dinner with our class

Last night we went out to dinner with our current class from school. Two weeks ago we began the last level of classes and went from a small class of 4 students from the previous 6 weeks, to a full one again of 12. It was quite an adjustment last week and I, for one, was not too thrilled to say the least. I'm sad to say that I went in with a slightly bad attitude, and was frustrated during the first couple days of class. It was a little hard going from such an intimate classroom setting where I felt completely comfortable speaking, knew everyone else, and felt more like a one-on-one lesson with the professor - to a large class where I barely was able to speak a sentence in conversation, most of the faces were new, and I felt sheepish about asking questions.

Slowly I began to relax, and by early this past week, was enjoying the lessons with diverse, new classmates. Another fellow student suggested that we should all go out one night together; and so yesterday about 9 of us met at Trattoria Za-Za, one of the popular culinary stops in Florence.

Located near the Mercato Centrale, Za-Za is a reference to the Italian word for mosquito (zanzara), and sports a logo of a naked toddler with two mosquito bites on his bum! Known for the laid-back atmosphere and walls flanked with photos of the celebrity visitors, this had been on our list to visit. We had a table towards the back and enjoyed a couple of hours of dining and chatting.

It was so much fun being able to hang-out with everyone outside of the classroom, and the Italian flowed freely. Maybe it was that we are all close to the same level in the language that it was easier to communicate, or maybe it was just that we felt comfortable with each other knowing that none of us were experts - but I probably spoke more, (and more easily) than I ever have.

Within the group there were three Japanese, one Korean, one Swiss, one Swiss-Italian, and three Americans including us. The conversation never really slowed (except for the first few minutes after our plates arrived), and everyone took photos during the night. A couple people leave school this weekend, but we have our final two weeks ahead of us. It's crazy how fast the time has gone...

...but we students who remain, hope to plan another dinner night out before Livello 6 is complete!

food between carnival & lent

frittelle • cenci • quaresimali
One of the things about Italian life that I've come to really love is the seasonal food. I wrote about this a little back in December, but I'm not just talking about the seasonal fruits and vegtables that are at the market, but there are also special sweets and other fun dishes that correspond to the month, holiday, or traditional season.

Since we are in the middle of the Lenten season, there are many signs of this in the pasticceria (pastry shop) windows all around town. We actually take small afternoon breaks just to wander around the block to find a new pastry shop that we haven't tried yet, to sample the dolci. Today I'll be introducing you to three of the more popular sweets around Florence during this time between Carnevale and Quaresima (Lent).

#1 :: FRITTELLE DI RISOWe've become quite the connoisseurs of frittelle, which I mentioned in my post about Carnevale. These fried balls of goodness are smaller here in Florence than the fist-sized ones we found in Venice, but they're mouthwatering all the same. The Florentine style are smaller ping-pong ball sized pieces of dough with sweetened rice. We've been picking up a couple whenever we pass a new pastry shop, and over the weekend, we found some with raisins and rum in the dough! YUM.

Frittelle di riso  (Rice Fritters)
from The Florentine
 
400 gr or 2 cups short grain rice, Arborio
1 litre or 4 cups milk
4 tablespoons sugar
Peel of one lemon, grated (zest, only the yellow part)
1 ounce liqueur (sherry, brandy or amaretto)
80 gr or 3/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon baking powder (lievito in polvere)
Pinch of salt
3 eggs, separated
 
Bring the rice to a slow boil in the milk with sugar and lemon zest. Stir occasionally to avoid the rice sticking. When the rice is cooked, it will have absorbed all the milk.
 
Place the rice in large bowl, add the liqueur, egg yolks, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well and let cool. DO NOT REFRIGERATE. Whip the egg whites till stiff. Fold whites into the rice mixture. In a heavy pan, heat 3 inches of oil for frying. I prefer olive oil, but corn oil is fine. Drop the fritters by teaspoons into the hot oil. Fry quickly and remove when they are golden. Do not brown. Drain on paper towels and serve sprinkled with granulated sugar. They are best hot but can also be served cold or reheated. I like to add raisins soaked in brandy to the mixture, or tiny pieces of candied orange peel.

#2 :: CENCIAnother favorite treat during the season between Carnevale and Lent, is cenci. These come in different shapes, but are made to resemble rags, and are normally about 3" square, but are folded every which way during the frying process. The dough is very smooth and crumbles before melting in your mouth. Forget wearing a black shirt while you eat these unless you have a bib, because they are generously dusted with fine powered sugar which will inevitably get everywhere with each bite.

Cenci
from The Florentine

240 gr or 2 1/2 cups flour
2 eggs, large
20 gr or1 oz butter, softened
20 gr or 1 oz  sugar, granulated
1 espresso cup of  Vin Santo, marsala or milk
Pinch of salt
Zest of one lemon
Oil for frying (extra virgin olive oil or corn oil)
Powdered sugar (icing sugar) for dusting.
 
Beat the softened butter with the sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring until incorporated. Add the lemon zest and the liquid (Vin Santo). Add the flour. Mix well. The dough will be hard. Knead and when smooth, cover and let rest for one hour. Heat oil for frying. Roll out the dough as thin as possible, sometimes I use my pasta machine. Cut into 3 inch wide strips, cut a slit in the middle of the strip, leaving the ends attached. Deep fry when oil is hot. Cook until lightly golden. Remove to paper towel, let drain and serve dusted with powdered sugar.

#3 :: QUARESIMALIWe were first introduced to these interesting cookies by a Florentine friend of ours who invited us to her house last week for lunch. After a wonderful meal of almost too many courses to eat, we finished off with a torta and a handful of quaresimali. She brought out a white paper bag from the neighborhood pastry shop and poured out a pile of cocoa cookies formed into letters. She then found the specific letters to spell out each our our names then presented our "personalized" dessert plates. The bag was lacking an "H", so Chris was CRIS - but they tasted good all the same.

Made for those who observe Lent a little more strictly, these low-fat cookies are made with only egg whites, and are thin cookies which some say reference the thin, old lady which is a symbol of Quaresima in Italy.

Quaresimali (Chocolate Alphabet Cookies)
from Epicurious

3 egg whites
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup superfine sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons flour

Preheat the oven to 300° F.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat egg whites and salt until foamy. Add superfine sugar slowly, beating until stiff, but not dry, peaks are formed. Sift powdered sugar and cocoa over beaten eggs and use a spatula to combine ingredients well. Don't worry about deflating the mixture. Sift flour over the mixture, again using a spatula to combine ingredients.
Transfer mixture to a pastry bag equipped with a number 10 tip. (You may substitute a large plastic sandwich bag and snip a 1/4-inch diameter hole off of its corner.) Pipe 2-inch letters of the alphabet onto parchment paper or, preferably, a nonstick baking mat. You can put them close together, because they won't spread. Bake for 12 minutes. If you use parchment paper, then remove the cookies from the paper the moment they come out of the oven. In any case, remove them with a spatula while still warm.

So this is a small look into the food (at least the sweets) of the current season! And for those of you with an oven (or those who want to tackle deep-frying), give these recipes a try! Unfortunately, since we don't have a forno (oven), and I don't do the fry thing, we'll just settle for going to the pastry shops around town!

spring, bells, & markets

I've been slacking a little with posting. I'm not exactly sure why this is - I haven't been much more busy than normal, and I have a lot to talk about. It seems like my head is bottlenecking with too many thoughts, and so now an organized thought only comes out every now and then. I will try to dispense these in a more regular fashion from now on, but I can't promise how organized they'll be :-)

So to begin with the unorganized outpouring, I'll share some random brooding...

One thing that I'm so thankful for is that a couple of days ago, the weather finally warmed up a bit. We've even had the windows open in the daytime and yesterday at the market, I was able to take off my coat as we walked in the sun by the river. I leaned out the window this afternoon to hang out the laundry, and just stopped for a while to take some sun on my face and look over the courtyard, rooftops, and the dome of Basilica di San Lorenzo. Small blooms are appearing on the trees again, and the birds are chirping louder in the mornings. Spring is close, and I can't wait! The majority of our time here so far has been during the cold months, and the spring and summer months in Italy still hold a romantic notion in my head that I'm looking forward to experiencing.

Allora, I've come to adore church bells. I became sure of this fact a couple of months ago, when during the holidays the bells would ring often and for long periods of time on the important days. I'd fall asleep to the songs around midnight and also wake up to the songs at dawn. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, we can see the dome of the San Lorenzo church from our window, and the city "covergirl" Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore duomo is just down our street. There are also a couple smaller churches near us as well, and even though campanile (bell towers) are everywhere, none are too close to where the bells are a nuisance. Instead, they are far enough away to ignore if I want, and even in bed they hover between my dreams and reality - never gonging so loud to suddenly awake me. Some days, the bells go off every 15 minutes, and since this is not normal I'll usually find out that it is an Italian holiday that I didn't know about or a special day to commemorate a saint.

Yesterday we went to the big outdoor market at Cascine Park (Florence's largest park at the northwest area of the city). During the four Sunday's during Quaresima (Lent), this mile-long market is held along the Arno River. It's already about a 20-30 minute walk to the park from our house, but then adding the length of the market (and back) - it ended up being a super long haul! It was a great day and we had a good time seeing all the market stalls and the hundreds of people out and about. *Chris wrote about our bella giornata here on his blog as well.

Other than that, I've been doing a lot of "travel planning" for our many guests coming to visit for primavera (spring). In about 3 weeks, we have several weeks of ospiti (guests) coming in and out of town, and we're looking forward to showing everyone around and taking mini trips of our own.

a birthday dinner

So Sunday was my birthday. The entire weekend was quite relaxed without much planned. On Saturday (which had to have been the coldest day we've had here so far), we took a walk around town bundled in our coats, scarves, and gloves. We peeked inside a couple of restaurants that we've been wanting to try, to find a good place to go that night for an early birthday dinner. We decided on the restaurant, Il Rifrullo, located in one of our favorite Florentine neighborhoods, San Niccolo. We frequent the bar here on Sunday afternoons for a caffe', as we enjoy taking a bike ride or long walk to this area on the weekends. We've also stopped in right before the apperativo hour, and I've commented on how good it looked. On Saturday afternoon when we were scouting for a place to eat later that night, we stopped in for a caffe' at Il Rifrullo, and after glancing that that night's menu, decided to make a reservation.
You can check out this small video about the restaurant

The dinner was absolutely lovely. Everyone there was very friendly, and the atmosphere was a great mix of casual, Tuscan, and modern pop. The large majority of the patrons seemed to be local, and our entire night was conducted solely in Italian. Before even ordering, the cameriera (waitress) brought us two glasses of frizzante (Italian sparkling wine) for a welcome drink. For an antipasto we shared Fried Polenta Cakes with Sauteed Mushrooms. Chris ordered Risotto with Champagne and Leeks for the primo piatto, while I got a Tuscan Bean Soup with Homemade Croutons. For dessert I thoroughly enjoyed a Chocolate Souffle; and Chris savored a Creme Brulee. We will definitely go back, and plan to recommend it to guests as a great place away from the shuffle of tourists. It also offers an eclectic mix of menu items from very traditional Tuscan dishes to other international cuisine options.

On Sunday we mainly relaxed and then took our normal passeggiata, and then stopped in what is soon becoming my favorite place for a caffe' (especially on Sundays as it is one of the fewer amount of places that stay open), Chiaroscuro Cafe. We went here a couple of weeks ago with some friends after several people had recommended it. Unlike the traditional Italian bar, this cafe offers many types of flavored caffe' (even with flavor infused cremes), and teas. It's always quite busy, and seems popular with locals as well as tourists that pass by. We plan to go there sometime for the apperativo which I've heard only good things about!
You can check out this small video about the cafe

valentine's day with italian bureaucracy

My excitement for the day of San Valentino was somewhat overshadowed earlier in the week by my anxiousness about my first appointment at the Ufficio della Questura (Police Station - in my case, the Immigration dept) regarding my permesso di soggiorno (Permit to Stay). Yes, over 5 months after arriving in Italy with our visas and turning in our required application within 10 days of arriving, I finally had my appointment. One thing even more unbelievable is that even though Chris and I turned in our apps together, (and as bad as it is that my app was 5 months later), is that his appointment isn't scheduled until July! Yep. Ten months after arrival, 3 months after our visas officially expire, and 1 month after we had originally talked about returning to the US. Of course, our plans are still up int he air, but still - it's quite ridiculous. We're definitely getting a taste of the train-wreck that is the Italian bureaucracy system.

After hearing and reading so many horror stories about dealing with the Questura, (not just about the hassle, but about the rude employees), I have to admit that I was quite nervous about my appointment. Yesterday I re-checked my list of things to bring several times, went over it with the school administration, made copies, and checked my meeting time again: 10:06. What a random time, right?

I left the house on my bici (bike) about 9:15 and rode to where I knew there was a Questura office, about 5 minutes away. I walked in and everything seemed calm enough. When I approached the window and told the officer that I was there for my permesso, he shook his head and said that I was at the wrong office. "Oh great," I thought - the day was already starting on the wrong foot. But surprisingly, he smiled, came out from the desk, walked me outside, pointed out the way to go, and wished me luck. Everyone I'd told throughout the week that I was going to the Questura would always give a sarcastic smile and say "buona fortuna" (good luck) or "in bocca al lupo!" (an expression like "break a leg"). Wonderful.

I arrived around the area where the officer explained, and saw a group of stranieri (foreigners) lingering at the door of a large, drab, brick building - so I figured that I was at the right place. I walked inside and was greeted by an officer who checked that my appointment was indeed today and gave me a number. (This is when I figured out that the appointment time (10:06) meant nothing. It's just the day that counts and the times just help the people filter in more evenly). It was about 9:30 and I was #B-220. Line B was currently at #119.

By 11:30 it was only at #149.

I asked an officer if there was a bar close-by. He told me several options, then I asked what would happen if they closed before my number was called today. He asked what number I had, then smiled and said that when I go to the bar, in addition to my caffe', I might as well order spaghetti, a second course, salad, and maybe a dessert...because I had plenty of time. He also added that they won't close until all the numbers are served.

I took a long walk, stopped for a marocchino at a cafe', went home to change into something warmer (because the waiting room is not heated and is made of stone), and checked my email. One hour later I returned to find Line B at #159.

...In the meantime I got a call which informed me that a refund came in which we'd been waiting for for over 5 months, from when we first arrived here and had to change apartments because the first one "wasn't as described". So finally after months of phone calls, broken promises, demanding emails, legal advice, prayers, and help from friends, we finally have the cash in our hands. This is a huge load off!...

By 1:00, the numbers were at 200 and Chris met me a couple of blocks away in a park for a quick picnic lunch and a box of Vestri chocolates (my favorite chocolatier in town) for Valentine's Day! By 2:00 it was only at #206 and the workers seemed to have gone for lunch. By 3:00 it was still at a halt and I made small-talk with a guy beside me who said on his first appointment for his permesso he got his # at 8:30am and arrived at the sportello (window) not until 4:30pm. Very encouraging.

At about 4:15 my number was called, and after about 15 minutes, 2 separate windows, 10 fingerprints, and 1 signature later - I was on my way home...with a letter that stated my SECOND appointment date in April! Oh the joys :)

The evening ended with another dinner at Il Vegetariano, probably our most favorite restaurant in town! Because I was somewhat prepared for the crazy Italian system, and feel privileged to even have the opportunity to sit in that office and request a permit since I'm living in Italy :), (plus I have lots of love from and for people in my life) it was a good, productive, and eventful Valentine's Day!

10 things :: that happened last week

chris at forte belvedere • view from the fort • street performer
It's been several days since my last post, but I've found it hard to sit and write since last week because my mind is full of the beginnings of thoughts I'd like to elaborate on, but I haven't been able to commit to just one. There has been quite a lot going on both externally and internally; and I'm still arranging a better outline for an organized posting about different happenings. However, since I haven't done a "10 Things" post in a while, I thought I'd post a summary in "10 Things That Happened Last Week" list:

10. Sunday we were still in Venice exploring the city at Carnevale.
9. Monday we began the last half of "Livello 5" advanced studies at school, and have been drilling conjugations and conjunctives ever since.
8. Tuesday after class we met fellow bloggers Julian and Amanda from A Tuscan View...from Umbria who were in Florence for the day. We enjoyed a lovely afternoon over coffee and a small snack before they headed back to the countryside. From the moment we all met up outside the Duomo, the conversation never slowed down. It was great to finally meet in person after "meeting" through our blogs.
7. I bought a small Italian book, La Passeggiata by Federico Moccia. (He is the author that I saw a couple of weeks ago at the book signing with Raoul Bova...) But it's a great little book for my language practice, and I'm enjoying the way he writes...very descriptive small sentences, so I'm learning quite a few new adjectives...
6. ...and I also went to see the movie based on this author's newest book, Scusa Ma Ti Chiamo Amore, with a girlfriend from school. (Actually we saw it 2 weeks ago, but it was so good that I'll mention it on this list anyway :) )
5. Saturday night we went up to the small town of Fiesole which sits on a hill overlooking Florence, for a potluck dinner with about 8 other people, most of whom we met for the first time. It ended up to be a nice time with plenty of food and fellowship.
4. I picked up several canvases, a brush, palette knife, and oil paints and actually begin to paint again after finally narrowing down what I wanted to do. Sometimes being somewhere that has almost too many inspirations makes it harder to creatively organize a concise theme on which to begin.
3. The weather FINALLY cleared up and we've enjoyed about 4 or 5 days already of clear skies and sun, sun, sun! ahhhh, spring is coming soon!
2. Yesterday afternoon Chris and I took our Sunday passeggiata across the river and up to Forte Belvedere for a great view over the city. It was our first time to the fort which is free to enter, and we were pleasantly surprised - we made plans to enjoy a picnic there during the spring. We walked along the old city walls back through the San Niccolo neighborhood and then into a cafe'...
1. ...and as we passed through Piazza della Repubblica, we spotted an interesting "one-man-band" street performer. (Here is a short video.) It was a refreshing afternoon, and now a new week awaits...

carnevale di venezia :: part 2

Well, now for the promised "Part 2" of our Venice trip complete with costumes, crowds, and cafes!!!

La Fenice • small bridge • parked gondolas • packed streetOn Sunday morning, Chris and I woke up first and decided to hit the streets before everyone else got up, hoping to get a chance to walk around the city without about a zillion people in every alley. We left a note on the kitchen counter, grabbed the camera and our coats while we walked downstairs and into a quite empty street. There were a handful of people strolling about: a delivery man rolling a dolly, a little boy trailing behind a parent, and a handful of tourists doing the same thing. We had a tenative route which was to take a gondola across the Grand Canal (you can take the 2-minute jaunt for only 50 cents), then meander towards the Fenice Opera House, get a morning caffe' and pastry somewhere and then go back to see if everyone was up. When we got to the shore, we found out that the gondola crossing service wasn't open on Sundays, so we just walked across the Rialto instead.

After reading City of Falling Angels by John Berendt last year, I had a different feeling about Venice and was much more intrigued than the last time we visited. Although it's so obviously a unique and breath-takingly beautiful city, there is an entire culture that seems to exist above the bustle of unassuming tourists. In the 2nd and 3rd stories of the old palaces that line the Grand Canal, and other side streets, there are people with very old money, who come from a long line of Venetian blood, and other rich expats who have assimilated into the culture and politics of this city that functions in its own uncommon way. We walked around wondering how many balls and elaborate parties were going on just above our heads - and how many gowns and velvet capes were being worn which have been put on for such an occasion for many years past. One of the main "characters" in Berendt's book is La Fenice, which burned down just after the author moved to the city to observe its inhabitants. This opera house has so much history to it, even though the current structure is only a couple of years old since the last renovation after the fire. After winding our way through the labyrinth of narrow sidewalks and foot bridges, we came upon the theatre and stopped in for our caffe' at the bar next door.

One thing that was on our "must have for breakfast" list was fritole. We happened upon these fried balls of goodness on Saturday afternoon by happenstance. We'd noticed plates of these round, sugared fritters in windows of cafes and restaurants around the city, but it wasn't until I ordered one at a bar to go with my marocchino that I fully appreciated the perfection that are fritole (or frittelle). I found out that it is a very common fatty snack to have during Carnevale (especially on "Fat Tuesday"). I guess everyone gets full of junk food before giving it all up for the 40 days of Lent. So back to the fritole...they are fresh, warm fist-sized balls of dough with different surprises inside depending on where you buy them. The first ones we enjoyed had different varieties of raisins in the dough (traditionally soaked in rum or grappa) with a decadent creme filling. On Sunday morning at the cafe near La Fenice, I had one with pine nuts in the dough and sweetened marscarpone cheese in the middle, sprinkled with powered sugar, while Chris had one with pine nuts, vanilla creme and granulated sugar. Pure heaven. We keep saying that somewhere in Florence must sell these things, but so far we've only seen mini versions of these with sweetened rice in the dough, but no creme, raisins or pine nuts.

open-air play • pigeons • newspaper costumes • red capes & white masksOn our way back to the apartment, the streets steadily became more crowded and by the time we woke up our friends and all headed out together around lunchtime - it was an absolute zoo. We retraced our steps from Saturday towards St. Mark's Square and just hung out in the crowd, watching pigeon feeders, ornately costumed people posed for photos, kids throwing confetti everywhere, and even happened upon an old-style open-air play on a small stage near the Doge Palace. After having lunch at a pizzeria, we tried to bargain with a gondolier for a fair price on a half-hour ride, but we were running out of time and eventually gave up. We ended up on one of the most crazy streets ever with people literally pushing on all sides of our bodies and finally police had to come and try to get one side of the mass moving in one direction and the other side moving in the opposite. I got completely separated from the pack, but ran into 2 other people from our school randomly. Finally after about 15 minutes one of our friends found me on a bridge and we ran back to the apartment hoping Chris was there (since he didn't have a phone on him). Luckily he was - and we all headed to the train station for the "standing-room-only" trip to Bologna where we caught a fast train with reservations for the rest of the way to Florence!

We arrived back home with our bookbag, used masks, muddy shoes, and tired feet; and went to bed smiling and talking about when we could go back to the city to see even more!

carnevale di venezia :: part 1

Today is "Fat Tuesday" and the official final day of Carnival around the world, since tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. For the past 2 weeks there have been festivities around Florence, including huge parties and parades in the Tuscan beach town of Viareggio (which we went to several weeks ago), and smaller festivities here in Firenze. Although we didn't go to any major event planned specifically for carnevale (carnival) in town, we did enjoy seeing random people (mainly children) in costumes and finding confetti and silly string on the walls and streets all throughout the city center.

sensation poster • grand canal • packed crowd in St. Mark'sLast week, we began talking with some friends from Florence about the possibility of taking a quick trip to Venice for the last weekend of the Carnevale di Venezia...it turned out not to be such an easy task in pulling this together in a matter of days - but it did end up happening. I can't believe that we actually found an apartment for rent, for only 1 night (most were 3 night minimums), for under 400€ (ours was only 170€ split 5 ways), in the city center (right next to the Rialto bridge), and only 2 days in advance!!! Unbelievable really! So after we found this, we rushed to buy train tickets, and on Saturday morning we were headed out of town with 3 other friends for a weekend we knew would be insanely chaotic, but one of those "crazy experiences that you may only get to do once".

It's really hard to put into words what it's like to be in one of the most unique cities in the world, in the middle of one of the most famous parties ever...it was hard to take it in. Magical, mystical, and so so interesting. This year's theme was Sensation, and it certainly lived up to its name - complete with sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and it was so crowded that touching was also involved 24-7 even if you didn't want it!

bridge of sighs • me in the street • canal at night • costumed doormanAfter only 3 hours of leaving Florence, we crossed the huge bridge from the mainland to this city of water, and arrived at the train station. We took a ferry to the apartment, then grabbed our masks (very simple ones compared to the full-face intricate designs that many people had), and joined the massive unit of people moving together amongst the small alleyways. It was definitely a "do-whatever-you-want" and "wear-whatever-you-want" kind of time. People had on historic Carnival costumes that probably cost thousands of euros, complete with features, capes, and handmade gold-leaf masks, to Halloween costumes of devils, bumble bees, or rats. We even saw a lady flopping all through town with a bathing suit, plastic pool tube, scuba gear, and flippers! The weather wasn't ideal since it was overcast and drizzling, but it wasn't too bad considering it didn't flood and wasn't pouring. All of our shoes got completely messed up with gunked-on muddy piles of pulp from all the confetti mixing in the wet streets.

dance party in St. Mark's SquareWe mainly just wandered around from the Rialto to San Marco, taking our time while window shopping, taking photos, and gawking at all of the decorated gondolas and crazy characters strolling the streets. Several times, we'd happen upon an impromptu parade of a handful people who had all dressed in the same theme and had some sort of music and flags with them, just making noise and marching around. Masks and costumes were being sold everywhere, and we stopped to watch one of the more famous mask artists at work in his studio while he put gold leaf onto a full-face white mask. After looking at his work, we saw photos on his door of the celebrities he's worked for, and found out that he was the mascheraro (mask maker) for the film Eyes Wide Shut. After dinner, we headed to St. Mark's Square and found a huge stage on the south end of the enormous piazza with a masked DJ spinning dance music, while different colored club lights were displayed around the entire square. We watched St. Mark's Cathedral and the iconic clock tower change from neon pink, green, blue, and yellow, while thousands of costumed party-goers were dancing to the rhythmic beats. It was so entrancing to be in this huge mass of people that I just walked aimlessly through the crowd with a smile, and thought how crazy it was to be here at one of those events that most people only read about. On the way back to the apartment we walked by the Bridge of Sighs, past a private costume party, and peaked into a club hosting an Eyes Wide Shut themed party (with cloaks on) although we opted to just continue on and see the happenings on the streets.

It was an eventful day, but we still had one day to go...stay tuned for more on the costumes, crowds, and cafes!!!

world nutella day 08

So it's that time again! I can't believe it's been a year since World Nutella Day 07, where I posted my recipe for Nutella Sand Dollar Surprise Cookies. I came up with the recipe last year after inspiration from our home on the beach in St. Augustine. It was only fitting that this year, my recipe also be inspired by where we are living now - the beautiful country of Italy.

Let me tell you - it was a little tough coming up with something without an oven, since I love to bake when I'm dealing with sweet ingredients...but it's really hard to mess up something that involves NUTELLA! So even though I feel like this year's recipe is a little more simple, I think it has hints of the bel paese and simplicity is something that I've been learning more about since we've been here as well! Since NUTELLA originated in Italy, I thought I'd try and keep it to it's roots.

ingredients • on the stove • checking the bottom of the toast • final product
ITALIAN NUTELLA TOASTS WITH PEAR COMPOTE

Ingredients (for 2-3 servings depending on size of pear):
NUTELLA
2-3 pieces of fresh Italian bread (preferably with crispy crust)
1 bosc pear
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 pats butter
1/4 tsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Parmesan cheese

Peel, core, and chop the pear into small piecess. Melt 1 pat of butter in a small saucepan. Add pear and nutmeg. Cover and simmer on low for 3 minutes, then add sugar and balsamic vinegar and simmer uncovered for about 7 more minutes. Add a tsp of water if they get too dry.

Spread a thick layer of NUTELLA on each piece of bread. Melt a pat of butter in a pan. Add the pieces of bread to the pan and let them toast on the bottom - about 5 minutes on a very low heat.

Top the pieces of NUTELLA bread with the pear compote and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese!

BUON APPETITO!

Learn more about "The Original, Creamy, Chocolaty, Hazelnut Spread" :
Nutella Italia
Nutella USA

birthday hunt

at the porcellino • cellini • on the ponte vecchio • finding a clue at the palazzo vecchio
Chris' birthday was this past Wednesday. We'll be the same age for 18 days, and then he's married to an older woman again!

I took him on a small scavenger hunt through the city after our morning classes, since we'd always talked about this idea being fun. We started at our favorite foccaciaria for lunch where I gave him the 1st indizio (clue). This led to the porcellino in Piazza Nuova where he had to correspond letters on a plaque to numbers on the 2nd clue card. Clue #2 spelled out lucchetti (padlocks) which took him to the Ponte Vecchio where lovers used to put locks all over the railing of the bridge and throw the keys in the river to "seal their love forever". We saw this several years ago, but now the bridge is free of locks because there is a city ordinance against it now. There is a statue there of Cellini which held the letters for the next clue: "guts". This led to the Palazzo Vecchio where a man was hung from the balcony and gutted (wonderful I know) in the film Hannibal. There was an additional clue that led to a circle marble slab on the ground in front of the palace with an inscription. This message spelled out a clue that led to a gellateria across town that we hadn't tried yet, but we'd heard that they made wonderful affogati. We sat inside for a while enjoying our afternoon snack while Chris pondered the last clue which led to a used bookstore that we like, so that he could pick out a couple of items he'd been wanting.

Later that day I gave him his gift and several friends came over for a small celebration. The weather looked like it was going to be a wet day, but even though it was overcast, the rain never fell. It ended up to be a pleasant day wandering around the center, and a nice way to see the city during a workday, since I had to stop and wait while Chris worked on the clues. I got to be still and just observe the daily "goings-on" around me, including an entire rotation of local workers standing and eating outside of a lampredotto (cow stomach) sandwich stand (a very popular dish here...uck!).

BUON COMPLEANNO CHRIS! TI AMO!