Regali di Firenze

Hey all, I had a pretty mellow weekend around Firenze. Exams are fast approaching so my traveling days are over. This weekend there was a handcraft festival in Santa Croce so we spent the entire day outside eating and walking and shopping and speaking in italian to practice for our exams. Here are some pictures! Its raining here today so that makes it easier to study. Next week is filled with lots of tests and whatnot and then the week after is exams and my plane home! Pretty crazy!

This weekend goes down in the books!

Okay friends, so this past weekend (it is now Sunday) definitely goes down in the books as one of the best weekends of my entire life. I was feeling a little bit uneasy the other day when I counted how many days I had left and realized that it was a very low number. I wasn't sure I was ready to go back to the States (am I ever going to be ready!?) but after this weekend, I have decided that I truly have gotten the best experiences I could out of my time here in Italia, and I can go back now! 

So, on Friday morning, Danielle and I got up very early and hopped a train to Milano. I had never been, but Danielle has been about 5 times now. Her friend Daniel is in fashion design school there for a year and his cousin from Philly, Evan, is visiting him for a couple of weeks. We met up with them last weekend in Cinque Terre too! Once we arrived in Milano, we checked into the hotel, dropped our bags and went out. It was about midday and we walked to the Duomo. I love the Duomo in Milano because there is a gigantic piazza and the building is so unique and sharp and beautiful. The windows have this really neat swily movement of stone thing going for them. Then we took the metro to Daniel's apartment where, of course, he was still getting dressed! His apartment is SO cool. First of all, the outside has one of those gigantic doors with the tiny door cut out in the bottom. And then you walk in and there's this Rocky Horror Picture Show'esque elevator made of wood and glass and it goes up the middle of the spiral staircase. So cool! After about an hour of trying to help Daniel decide what to wear, we all went out. First stop was Corso Como Dieci, pretty much the most expensive stuff I have ever seen in my entire life. All designer, Prada, etc. Crazy stuff! So we looked around and spoke in very hushed voices and pretend to look like we belonged, and then we sat down in the garden for tea. My favorite part of CCD is the bookstore (all really amazing beautiful art and design books) and the garden. there are birds and this enclosure of ivy and leaves and its just beautiful. So we sat down and had french coffees and then got on our way. 

After CCD we stopped at a couple of vintage stores and then stopped to get awesome awesome awesome pizza that they cut with scissors!!! And then we went to see Vincent. Now, I have been hearing... a lot, about Vincent. He is a shoe store owner who used to design for some major major people and he carries other peoples designs and some of his own. Daniel has brought pretty much all of his friends there and he and Vincent now know each other very well. so I was pretty much in shoe heaven. There was one part when I was standing in the middle of about 7 pairs of shoes! Vincent and I bonded over shoes and I can't wait for him to visit NYC, I told him he should open a store there. 

After Vincent we went for Aperitivo at one of the coolest bars I have ever been to. We walked in and it looks like sort of an in and out, eat at the counter type places, but then you keep walking, back through the kitchen and this hallway and it opens up into this very dark almost cave-like area with couches. There were trees growing out of the ground! And it was rainy so it was even cooler. There were all of these tall candles lit, it was very neat. So we grabbed passionfruit cocktails there and then some of Daniel's fashion school friends met up with us and we all chatted and such. Then it was getting a little bit late so the girls and the boys split up and went to get ready for dinner. We all met at Daniel's and then, (here is where it gets really good!) we went to Armani/Nobu!!!!!!

Okay, holy sushi! This stuff was amazing. Now, I haven't been to Nobu in New York, but it's going to have to happen now. We got so many different kinds, and they made us this one roll, that wasn't on the menu, but it was some sort of Salmon thing, and it was the best sushi I  have ever had in my entire life. It was AMAZING. The Salmon was so creamy it completely melted in my mouth. It was so good! After Nobu we walked past the Duomo at night and through the galleria which was gorgeous. We stomped on the bull's balls (it's what you are supposed to do!) and turned around for good luck. And then it was late, so we parted ways and went to bed! The next morning we got up early (again) and hopped a train back to Firenze. We dropped our stuff at the house and rain out for a quick light bite, gelato, and a fast look around the antique fair. Then we went to the Duomo and a quick visit to our friends at Jules e Jim  and look at the new stuff. After the whirlwind tour of Firenze we crossed the Arno and went to Borgo Antico for a little Aperitivo. We got some prosciutto and pancetta and salami and olives and pizza and potatoes and cocktails and chatted for about an hour before we went back to the apartment. We changed, very fast, organized a little bit and then we headed out to go see Bob Dylan in concert!!!!

It was so amazing! We got there and to our spots as the first song was beginning. We had a great view from the balcony and he put on an amazing show. There was no fluff, no opening band, no intermission, no encore, just straight music. He did some old stuff and some new stuff and a lot of the old stuff he revamped in a new (and great) way! The crowd was awesome because it was completely mixed: american, Italian, etc. and the age range was unbelievable. There was some seriously older people there rocking out and then people our age and then people younger. It was a great energy and one of the best shows I have ever been to - he is such a rock star! 

After Bob we were all still really revved up so went to The William for a drink and then home to bed! Today  I have tons of work to do, but I will post pictures later. Overall, it was one of the best weekends I have had. Sitting otuside Corso Como Dieci with Daniel and Evan and Danielle was one of my favorite moments because were all goofing off and being silly and dorky, but we were also having the most engaging conversations about art and fashion and politics and food and everything. It is really refreshing to be around people that are creative and intelligent and passionate but also not afraid to just be themselves and act like huge losers and have fun! It's sort of hard to convey why this weekend was such a turning point but it just felt like this chapter had come full circlebut still ended in a place very different from where it began (if that makes sense). Now I just have to get through exams and then I am back in New York City! I have next weekend and then the weekend after is my last and I do feel like I have done everything I wanted to here, I could obviously always do more, but I don't feel like I missed anything! Okay, I have got to get to work now or I will never finish the semester! Pics are here!! Baci!

Sorry!

Sorry that didn't work too well! Heres some pictures:

Rome and Cooking class in Firenze

Cinque Terre

Food Fashion and Fun Part 1

Okay ya'll! So, since I was in Torino, I went back to Rome and then to Cinque Terre and Viareggio. 

 

Let's start in Rome. Since I have been to Rome to tour and eat before, I was really excited to go back with my Sociology of the Arts class. I know my way around pretty well now, so it was really just like going to another city to hang out for the weekend without any sort of touristy obligations. I could leave without feeling like I missed a thing! So, we got up early and my entire class (all 5 of us) We went to the Futurist exhibit at a museum in Rome. It was really interesting because the Italians are so proud of the 100th anniversary of Futurism, as they should be! The exhibit was very interesting and my professor is brilliant so it was quite the experience. Then we all went to lunch and drank wine and ate pasta and talked about politics in Italy and America and what its like to be a student here and back in the States. Our guide is going to law school in Philly next semester so we all exchanged contact info and now she can see the other side of things! 

Food Fashion and Fun Part 2

 

After lunch we spontaneously decided to go to this other exhibit that was in a private villa that had been opened to the public. It was an exhibit of advertisements that were inspired by or created by Futurists. They were so beautiful and poignant and creative and classic and innovative all at the same time. It totally reminded me of my grandpa. After that, the rest of the class returned to Firenze and my suitemate, Seta, and I remained a Roma. We checked into our hotel and went out to dinner by the Trevi fountain at a restaurant called Arancia (or something like that). Great fish, great wine, great dessert. To be 100% honest, this past weekend of food has completely clouded my food memory...but we'll get to that! 

The next day we went to the Pantheon and some other places. Most importantly I had INCREDIBLE granita di caffe. For lunch we went to this tiny spot near Piazza Navona and had wine and cheese and olives...for about three hours. We then went to this little store where everything is made my monks, and its been there, FOREVER. Very cute. I may have bought a leather purse..or two.... Then we went to the Jewish section and I want to go into the Sinogoga but it was closed :(. So we went housewares shopping. 

For dinner we trekked around try and find a restaurant called La Peonia, but it was closed, so we veered off and wandered until we stumbled upon another restaurant that had been recomended to me. The food was AMAZING. I have never had Rigatoni matriciana like that. Perfectly cooked, perfectly peppered.  

Food Fashion and Fun Part 2 again

And I had a carciofi that was basically like potato chips, made out of artichokes! For dessert we had an unbelievable cream cake thing that I cannot even begin to describe. The crust seemeed to be made out of the dough that they make lobster claws out of..but it was soft in some places, and flaky in others. Then there was that delicious unpasteurized (sp?) cream business, then on top, the best part, were all of these thin rows of some sort of sugare creation. Like the brown sugary chewy part of cowtails, except not in that artificial chemical tasting way, but in that delicious sweet and texture way. So great. The next morning we overslept and missed our train.... C'e la vita. 

 

This week was actually a fun week at school. Well, the end of the week. On Thursday night, one of our friends who gave us a tour at the modern art museum here told us about a friend of his who is exhibiting her photographs at a bar/cafe on the other side of the river. So we went got some gelato, went to the antique fair (I got the coolest door knocker of all time) and then went a tiny bit of vintage shopping..I got shoes... After that we we met up with Martino for some Aperitivo  at his friends art exhibit and he introduced us to the artist. She was very cool and we actually spoke for a really long time. It was really neat that she actually sat and talked with us because the place was packed! After that we went to this really fun relaxed bar/cafe called Rex where there was live music (which was a surprise to us!) and then a Dj. Also, the woman who runs one of our favorite vintage shops (where I got the shoes) bartends there. It's super nice because we have started to build up a community here, so its great to see people we know when we go out. My roomate Danielle has gotten to be friends with one of the DJs at Rex...whose name is Danielle Cavalli - thats right! Roberto Cavalli's son! 

At Rex we met up with our friend Alexandra who is dating a guy that lives here so we met up with his friends as well. All of his friends were so warm to the both of us, kisses on both cheeks, italian conversation, it was great. We see them all over and its so nice to have friends around the city. After Rex we went home and went to bed! 

Food Fashion and Fun Part 3

On Friday we slept in and then spent the entire day shopping. That's right, the entire day. We went to an early Aperitivo at La Cite which is a library/cafe. They have a sign up that says that "This is a library, there should be no solitary studying but instead loud social interaction", so its that kind of place (I'm paraphrasing here, btw). A couple of NYU students jam there on Thursday or Friday nights with Florentine musicians so it's a really eclectic crowd in a really creative environment. After jazz we went to Santo Bevitore for dinner, one of our favorite restaurants in Firenze,  I had a DELICIOUS extremely spicy sausage pasta. Then we went home early to go to bed! 

Saturday (yesterday morning!) we woke up at 6 and hopped a train all the way up to La Spezia, which is near Genova. Cinque Terre is a group of 5 hill towns connected by hiking trails (8 miles in total) right on the coast. The towns are all built into the mountains and they are painted the most beautiful pinks and yellows. We got into Monterosso (the first town) and walked around a bit. It is the most resort like of all of the towns, so we tasted some pesto (delicious) and got some focaccia and this crazy milky pinenutty hazelnutty cookie thing from a place that was recommended to me. It was very weird, but still very tasty. A little too oily though. Then we took the ferry to Vernazza, the most beautiful of the towns. We climbed up this tower and saw a beautiful view of the ocean, the mountains, and the town. Then we sat down for lunch. Now, we knew we had to go heavy on the seafood, but we had no idea what we were in for. We started with a wine, Vermentino, created by a female producer who makes a tiny amount of wine only for this restaurant. We were sitting outside at a table in the Piazza and the gentleman who was our waiter pointed up to a vineyardup the hill from us, which is the exact vineyard where our wine was grown. It was so cool to sit there and drink it and look at where it came from. So we ordered octopus with potatoes and mussels. The octopus was amazing, not rubbery at all. It was so fresh that the texture was just soft and it was interesting with the potatoes, the flavor was great! The mussels were the best mussels of my entire life. They were bright orange and they came with two lemons on the plate that were literally plucked from the tree in the same town. Ridiculous. Next we had trofie with Pesto. Ok. Pesto. Pesto was created in Genova, and now I know why. This pesto was SO fresh!!!!! The pasta was cooked perfectly, the right amount of chewyness and cheese and we scarfed. I'm telling you, Pesto is ruined for me, forever.