Coffee Cravings and a Sip of Home

After a run in the morning, I had the rest of the day free so Maria and I set out to do some shopping in the city. Although it was a balmy 28^o outside, we walked along the outdoor markets looking through the displays of leather, scarves, and jewelry on our way to San Lorenzo’s market. Maria had wanted some dried fruit after seeing the goods I came home with last week. Not only did we check out the dried fruit stands, but we also stopped by a pastry stand. After sampling some biscotti, we got two muffins to share at a later time – kiwi and chocolate chip Nutella!

We had hoped the indoor market would be an escape from the cold outside but it turned out to be just as cold or possibly even colder! We headed out to find something warm for lunch and so our hunt for soup began. Unfortunately we could not find soup to match small pocketbooks, but we did happen to stumble upon the highlight of my day – AMERICAN COFFEE!

I have been craving a large, hot cup of coffee almost everyday now so finding it was such a treat. Although I love the Italian cappuccinos and lattes, I always left wanting it to be hotter and have more volume. Now that I know where to find coffee, I will definitely be coming back. They even had to-go cups! (Something Italy knows nothing about) We sat in the café and shared our muffins from the market, enjoying every sip of our thoroughly missed luxury from home.

After resting our feet at home for a bit I met up with new friends for dinner at a restaurant a couple blocks from my house. I was glad to see the restaurant was a local Italian hot spot and that there were no tourists to be had. Although the pizzas looked delicious, I got a salad with tomato and mozzarella as I was craving something light and healthy. After dinner, I went out for a casual drink with friends at a local American bar.

Sweet Afternoon

More frigid temperatures and the slightest bit of snow today brought with it the need for a warm coffee and a sweet pastry in the afternoon.

Artichoke lasagna, roasted beets, and salad for dinner.

Snow?

Upon getting ready for school this morning I peered out my window to see a dusting a white over roof tops and cars. There’s snow in Florence! Unlike at Syracuse, Florence is not used to getting snow. Although it was only the smallest amount, all the Florentines were excited and talking about it. Children were taking snow of cars and making snowballs, and teachers were cancelling there classes. However pretty, the frigid temperatures that came with the snow made the walk to school fairly un-enjoyable.

But the cold temperatures did not deter me from setting out on a run! After I came home from school I bundled up and set out on a slow but steady 6 miler, going three times around the stadium.

We had a big group for dinner tonight! My host parent’s daughter and her family shared a meal with us tonight. There were eight of us in all including their daughter’s husband and two daughters Rebecca (10) and Bianca (6). The husband spoke English fairly well so we spent most of our time talking to him. He is in two different bands and was very interested to see how the culture shock was going for us. We spent the night picking out differences between our countries.

Tonight marked the first night where I found something from Cristina’s kitchen not to my liking – a cold tuna fish loaf. However, she redeemed herself with zucchini bread for dessert! Ali had actually converted the family recipe of hers into grams and given it to Cristina. Our host mom prepared it that afternoon with su-chefs Rebecca and Bianca. It was so nice to see my host parents with their grandchildren for I could tell how happy the two girls make them. Makes me miss my own family!

Too Much of a Delicious Thing...

Today, Tuesday January 31, was rainy and cold. Although two of my classes were cancelled because my professor was having an operation, I had no desire to go outside to explore the city. Instead, I stayed on campus most of the day doing homework, planning trips, and catching up with my never ending to-do list.

When Ali and I arrived home from school, Cristina informed us that’s we’d be heading over to Rita’s house for dinner, who lives down the street. Although going back out into the cold and rain was the last thing I wanted to do after walking over a mile home from school, we headed back out into the elements to Rita’s. Here we were greeted with way too much food, just as last time, including pasta, pumpkin lasagna, lentils, pearl onions, and an interesting take on deviled eggs which were filled with tuna. The night was capped with homemade tiramisu, which was the best I’ve had yet in Italy. All was delicious, but just like our last trip to Rita’s, I was again too full by the end of the night.