Everything Chocolate

All week, classmates of mine have been talking about the chocolate festival in Florence! Some raved about it and others couldn’t wait for their chance to go. The “Fiera del Cioccolato Artigianale” (Artisan Chocolate Fair) is in Florence from February 10 to the 19. After my classes on Wednesday, February 15, a friend and I headed to the chocolate festival to see what all the hype was about and hopefully taste some delicious chocolate!

There were about twenty different chocolate venders in the Piazza della Repubblica when we arrived. They all had vast displays of their finest chocolates. Some sold truffles, other sold chocolate dipped dried fruit, and some had just about anything you could imagine made in chocolate! There were also chocolate dipped waffles to buy, chocolate covered fruit kabobs and hot chocolate. Basically anything you could think of covered in chocolate.

All of the venders were very nice about offering free samples – I’m so glad I learned how to say “can I try?” in Italian! I tried some interesting concoctions such as melon infused chocolate, a chocolate covered lime, and a bite of my friends white hot chocolate. I think my favorite item I tried was a white chocolate bar packed with dried cranberries. So flavorful!

I ended up buying some chocolate covered coffee beans (one of my favorites) and three chocolate truffles: a coconut, a coffee, and a pistachio. After getting my chocolate fill through all the sampling, I saved my purchases for later in the week. As much as I loved sampling the chocolate, I think my favorite part of the festival was walking around and seeing all the creative spins on everything chocolate. There were some innovative flavor combinations out there! Who knows, maybe I’ll have make it back there later this week!

Locks of Love

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Pont des Art Bridge, Paris, France

Take Two

Today was our second Healthy Monday! I am happy to see that the program is running smoothly and it is being well accepted by both students and faculty. When walking through the halls, a faculty member told me she enjoyed the newsletter and encouraged me to keep up the good work. When a student put my face to the name on the bottom of all the Healthy Monday emails, she said how much she likes the program at Syracuse and thanked me for bringing the program to Florence. One day as my teacher was calling roll she said, “Ellen Bobich?…You started Healthy Mondays didn’t you?...Bravissima!” All the encouragement, excitement, and involvement is reassuring and lets me know all my hard work is for the better J



Our new poster thanks to the art department.

Today’s events started with a free fruit table outside the café, where everyone was glad to grab an apple, blood orange, or Clementine. I sat at the table working on my newsletter, freezing, as I don’t think the heat was working too well this morning. Sergio, the owner of the bar and provider of the fruit every Monday, was nice enough to offer me a free cappuccino! I was very appreciative. I held it in my hands until my fingers were warm enough to type again!

As many of the students have been getting sick lately, I themed this week’s newsletter on “keeping your immune system at its best”.

For tonight’s “Move-it Monday” class, we all tried something new: Capoeira. Capoeira is mix between Brazilian dance and martial arts. We had an authentic Capoeira teacher and some of his students come teach the class – entirely in Italian! Luckily we were all able to get the hang of it. The teacher taught not only some of the moves, but the history and culture of capoeira. He even brought out a Brazilian instrument and started singing at one point! I must say it was more of a cultural experience than a work-out but fun all the same.

After traveling all weekend, and getting in late last night, the long day today was exhausting! After fish and salad for dinner at home, I called it an early night.

Au Revoir Paris

With a great weekend under our belts, Maria, Anna, and I had most of the morning to say goodbye to Paris before departing for Florence. We checked out of hotel and walked towards the Louvre on a beautiful street. The street was lined with five star hotels and many expensive stores, such Dior and Louis Vuitton. So this is where Paris shopping takes place! We did some window shopping, before approaching a large park right next to the Louvre called the Louvre gardens. There were so many people out for a run, playing soccer, or taking a walk. It was wonderful to see!

After lots of crepes and sweets over the weekend, all of our stomachs were in need of something healthy for lunch. We were lucky enough to find a restaurant with nice big salads on the menu. To stick with the French theme I opted for the nicoise salad. All the vegetables tasted great and were much needed.

With the time we had left in Paris, we did some more walking, experiencing the city in my favorite way – just taking it in, and observing the people and things around me. We then made our way to the train station to catch the bus to the airport. The metro proved very convenient and very easy to use. Before hopping on the bus we were all in need of a little sweet fix. So glad my friends have a sweet tooth like me! We stopped for hot chocolate near the train station, and I picked up a coffee macaroon for the bus ride!

When I wasn’t sleeping or writing post cards on our four legs of travel, Anna, Maria and I reminisced about our great weekend in Paris. We shared so many laughs and a wonderful first weekend trip of the semester. However, as much as we all enjoyed Paris, we were all looking forward to sleeping in our own beds that night back in Florence.