket and bell. In Italy, there are bikers everywhere. I never entertained the thought of getting a bike merely because driving around here is nuts! Picture cars, trucks, mopeds, bikes, segways, and motorcycles everywhere! There are no lanes and [seemingly] no street signs or speed limits. Mopeds will weave in and out of cars as cyclists navigate gingerly on the cobblestones that line the street. If you think I'm crazy for joining the madness...you're probably right. 
• Example A: a friend of mine rented a bike the second day of school and on the 4th day of having it, he got into a collision with a car and completely totaled his bike. Somehow he emerged unscathed, but his incident left me unsettled
• Example B: Devon has now run into 2 cyclists while trying to cross the street on foot. Unlike in America where pedestrians have the right away, cyclists basically rule the roads. If you hear dinging, it's in your best interest to move out of the way as quickly as possible.

Just when I thought I'd lost all hope of ever venturing out on a bike, one of the student coordinators let me in on a little secret: if you don't make eye contact, you have the right of way. It makes so much sense now! Apparently, if you're cycling down the street and you don't a) turn around to see what's behind you or b) look an oncoming driver in the eyes then YOU [the cyclist] have the right of way and it is now their responsibility to yield to you. I tested out this theory on my way home and it really does work...luckily! Here's to hoping I don't crash into a pedestrian, moped or a car!

Mom and Dad are coming on Saturday, so really looking forward to seeing them! Tomorrow I've got a field trip with my cooking class to a small town in Tuscany. We're learning how to cook a 4 course meal with the aid of a professional chef...such an arduous task :)

Ciao for now...Tutto a bene!

warning, long entry ahead

This will be long, but worth it...I promise!

To cover in this entry: 

1. Gabby's birthday dinner
2. ROME
3. Chocolate festival

....So, here goes nothing! 

So last Wednesday night, me and 10 of our other girlfriends went out for Gabby's birthday dinner! We went to a fairly famous restaurant, Il Latini, which happens to be located directly next to my school. When I say I have never been so full in my entire life, I literally mean it. 

For a fixed price of 35 Euros a person, we each got appetizers, primer patti (first course), main course, dessert and unlmited wine/water. Having never experienced a full Italian meal, I was excited to sample some new and exciting foods and began to stretch out my stomach for what was sure to be a meal to remember. 

Appetizers consisted of tomato and mozzarella, prosciutto [sad to say that after 20 years of never having ham, I made a game time decision and tasted it...not a fan], chicken liver [yes mom and dad, I actually tried it and enjoyed it, aren't you proud?!] and bread with delicious olive oil. 

About 10 minutes later, they swiftly brought out the next course: penne with meat sauce, ravioli with tomato sauce, a vegetable minestrone that was unlike any other soup i've had before [apparently they add bread to their soups to make them a bit more thick - great idea for picky eaters like me], and a meat soup. I really need to work on pacing myself if I'm going to be spending the next 3 months of my life eating like this...I was basically full after this course.

But like a champion, I continued on. The wait staff emerged from the kitchen bearing plates of potatoes, spinach covered in garlic [if you know me at all, you should know that the prospect of huge cloves of garlic makes me giddy with happiness], and a HUGE platter of meat. 

                                     

There was roast beef, chicken, turkey, steak, veal, ham, lamb, pork...you name it and they had it. 

Overwhelmed to say the least, I piled my plate up with a small sampling of [kosher] meats and went to town. 

And just when I thought my stomach couldn't stretch any further, they brought out dessert, aka the ONE course I will never be able to refuse. After a small sampling of  italian flan, chocolate mousse, apple pie, fried dough and the like, I threw in the towel and called it a night. 

We were showered with dessert wine, champagne, limoncello and grapa [note to all of my loyal readers: do not drink grapa. while i've never had lighter fluid, I would imagine it tastes similar].


 3 hours, 6 pounds and 8 plates later we were FINALLY ready to emerge. The walk waddle home took twice as long as the walk there, but I left satiated and happy. 


Sidenote: I didn't eat a single meal until dinner the next day. I didn't realize it was possible to remain full for that long, but apparently it is! All in all, 35 Euros very well spent!!


Next Topic: ROME!

Friday morning, Devon and I made the trek to the train station circa 9AM to begin our first excursion to the lovely city of Rome. After a semi-close call making our first connection, we were relieved to finally be on our 3 hour train to rome [note: it's only about an hour and a half away but, being poor/stingy study abroad students, we decided to take the more economical option]. We made it to our hostel and met up with our other friends only to find out, gasp, our hostel is overbooked and we can't stay there ...cue slight panic attack. 

Luckily, they knew of an opening in another nearby hostel, so we headed there. Much to our surprise, we actually were put in a 3 bedroom hostel that was about 2 blocks from the metro. Devon and I had a room to ourselves and the other 4 were put in the adjacent room. Best part: each room had its own bathroom! Only complaint: the incredibly tiny size of the room [see above--> the room literally was the length of devon's wingspan]. After we dropped our stuff off, we were on our way, eager not to waste a single moment of our 2 day trip.  A few things I learned from my first hostel experience: 1) walls are deceivingly thin..don't expect to get a lot of sleep with noisy neighbors 2)PACK LIGHT - i didn't enjoy lugging around my >20 pound vera bradley duffel all weekend 3) bring a towel and a pillow because they will [and do] charge you extra for any/everything you forget. Oof! 

Having been to Rome before, I quickly adopted the 'fearless leader role' and led the pack, pretending to know where I was going. Whether it was luck or fate, I successfully navigated us to the Colosseum [we got there at 4 but it was already closed...wompwomp], the Trevi Fountain [pictured above], the Spanish Steps [pictured to the left], Piazza del Popollo [think the famous piazza with tons of pigeons and live entertainers] and then back to our hostel. The weather was absolutely incredible [65 and sunny] and we truly couldn't have picked a better weekend to travel. Later that night we went out to a popular area called Campo de Feuri [incorrect spelling, sorry] and I ended up crossing paths with a friend of mine that works as a club promoter at a late night club, Mood. Tired and delirious, we caught a cab back to our hostel and  promptly passed out in under 5 minutes.

Again eager to not waste a moment in Rome, we trekked back to the Colosseum and took a long and interesting tour inside. It's impossible to explain how massive the site is, but I enjoyed every moment of it. I found it particularly interesting that the entire Colosseum was built by Jewish slaves [pretty cool that it was built by my people but not so cool that they were enslaved]. After the tour, Devon and I decided to go back to Piazza de Popollo and eat/rest for a bit. We witnessed a 'flash mob' volleyball game in the middle of the piazza, as well as befriended a few authentic italians [who, for added detail, turned out to be incredibly creepy and started asking us if we wanted to get pizza or coffee with them]. 

Newly energized from a big Roman lunch, we set off to find the Borghese gardens. Lined with the most beautiful trees you will ever see [see above], we spent about 2 and a half hours wandering the pathways of this beautiful 'hidden' park. We also stumbled upon a duck pond and a miniature carnival. It was a great way to spend the afternoon and our last full day in Rome.

  

Next we  got a great dinner and then headed back home to get ready for the evening's events. We decided to check out Trestevere, a popular going out destination for people in our age group.

 It was awesome and we had a great time, but we were all so exhausted from the days events that we turned in early.  For our last day, we headed to a Vincent Van Gogh exhibit that we had seen advertised all weekend.  To say the least, it was absolutely incredible. Sadly we weren't allowed to take photos, so I don't have anything to share.  But some of the most memorable pieces were a few of his self portraits,  4 aging men and this unbelievable cypress tree painting . Even though I'm not very knowledgeable about art history, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing his paintings in real life. His style was so unique and unlike any other paintings I've ever seen. After a few hours there, we headed back towards the Coloseum to wait for our 6pm train. We found some steps to relax on and sat in the sun, enjoying one last serving of Gelato and taking in the beauty of the colossal building before us.  Devon and I didn't get a chance to visit the Vatican or St. Peter's Basilica, so we'll definitely be going back for another Roma adventure at some point during the semester! 

 Ciao Roma!!

Almost done...hang in there!!

So for the past 2 weeks, everyone in Firenze has been raving about a Chocolate festival. Anybody that knows me knows that I'm utterly in love with ciocollate, so the prospect of a whole piazza filled with it excited me immensely! Conveniently enough, it's located in Santa Croce [5 minutes away from my apartment] and so after class today, Devon, Brigit and I went over to check it out. HEAVEN...not sure how else to describe it. Chocolate covered bananas, nuts, jellies, peanut butter [ew]..you name it and they had it. This festival brought new meaning to the phrase death by chocolate...take a look below! 

I'm salivating just reliving it through the photos....

so basically, firenze is incredible. i enjoy every day more than the last and i can't believe that i've been here for a month [on wednesday!] having said that, i miss everyone at home a lot and i'm ineffably excited to show my parents around florence this weekend. lots of love to everyone and thanks for reading, as always!! 

photo entry

so i thought i'd try something a bit different and post an entry with photos to help illustrate some of the highlights of my trip thus far! before i begin, just wanted to give a few travel updates: 

1) going to ROME this weekend for one of my friend's birthdays- so excited to be back in roma, even if only for a weekend, and am hoping i'll get an unofficial but in depth tour of the vatican from either coutney or mikefromohio [sorry to everyone that doesn't understand this: these are both inside jokes from a spring break trip to rome last year]

2) going to venice for canival!! i'm very excited to experience this festival and see all of the masks and costumes that accompany it! 

3) spring break reminder: london --> dublin --> edinburgh! 

4) copenhagen!! seriously can't wait to visit this country. i've heard such great things about it and am also looking forward to using the word hej [hi, in danish] appropriately

5) amalfi coast for easter! more details to follow, but definitely visiting capri, delphi and pompeii 

6) paris- haven't booked this yet, but in the process of figuring out details now

7) if possible, we really want to go to prague. not entirely sure we'll be able to fit this into our schedule, but it's high up on our list of places to visit 

8) one day in milan in early april to see a concert! everyone told me that if at all possible, try to go to a show when you're abroad. just so happens that a few artists i like are collaborating and performing a show merely 2 hours away! can't wait for this either!

okay, picture time:

this is the bridge that goes over the Arno that I cross to get home everyday. while the walk is still a bit on the long side, the view isn't half bad eh :) 

One of the many famous cathedrals in Firenze, Santa Croce is a mere 6 minute walk across the bridge from my apartment. During the day it is a bustling piazza filled with street vendors and tourists but at night it's overflowing with americans and italians looking to have fun at a bar/club

San Lorenzo Leather Market! This is just one of the many stretches of vendors that line the streets of this area. In the very center of all of the shops is the Mercato Centrale, aka my second home. With red/yellow peppers as cheap as 1 euro a kilogram, I'm basically in heaven. 

Food!! So as much as I would love to go out to eat every single night, neither my stomach nor wallet would appreciate it. SO, I've been trying my hand out in the kitchen a little bit. Featured above was family dinner #3, aka Eggplant Parm. Although it didn't hold a candle to my Mom's, it turned out really well and I enjoyed eating a vegetable other than zucchini/broccoli. My next endeavor tonight is with Brigid and Devon: SALSA! I'll post again with photos documenting...but I'm excited!

Speaking of which, thought I'd finally show a picture featuring one of my favorite dishes from my  restaurant, I'Tarocchi. This is the famous Pear Ravioli, an absolute essential for anyone visiting Florence. 

Just a few more photos- photo credit goes to the lovely Brigid. THIS is why I love Firenze

And with that, CIAO REGAZZIS!