Radiohead: So Close Yet So Far

My friend Virginia joked so much about me writing a blog post about this that I'm inferring that she must want to be in my blog! Hehehe

SO. My new Italian friends invited me to a Radiohead concert. The only catch was that they didn't have tickets and we were going to sneak inside. So of course I couldn't pass up an offer like that.

So we made it to outside of the concert, and there were security and police everywhere. I couldn't hear the music except for a faint drum beat. We walked purposefully through an opening and the security person there didn't seem concerned. We went on some kind of horse track and I think that we could have gotten into the concert if we'd gotten there earlier. As it was, we totally missed it!

Tis okay, though. We had a consolation crepe which we split into thirds because they were crazy overpriced. And next concert, we'll be ready in our black ninja outfits.

By the way, it cracks me up that the majority of the music here is in English! Even though most Italians do not speak English! The other day my youngest homestay sis asked me what the meaning of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance was. That made me laugh because I have no idea!

If you could go any concert, which band would you see?

Museo Bardini

I'm having a pretty quiet weekend. Everyone and their mother is at Oktoberfest. (I chose not to go because I thought Oktoberfest might be too intense for me. My friends' nice way of putting it is that I'm "too classy.") So I'm (sort of) being studious. 

My homestay sisses "M" (age 12) and "G" (age 10) are watching the Italian-voiced-over version of Wizards of Waverly Place. Their nonna is watching one of her (violent from what I can hear) soap operas. I made "Fusilli Super 85" (squiggly pasta) for dinner and M was impressed that my pasta came out so pretty! Coming from an Italian, I'm taking that as a compliment (even if she is twelve)! I also went Italian for lunch and I made a piadina with a sort of tortilla, cheese, and prosciutto crudo. It was lovely! Prosciutto crudo translates to "raw ham." And that's what it is. It's "cured" though, whatever that means, so it is okay to eat. I can't get enough of the stuff! Cooked ham is not anywhere near as good!

I figured that I might as well check out a museum today, as there are about a million to get through in only a few months! So I chose Museo Stefano Bardini since my Let's Go Budget Florence guidebook promised me that there would be lots of weapons (I'm not actually super appreciative of art).

Honestly, I was rather disappointed. There was only one room of death-inducing objects. However, there were some good parts and I'll show you the highlights. 

Bacchanal by Mattia Preti (1640)

I'm assuming that this is Atlas, with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

This isn't the best picture of the sword collection, but the museum guards were on the move and I suspected that I wasn't supposed to be taking pictures.

Duomino?

I could really rock this cape.

It's pretty tough to be productive when I'm still convinced that I'm on an extended vacation in Italy. I don't see the need to break the delusion yet, however, and I'm stoked that I will get to go to VENICE and VERONA next weekend! Seriously- two of my dreams come true! 

Have you gone exploring lately?

Life is Never Dull in Firenze

Today I woke up late and with a splitting headache. I could barely get out of bed. It was pretty brutal. I think that it might have been caffeine withdrawal. I have been drinking a ton of espresso. 

Unfortunately, this was the one day where there wasn't any espresso out with breakfast. Bad luck! I did, however, make myself two Nutella crepes! They didn't have any strawberries or banana, but I'm not complaining. :)

Since I was feeling so terrible, I figured that I relaxing day at the park might be my speed today. So I took a couple Midol and walked to Cascine park, which is only 10 or 15 minutes from my apartment. 

I was surprised to find a giant festival where the park was supposed to be.

But I was also really excited! There were a ton of tour buses lined up on the street, so I knew it was going to be good. The first thing that drew my eye were the animals. They had white cows, horses, and sheep!

There were rows and rows of white tents. There were all kinds of things for sale: cheeses, olive oils, honeys, wines, scarves, breads...

There were even cacti for sale!

I bought a pretty pink scarf. Couldn't resist!

I sat on a bench here and watched the little kids run around. So cute! And my headache went away at some point. :)

There was a whole other side of white tents so I went to check out that side. I was not expecting to find this:

DRAGON!

I'm still seriously impressed! A photographer saw me taking pictures of the hedge art and said something to me in Italian. I was afraid that he was going to say that I couldn't take a picture of it. Instead, he wanted to take a picture of me taking a picture! Oh, Italians!

Schiacciata

At this tent there was a basket of free bread samples out! I helped myself to two. This bread is called schiacciata and it's the best bread in Firenze because it's salty and buttery. The majority of the bread in this city is called pane toscano and it is made without salt! They put olive oil and salt on top of it to eat it. But it's got nothing on schiacciata.

Now I have no idea what this pyramid-shaped building is, but I saw it and thought it was neat! Honestly I'm afraid to know what it's used for.

"This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." ~Psalm 118:24

I'm going to leave Italy fat and happy

Tonight's dinner with my homestay fam:

primo piatto: torteloni e/o minestrone
(note: torteloni is like tortelini but larger and they're filled with spinach and cheese)

secondo piatto: piadini, una torta salata ricotta e spinaci, finocchi
(note: piadini are similar to quesadillas but they're a little different.)
(also: finocchi is fennel and it is an unexciting vegetable. my host mom is on a diet so she makes it.)

dessert: nutella e/o marmellata crepes

And there are leftover crepes for breakfast tomorrow !

Sorry there aren't pictures, but that would've been awk to pull out my camera at the dinner table.

"If we're not willing to settle for junk living, we certainly shouldn't settle for junk food." -Sally Edwards

Sunday Stroll through the Boboli Gardens

Many things are closed in Firenze on Sundays. So when my homestay parents suggested that I check out the Boboli Gardens while the weather is still lovely, I was all for it. Besides, I have a museum pass from my school so I can see the Boboli Gardens fo free!

This building is a porcelain museum that is full of teacups. It was pretty small and not too exciting. This spot has amazing views, though!

Random head monument

This museum was filled with really old costumes! It was pretty cool. I actually snuck in by accident. Finding the entrance and exit was confusing for me.

Illegally obtained photo

I only got one good photo before I got yelled at to not take pictures. Fortunately, this Pride and Prejudice-esque display was one of my favorites!

The Boboli Gardens are expansive so I didn't have a chance to explore all of it. What I saw was lovely, though! I recommend wearing good walking shoes (I made the mistake of wearing wedges) and going on a beautiful day. I'll definitely be coming back here.

"You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you." ~Nehemiah 9:6

When In Italy...

...go wine tasting! Where else am I going to meet that gorgeous Italian guy who owns a vineyard so that I can move to Italy for good? ;)

We went to Montalcino first. We went to the second-best vineyard in Italy where they make a famous wine called Brunello di Montalcino. The vineyard was gorgeous, of course, though I was surprised at how little of the land they used. Only certain parts of the land can be used to grow the grapes.

They cannot water the grapes (there are strict rules in the wine industry) and so how the grapes turn out is entirely dependent on the soil and weather conditions. I'll bet they pray for rain. Our guide said that great wines are made in the vineyard and that the grape is what determines the quality of the wine. After the grapes are picked there is nothing they can do to improve the quality.

I'm a giant! :)

The wines go through a strict, intensive process. To ferment the wines, the grapes are put in these barrels. The seeds and skin need to be left in, at least at first, for flavor. They don't do anything to help the fermentation process along except to regulate the temperature. 

Then they age the wines in wooden barrens. You know how sometimes a wine can taste woody or oaky? Well that is because of the barrels that they ferment in for years. The little green doohickeys on top of the barrels were made by Leonardo da Vinci. They allow gasses to escape but prevent air from entering. If air entered the barrel, the wine would turn to vinegar.

Then they have a nifty machine that corks the bottles of wine. It puts liquid nitrogen in the wine bottles and then fills them with wine and corks them so that air will not get in.

I got to try a Brunello and I'm not going to lie- I just don't appreciate red wines. I prefer sweet white wines. It just tasted like red wine to me. Also, if you're wondering, the drinking age over here is sixteen. 

We bought souveniers and headed out to Montepulciano. Wine is much cheaper if you buy it from the winery. I actually bought face moisturizer made from grapeseed oil. It feels lovely. :) 

Fun Fact: Montepulciano is where the second Twilight movie New Moon was filmed! (Sorry that you couldn't come, Dad. I know how much you love Twilight...)

The second winery that we went to actually used to be a prison. I just cannot get away from the creepy stuff.

The underground part of the winery was huge! The tunnels seemed to go on indefinitely, and it was super creepy.

A torture device at a winery. #OnlyInItaly

The second wine tasting was not as exciting. However, I did get some lovely biscotti from there! (I'm not going to admit that I already ate half the bag.)

Also in the lovely medieval town of Montepulciano, there was a Pinocchio store!

I probably shouldn't say this, but the owner was super creepy looking. I didn't notice him standing there and then he moved and I might have jumped and screamed, "Ahh!"

Anywho, then we took the bus back to Firenze. Most people slept on the bus but my seat didn't have an armrest to prevent me from flying out of my seat. So I had to have constant vigilance and hang on to something!

"So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!" ~Ecclesiastes 9:7

La Biblioteca delle Oblate

Downtown Firenze is a big place and sometimes it can be nice to have a place to retreat to, somewhere where it doesn't cost money to sit down and where there is a guaranteed bathroom. Or maybe I just need a place to wait out a rainstorm (the weather is a bit sporadic in Firenze). And as a nerd-from-birth, a library has appeal.

So this is my batcave: La Biblioteca delle Oblate. It has everything a foreign exchange student needs. There are bathrooms, free seating, Italian students to attempt to blend in with, a gorgeous view from the third floor, and even a caffè. There is wifi too, if you sign up for a library card. It is close to the Duomo (the most gigantic building in Firenze), and so it is easy to find. I like that I'm able to pass as an Italian student, at least until someone attempts to talk to me.

Third floor of the Oblate

I like to get something from the caffè and sip it while I work on schoolwork, people watch, and admire the view from the third floor. The only problem with this plan is that Italian espresso drinks are super tiny! The first time that I went to this caffè, I ordered an espresso. I was surprised when they gave me a mere thimble's worth! (Not gonna lie... I might have an espresso addiction problem.)

So now my drink of choice is a marocchino. It is still tiny- it only fills a shot glass. But it is delicious- it's espresso topped with foam with cacao powder on top. And when I order it, I don't get called out as an American.

Un marocchino

I would prefer to order a cappuccino. I had one today and it was absolutely perfetto. But when I ordered it, the barista knew that I was American and started to speak in English. Italians only drink cappuccinos for breakfast. I thought that I would be okay at 11am, but apparently not. I got chocolate on mine, and I would highly recommend it. I will seriously wake up early to be able to drink this.

Un cappuccino

Do you have a batcave?