Accidental Seven

Today was the first nice day in what seems like forever. It was sunny, relatively warm (which is anything over 35^o these days), and beautiful. Throughout my entire day of classes, all I could think about was taking advantage of the sunshine and going for a run later in the afternoon. I loosely mapped out a route and headed out.

I ventured on a new running path down to the Arno River and past the school. It’s always fun to explore the city by running through it, and I loved running along the river for a bit. I was on the home stretch and feeling great until I decided to take a new way home. I ventured down a new street thinking it would loop around to my house, but as I kept running I realized it definitely did not and I was in fact lost! At this point it was getting dark and closing in on dinner time. I ducked into a nearby pharmacy and asked them how to get back to my street in broken Italian.

The first words out of the pharmacists mouth was “molto longo”, meaning very far… not exactly what I wanted to hear at this point. Fortunately the workers there were very helpful and even drew me a little map on how to get back to a familiar street. I ended up having to go back the way I came and take a long route home, all the while trying to make it home for dinner on time – a great way to make sure I kept my speed up! I made it home right in time for dinner, although I was very tired after running much farther than I had intended. After a delicious squash soup, frittata and salad dinner, I mapped out my run to see how far I had gone – 7 miles...on accident. At least it was a great workout!

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.