Sunday, January 29, 2012
Chianti, Pisa and Lucca
Hey everyone!
Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, I have been very very busy. This past weekend has been wonderful!
On Friday we went to Chianti. It was RWU and ASU that went that day. It was beautiful there! I got to taste two wines. They were very good. The place wasn't far from Florence. It was about a half hour bus ride. We arrived there and got a tour of the place, had lunch, tasted the wine, and walked around and took many pictures. I learned a lot while I was there too. I learned the proper way to taste wine. First you DO NOT hold the glass on the glass. You hold it by the stem. Then you swirl the wine glass. If the tears (they are not called legs!) are close together and run down slowly, it has high alcohol percentage and it has full body. Then you smell the wine. We had to try to figure out what it smelled like because the chianti wine has the smells of many fruits. Then you look at the wine. You do not hold the glass up. You tilt the glass and hold it against something white. If it is violet red it is not very old. If it is ruby red its kind of old. If it is brown red it is aged. Then you get to taste it. You are supposed to chew the wine(weird). I also learned a lot about Extra Virgin Olive Oil. EVOO is not the same as regular olive oil. The extra means it has an acidity of less than .3%. Virgin means that it is pure and is only made out of olives. Manufactures of olive oil don't put the acidity level on the bottle because they can pass it off if it is under .8%. One way to tell if the EVOO is good is to look at the bottle. If it is a dark bottle, that is good because it protects it from the light. Also cans are good too, because that blocks the sun. If the acidity is on the bottle don't get it if its over .3%. The EVOO that we had on bread at Chianti was amazing! Best I have ever had!!
On Saturday I went to Pisa and Lucca with 40 other students. Pisa was fun. We took our 'Pisa pictures' which took a very long time. We then watched what other people did in their pictures. Some were really funny. One guy kissed/hugged it. And another woman put earmuffs on it! Then we went to the Baptistry, and Cathedral, and the Burial Ground. The Baptistry was very cool. A woman sang and it sounded like there was 20 people singing because of the echo. Then we went to the Cathedral which was BEAUTIFUL! I lit a candle for Gramma and Papa there. Lots of frescos and beautiful gold ceilings! There is a Saint that is buried there who hasn't decomposed yet. He is in a glass tomb and it was very cool! Then we went ti the burial ground which was really cool too! Then we went to Lucca and ate lunch and went for a 2 hour bike ride along the raised boarder of Lucca. It was a lot of fun!
Tonight me and my roommate are going to attempt to find a chinese food place in Florence. With us luck!
Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, I have been very very busy. This past weekend has been wonderful!
On Friday we went to Chianti. It was RWU and ASU that went that day. It was beautiful there! I got to taste two wines. They were very good. The place wasn't far from Florence. It was about a half hour bus ride. We arrived there and got a tour of the place, had lunch, tasted the wine, and walked around and took many pictures. I learned a lot while I was there too. I learned the proper way to taste wine. First you DO NOT hold the glass on the glass. You hold it by the stem. Then you swirl the wine glass. If the tears (they are not called legs!) are close together and run down slowly, it has high alcohol percentage and it has full body. Then you smell the wine. We had to try to figure out what it smelled like because the chianti wine has the smells of many fruits. Then you look at the wine. You do not hold the glass up. You tilt the glass and hold it against something white. If it is violet red it is not very old. If it is ruby red its kind of old. If it is brown red it is aged. Then you get to taste it. You are supposed to chew the wine(weird). I also learned a lot about Extra Virgin Olive Oil. EVOO is not the same as regular olive oil. The extra means it has an acidity of less than .3%. Virgin means that it is pure and is only made out of olives. Manufactures of olive oil don't put the acidity level on the bottle because they can pass it off if it is under .8%. One way to tell if the EVOO is good is to look at the bottle. If it is a dark bottle, that is good because it protects it from the light. Also cans are good too, because that blocks the sun. If the acidity is on the bottle don't get it if its over .3%. The EVOO that we had on bread at Chianti was amazing! Best I have ever had!!
On Saturday I went to Pisa and Lucca with 40 other students. Pisa was fun. We took our 'Pisa pictures' which took a very long time. We then watched what other people did in their pictures. Some were really funny. One guy kissed/hugged it. And another woman put earmuffs on it! Then we went to the Baptistry, and Cathedral, and the Burial Ground. The Baptistry was very cool. A woman sang and it sounded like there was 20 people singing because of the echo. Then we went to the Cathedral which was BEAUTIFUL! I lit a candle for Gramma and Papa there. Lots of frescos and beautiful gold ceilings! There is a Saint that is buried there who hasn't decomposed yet. He is in a glass tomb and it was very cool! Then we went ti the burial ground which was really cool too! Then we went to Lucca and ate lunch and went for a 2 hour bike ride along the raised boarder of Lucca. It was a lot of fun!
Tonight me and my roommate are going to attempt to find a chinese food place in Florence. With us luck!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Another week over!
Its the weekend!!! Sorry I haven't written in a few days, I have been very busy and very tired. It is still really rough getting used to being around and about all day and then not getting a lot of sleep.
Tomorrow we are going on our Chianti trip! It should be a lot of fun and I heard its beautiful! We are going to Trebbio. I will post some pictures tomorrow after the trip.
The highlight of my day today? Mint Chocolate Chip gelato.
Ciao till tomorrow!
Tomorrow we are going on our Chianti trip! It should be a lot of fun and I heard its beautiful! We are going to Trebbio. I will post some pictures tomorrow after the trip.
The highlight of my day today? Mint Chocolate Chip gelato.
Ciao till tomorrow!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Mucca tripe
So my clothes didn't shrink! They just finished drying though. We only have a washer and not a dryer so we have to hang them on a rack.
Today, I ate cow stomach!!!!!!! In my food culture class he told us we were going to try something and then after we all ate it he would tell us what it was. It actually wasn't bad. The chewiness was weird and the texture but the flavor was actually pretty good. I only had one piece though.
Now to eat something 'normal'.
Ciao!
Today, I ate cow stomach!!!!!!! In my food culture class he told us we were going to try something and then after we all ate it he would tell us what it was. It actually wasn't bad. The chewiness was weird and the texture but the flavor was actually pretty good. I only had one piece though.
Now to eat something 'normal'.
Ciao!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Monday
Classes are half over today. I had class at 9:00 and then I have class again at 3:00. I am in the process of doing laundry for the first time in Florence. It is very difficult because the washing machine settings and directions are in Italian. Its very different than washing machines in America. There are about 12 different temps, settings, and all kinds of buttons. Hopefully my clothes don't shrink or something like that.
At 12:30 I am meeting my roommate, Liz, and we are going to Mercato Centrale. Which is a huge market in Florence. Then off to class again.
Buongiorno!
At 12:30 I am meeting my roommate, Liz, and we are going to Mercato Centrale. Which is a huge market in Florence. Then off to class again.
Buongiorno!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
End of the second weekend
Today is the second Sunday that I am in Florence. It was a nice relaxing weekend. I got to sleep in and then see the town later on. Today I had a nice walk around the area that I live in. The sky was beautiful today. I will post a picture later of what it looked like.
Tonight I am going to a friends for dinner. Two of my roommates and me are going to walk over in about a half hour. I hoping its not pasta :).
Tomorrow I start my second week of classes. It is very good to get into a schedule again.
More later when I post the picture.
Ciao!
Tonight I am going to a friends for dinner. Two of my roommates and me are going to walk over in about a half hour. I hoping its not pasta :).
Tomorrow I start my second week of classes. It is very good to get into a schedule again.
More later when I post the picture.
Ciao!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
19/01/12
Isn't it weird Italians write the date like that? It is taking a lot of getting used to!
Today ends my first week of classes. Thank goodness we don't have classes on Fridays! It was a good week, but long. I was able to Skype/Face Time a few people yesterday which was wonderful! My Skype name is sdolbec and my Face Time is just my phone number(from home). Speaking of phone numbers, I messed up my Italian one. It's 339 255 6963. Feel free to call me on that number or text me on my iPhone. I can't answer but I can communicate with email and Facebook and such.
Today I am cooking dinner for two of my friends, Tim and Gabby. We are going to have rice with eggplant, peppers, onion, garlic, and zucchini. I am going to cook sausage too and bread with olive oil. I found out today that bread with olive oil is actually NOT Italian. They don't do that here, but I'm American and no Italians will see that in the privacy of my apartment :).
I will let you know how it turns out!
Ciao!
Today ends my first week of classes. Thank goodness we don't have classes on Fridays! It was a good week, but long. I was able to Skype/Face Time a few people yesterday which was wonderful! My Skype name is sdolbec and my Face Time is just my phone number(from home). Speaking of phone numbers, I messed up my Italian one. It's 339 255 6963. Feel free to call me on that number or text me on my iPhone. I can't answer but I can communicate with email and Facebook and such.
Today I am cooking dinner for two of my friends, Tim and Gabby. We are going to have rice with eggplant, peppers, onion, garlic, and zucchini. I am going to cook sausage too and bread with olive oil. I found out today that bread with olive oil is actually NOT Italian. They don't do that here, but I'm American and no Italians will see that in the privacy of my apartment :).
I will let you know how it turns out!
Ciao!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Ciao family and friends!
Today was another great day in Italy. I have been here exactly a week today!!! It feels like I have been here so much longer. I am really starting to know my way around, how to get to the places I need to get to and how to talk to the locals. Everything is going great. I had a busy day today. I had 4 classes. I started at 9:00 AM and ended at 6:15 PM. I had my History of Florence class today and it sounds so interesting!
Today I am FINALLY going to be able to FaceTime my parents! I am very excited!
More tomorrow,
Buonasera!
Today I am FINALLY going to be able to FaceTime my parents! I am very excited!
More tomorrow,
Buonasera!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Wifi!!!
I never knew how much I would miss wifi. It was very hard to be this far from my friends and family and not be able to see them or talk to them. But I have it now!!!!!
Classes started yesterday and they went really well. I have Ancient Rome and Italian yesterday and today I have Cultural & History of Food and Italian. Very cool classes!
My Italian is improving and (hopefully) will continue to improve. I ordered my lunch in butchered Italian today, better than nothing I guess! And the best part was the owner understood me!! There is a small Café near my apartment which has amazing food! One huge piece of advice that I got once I got here was, to stick to the same food place so they get to know you. This is definitely coming in handy because I got a discount the last 2 days!!
We have been cooking a lot in our apartment, more like cooking pasta, pasta...and pasta. Its tasty though =].
Off to clean and then homework and off to learn more Italian!
Ciao!
Classes started yesterday and they went really well. I have Ancient Rome and Italian yesterday and today I have Cultural & History of Food and Italian. Very cool classes!
My Italian is improving and (hopefully) will continue to improve. I ordered my lunch in butchered Italian today, better than nothing I guess! And the best part was the owner understood me!! There is a small Café near my apartment which has amazing food! One huge piece of advice that I got once I got here was, to stick to the same food place so they get to know you. This is definitely coming in handy because I got a discount the last 2 days!!
We have been cooking a lot in our apartment, more like cooking pasta, pasta...and pasta. Its tasty though =].
Off to clean and then homework and off to learn more Italian!
Ciao!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
The start of the trip
Ciao from Florence! I arrived here safe and sound after a very long day. I have 3 very cool roommates and we are having a great time walking around and enjoying everything! I live on Via della Parione 18. It is in a very nice neighborhood! We live right next to a very cute car (café) where the owners are very sweet! We live 10 minutes from the Duomo which is gorgeous! I still don't have Wifi in my apartment but I am at a cafe now. Once I get Wifi it will be very easy to keep in touch! my Italian cell number is 3393556963 feel free to call me I have a lot of minutes!
Talk to everyone as soon as I can!
Talk to everyone as soon as I can!
Monday, January 9, 2012
Tomorrow is the day!
Well tomorrow is the big day! I leave for Logan at 12:00PM and fly at 4:30 PM USA time. I land in Frankfurt, Germany at 5:35AM (11:35PM USA time) and land in Florence at 9:45 AM (3:45 AM USA time)
We were having some issues posting comments... when you want to leave a comment it will ask you to 'Comment as:' choice 'Name/URL' and you will be able to post!
We were having some issues posting comments... when you want to leave a comment it will ask you to 'Comment as:' choice 'Name/URL' and you will be able to post!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Countdown!
The countdown is almost over! I leave this Tuesday! I can not believe how fast the time has gone by this winter break. The fun of the break is over...now time to pack and then off to Italy!
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