Mia Avventura Italiana

Ever since Easter Weekend, it has been raining nonstop here in Italy. This is good for the country, because apparently it was getting so bad they were going to shut the water off to all the residential buildings during certain hours of the day if the drought continued. While I’m happy I will still be able to shower when I want, it doesn’t really make a nice time for traveling. Well, this was the last excursion hosted by my program, API. SO SCARY. I’ll hold off on my leaving freak out for another day.

This last excursion was a day trip to Lucca, a small town in Tuscany. We started out our normal walking tour of the city, umbrellas in hand. Our tour guide, Gabrielle, was absolutely hilarious. When he introduced himself he said his name and then said “Like Gabriel, the angel that told Mary she was pregnant… We don’t have anyone named Mary here do we?” Clearly, this was going to be a good tour that started on the city walls. Lucca is one of the only cities in Italy that still has its original city walls. They are also about 12 meters wide, making them the widest walls in Italy. They were originally made to protect them from an invasion of Florence back when the Florentines were taking over all of Tuscany. However, they were never needed. Lucca was a rich city that made a lot of silk clothing and traded all over Europe. The Spanish actually threatened Florence to leave Lucca alone so they could still trade with them, so Lucca was left alone. The walls now have a garden on the top of them.

After the walls, we walked through the city and came upon a large church. It was the only church in all of Tuscany that was controlled by the Vatican directly instead of by the local bishop. On the outside wall of the church rather low down there was a metal cross built into the marble wall. It actually wasn’t a cross, but a tool used by the merchants to make universal measuring. There were also marks all along the wall where the merchants would sharpen their swords on the wall. Inside this church, there is a naturally mummified body of a saint, Zita. She was a servant and she stole the extra bread from her master and gave it to the poor and starving. Her body was really creepy, like something out of CSI or something. We continued on and saw other parts of the city. We saw the buildings that were originally Lucca’s “Coliseum” but were changed into businesses. We also saw a silk museum exhibit all about their trade and how it came to Italy.

After our city tour we were loaded back onto our bus and headed to an Olive Oil tasting. We were showed how the olives were crushed and where they were grown. By this point however, we had spent the better part of a day out in the rain so we just wanted to sit down. We were quickly escorted to a dining room area under a large tent where we were given bread, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sun dried tomatoes, olives, and salami. It was really good, but I was expecting to try different types of olive oil, not just one. After our feast we got back on the bus and then headed home in the rain.

Jori, Micayla, Meggo, Lisa and I decided that the weather shouldn’t stop us from seeing Italy considering we only have a little time left (fighting back tears). We took a day trip of our own to San Gimignano, a medieval city with its walls and towers still intact. We had to take two public busses to get there, but after an hour and a half of travel we arrived at this beautiful city. We came prepared for the weather with our rain boots, rain jackets, and umbrellas but when we arrived something happened. The sun came out. Yes, sun. I have slightly forgot what standing in the sun was like.

We immediately went to get lunch because all of us were starving. Meggo’s friend recommended a little trattoria where they said they had the best food in all of Italy. Of course with a recommendation like that we are going to go, and both the food and wine did not disappoint. I am more of a white wine fan, but with some exceptions. We ended up getting red wine and it was amazing. It wasn’t very sweet, but the berry flavors came through a lot. And for lunch I got Crepes alla Florentine. It was a rolled up crepe stuffed with ricotta and spinach. The crepe was then topped with a meat and cheese sauce. It was absolutely incredible and my mouth is watering just thinking about it. It is so far the best meal I’ve had here.

After lunch we continued our amazing food excursion and went to “The Best Gelato in the World”. This gelateria was the world champion gelato makers from 2006 – 2009. I am not even going to lie, we ended up going back and getting a second round right before leaving. The first time I got Champello (Champagne and Pink Grapefruit), Strawberry, and Pineapple. The second time I got yogurt, cinnamon, and caramel. Absolutely amazing.

After we had stuffed our faces we walked to a park that was up near the top of the walls. It was so pretty just to be in nature and be able to see beautiful views of the city. There were harp players, singers, and painters all just sitting in the park doing their own trade. It was very relaxing. We were all starting to drag from our long day in the city, so we decided to stop for a coffee. I walked into a little café and saw the most beautiful thing I’ve seen since I saw a Dunkin Donuts in Berlin. It was a coffee coolata machine. I obviously splurged and got it with chocolate syrup in it. It honestly was better than any Dunkin coolata I’ve ever had. It was thick and creamy, and in no way shape or form watered down. SO GOOD.

Our pit stop to the café was complete so we did some shopping and eventually wanted to kill time until our bus came. We decided that we would walk around the outside of the city walls in order to see all the different views of the country side we could, and it was breathtaking. We timed it perfectly too because our bus arrived about 10 minutes after we finished our walk around the city. Needless to say it was a great couple of days.

I have had an amazing semester here in Italy, but I seem to only talk about my travel and experiences in the city of Florence.  I feel like since I am studying abroad I should talk to you at some point about how my classes work here in Florence.  This past week my Tuesday afternoon class was postponed until later in the night in order for us to go on a “field trip” of sorts.  Did I mention that this class was my Wine and Food Pairing Class?

Our “field trip” was a special four course dinner that we were required to attend instead of class.  During class we usually listen to our professor lecture for the first half of class about the different regions in Italy and the food and wine that comes from that region, then cook, eat and drink during the second half of the class.  It was a weird change to have the food prepared for us.  Normally I really like the cooking part so I know I will be able to cook it when I go home and live on my own.

The mandatory dinner was held at Casa Toscana, right next to the Piazza Santa Croce.  It was a very nice little restaurant with beautiful décor and stone walls.  Slowly student after student piled into one room and sat at these beautiful tables waiting for class to start.

The appetizer, or antipasto as it is called here, was Prosciutto di Pratomagno con Mozzarella Fior di Latte.  With this was paired a white wine called Villagiulia.  This wine is produced with Greco di Tufo grapes in the Irpinia region in 2010.  It is a good wine for food because it is 12.5% alcohol and it is a DOCG classification.  This is the highest classification a wine can earn by following the strictest restrictions when it comes to growing the grapes and producing the wine.  When it comes to wine tasting, there are three things you observe:  sight, nose, and palate.  When looking at the wine, it was the color of egg whites, almost bordering on clear water.  The surface of the wine indicates how acidic the wine will be.  This is known as brilliance.  This particular wine had a low brilliance.

Smelling a wine is always difficult because you have to ignore the smell of alcohol and smell the actual aromas.  This wine smelled strongly of white grapes.  Many of you are saying “well that’s obvious, white wine is made from white grapes.”  However, there was a small hint of pear and green apple behind the smell of grapes.  There was also an earthy scent to it, almost as if you were standing in the woods.

When you sip a wine, there is more to it than just tasting it.  There is the feel of it on the inside of your mouth.  The body of a wine describes how heavy the liquid feels on your tongue.  This wine had a very light body; it floated across my tongue almost like air.  There is also the feeling inside your mouth after you have swallowed, which is related to the acidity in the wine.  A highly acidic wine will leave your mouth feeling very dry after drinking it.  This wine was highly acidic and left my mouth feeling very dry.  It was a semi-sweet wine that had a very crisp flavor with the apple and pear coming through that much more.

After all of that process comes the best part:  the eating.  The prosciutto was salty and delicious, and that much better when it was eaten at the same time as the creamy mozzarella.  It was so good I almost forgot to taste my wine again to see how the wine’s flavors were changed.  After the food the wine became very refreshing.  It felt as though it was cleaning my mouth from the saltiness of the prosciutto.  The pair also toned down the fruity flavors of the wine.  Personally, I loved this pair together.

The primi piatti was next which consisted of Penne al Forno Con Polpette, aka Baked Penne with Meatballs.  There was a red wine paired with the pasta called Nero d’Avola, the same name as the grapes that produce it.  It is produced in Sicily by the Borghi Company in 2010.  It is 13% alcohol and it is an IGT classification.  Not as high as a DOCG, but still a good wine.  The wine was a deep maroon color with a very deep purple mixed in.  It had a medium brilliance that was reinforced with the medium acidity that came when tasting it, although in red wines it is known as tanninic.  It smelled spicy; not as like chili spicy, but more as like you had just opened a spice rack.  You could definitely smell the oak and earthiness of the barrels it was in at one point during the production.  It also smelled a lot of red berries, raspberries and blackberries specifically.  When tasting, it has a medium body with a high alcohol content.  The sweetness of the red berries did come through with a hint of blood orange.  After eating the pasta, the wine was left without the bitterness from before, probably happened because of the greasiness of the dish.  It left behind, however, the delicious fruity tastes that were harder to find behind the bitterness.  While I wasn’t too fond of the actual pasta, the wine and the pasta did go well together.

The secondo piatti was Tagliata di Manzo con Rucola e Grana, aka Sliced Beef with Arugula and Parmesan.  This was paired with another red wine, Primitivo, named after the type of grapes.  It is a highly alcoholic wine at 13.5% made in the Puglia region by Feudo Monaci in 2010.  It is also an IGT classified wine.  The color was a deep ruby red that can also be described as crimson.  It had a similar spicy smell to it as the previous red wine, but this one had a stronger smell of the berries.  It was highly tanninic with a semi-dry taste that finished with the fruity berries.  Now, after realizing that we were having beef, I was really really excited.  I haven’t had any kind of beef in a very long time unless it was with some sort of pasta.  But, when I went to eat it, it literally had the texture as if it was sitting in the grill all day.  Besides the fact that the beef was like leather, the pair was just okay in my book.  It was less bitter overall, but it also got rid of the fruity finish.  It just took away from the wine, and didn’t add anything to the pair.

Personally dessert is my favorite part of a meal.  Not only because is it a sweet treat to end the meal, but a new addition that I have come to love while being in Italy.  For dessert we had Crostata di Ricotta, aka a Ricotta Tart.  With this tart we had a dessert wine called Cantine 1880 by Pellegrino.  It is produced in Sicily with Zibibbo grapes.  It is an IGT classification and it is 16% alcohol.  Most dessert wines have higher alcohol content than other wines because of the way they are made.  This high alcohol content is due to the increased amount of sugars from the dried grapes, which also makes it very sweet, perfect for desserts.  This high alcohol content also means that you are supposed to take very small sips and let them sit at the front of your mouth in order to actually taste the wine, not just feel the burn of the alcohol.  At first I thought they were giving us bottled water because in the dark room the liquid almost looked clear.  But after close examination it had the slightest yellow tint to it.  The smell of it was absolutely heavenly.  It smelled sweet all around, but many different kinds of sweet.  There was a layer of floral sweetness, closely related to a rose.  Then there was the hint of champagne, and there was also the overpowering honey smell.  But when all of these combined it only smelt of one thing:  Fruit Loops.  I kid you not, it smelled like I just opened a fresh box and stuck my nose in it.  When I tried it, the champagne and honey tastes were very pertinent.  Although it tasted like champagne, there were no bubbles.  It had a very light body making it very easy to drink.  After trying the cake/tart with the wine, it completely upped all of the flavors.  It became intensely sweet, almost too sweet for my liking.  It increased the flavor or the honey and you could now taste the floral scent.  I personally liked the wine by itself before the cake.  I love sweet stuff, but it felt like my teeth were going to rot out of my head.

As dinner concluded students slowly made their way out discussing the different dishes and wines; what they liked, what they didn’t, who’s beef was perfectly cooked and who’s was like rubber.  It was a beautiful dinner and my stomach was full and happy with the overall meal.  I wish it was something I could have shared with my family back home.  With the good and the bad, this clearly was the best class that I have ever attended.

For Easter weekend I went to the Amalfi Coast (as I had mentioned in a pervious post, and you are all such religious followers you’re probably thinking how stupid of it is for me to remind you.)  I had been excited about it for weeks considering I booked the trip with my two friends, Jori and Jessica, about two weeks into being here.  What could be better than sitting on a beach sipping frozen drinks, right?   Well if only the weather had the same plans.

Leading up to this weekend all over Italy it has been a very dry season.  A lot of their summer crops are dying due to a lack of water, aka strawberries are going to be RIDICULOUSLY expensive.  But this weekend, the first real beach weekend I have planned, Mother Nature decides that she now wants to give Italy some water.  Forecast for the weekend: Friday night - Sunday night = rain.

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I am kind of behind on these entries because all of the different places I went on Spring Break put me behind.  But I will be caught up by the end of this week I promise.

The weekend after Spring Break we had an excursion planned with API called “Under the Tuscan Sun.”  They took us around different parts of Tuscany in order to show us what small town life in Italy is really like.  First stop was Sienna.  We did have a walking tour but it was more to just show the ways of life of the people rather than monuments.  It was a beautiful city and it reminded me of a mini Florence.

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After Spring Break, I expected life to go back to semi-normal; back to classes, cooking, no longer living out of a suitcase or on a bus.  While all of that did resume back to normal, there were two things that did change.  Both were explosions, but instead of destruction, these brought tourists and mosquitoes.

I live in Florence, so clearly there are going to be tourists here at almost all times of the year.  I knew it was going to get busier as the weather got warmer and as time drew closer to the summer, but I never expected to have this much of a change within a week.  It has gotten so bad, that I have to leave for classes 10 minutes earlier than I normally would, and 15 minutes earlier if my walk to class passes the Duomo.  In this explosion of tourists I have come to realize why the Italians act certain ways.  I always thought it was really rude when Italians would just run straight into you when you’re walking down the street instead of taking the half step to the side.  Well now I understand that they are like this because tourists are rude.  They stand in the middle of the only walkway and leave the non-walkway areas completely open while taking pictures of the city.  They stop in the middle of the sidewalk to check a map instead of stepping to the side then checking it.  They don’t move when you ask politely.  If I had to deal with that day in and day out of my life, I’d get pissed off and run people over too.  Oh wait, I do have to deal with it, and yes I have taken the same approach the Italians do.

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We arrived after a long night in Barcelona at about 10 am.  Our rooms of course were not ready so we dropped off our bags and then started our walking tour.  First we went down Las Ramblas, the main drag of the city.  On Las Ramblas was our first stop, the Boqueria Market.  It was like the Mercado Centrale in Florence, only bigger.  They had fresh fruit juices in all kinds of combinations.  I personally got Strawberry Mango and it was so refreshing.  The next stop was the Christopher Columbus monument which was right next to the harbor.  This was the first look at the ocean I had in a long time, not including Venice because those are more classified as rivers.  The sun was shining and the weather was warm.  It felt like it was late May more than it was late March.  We then headed to the Casa Baltó, a famous building designed by Antoni Gaudi.  We then headed up behind the Casa Baltó and saw the 1992 Olympic Stadium.  It was not as large as I pictured it to be.  We then continued with our Gaudi tour to see the Güell Park that was designed by Gaudi.  And to finish up the tour we ended with the temple designed by Guadi, La Sagrada Familia.

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We arrived in Paris at about 6 pm on Tuesday.   We quickly wanted to settle into our rooms and then get some dinner with the guides.  When we got to the hotel it was not at all like any of the other hostels we were staying at.  It was actually a hotel so you’d think it would be nicer?  Well, don’t let the names of things fool you.  This “hotel” was not as nice as any of the hostels I’ve stayed in.  Andrea, Elisandra, and I were staying in a room together which was only made for two people.  It had a queen size bed that was shoved up against the wall, and a cot next to the bed.  The bathroom consisted of a sink and a shower that had tiles missing.  The toilet was out in the main hallway.  We also had a communal shower/toilet combo right outside our door.  There was one working outlet in the entire room and it was meant for the mini fridge.  Moral of this part of the story:  don’t think that hotels are always going to be better than hostels.

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We left Amsterdam in the morning and were headed to our next destination, Brussels. Unlike all of our other destinations we were only there for about 3 hours, so this entry is gonna be a little one.  Everyone on our program had the exact same idea: eat as much as possible before time runs out.  The time we were allotted doesn’t give you enough time to find any kind of monument or see anything all that important, but it is perfect for wandering the streets looking for food.  Brussels is known for its beer, fries, mussels, waffles, and of course chocolate.

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Next stop on the crazy week of Spring Break was Amsterdam.  The bus got into the city at about 6:30 pm.  We all were very tired from a very long bus ride.  At our hostel, we were lucky enough to get fed both breakfast and dinner for free.  Side note about our hostel:  at breakfast they had PEANUT BUTTER.  Literally the best part of this trip was I took about 25 packets of peanut butter.  After settling in we had dinner in the cafeteria, then Andrea and I were lead by one of our guides, Bruno to the center of the city.

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