Post #8
Florence Week 4
Friday, October 26, 2018 through Sunday, November 4, 2018
Friday, October 26th, 2018
Well the day started off when I accidentally woke up around noon. After waking up Michaela and I got ready and went to a restaurant around the corner that we have been meaning to try! It’s was delicious and extremely cheap!!! Michaela and I both got tortelloni with a red creme sauce, peas, and mushrooms! It was fabulous, we will definitely be going back. Afterwards we walked back to the leather market, pretended to be interested in some stuff to make the obnoxious salesmen think we are interested, and then crush their dreams when we didn’t buy what they were selling. At the end of the day we got some gelato, went to the grocery store (because we needed more waters), made supper, and then watched a couple of movies.
Saturday, October 27th, 2018
Today Michaela and I woke up around 10, got ready, and walked about 30 minutes to the other side of the Arno (river) in search of a good bagel! One of Austin’s friends who has studied at FUA had given me a lost of places to visit and “Mama’s Bakery” was on the list for bagels! So far, the bagels that we have previously had in Florence have been pretty terrible and definitely not fresh. This place was actually pretty delicious! Afterwards we went to Boboli Gardens, which is an outdoor museum with sculptures and some beautiful views! From there we walked around and ended up at the phone company because I needed to “top off” my phone as I was getting low on data. From there we went and sat outside at a café and enjoyed an overpriced caramel iced coffee. Then we went to the grocery store to get ingredients for supper, and stopped by our favorite gelato spot for some gelato. The rest of the evening was spent making dinner, watching some movies, and planning our next trips around Italy!!
Sunday, October 28th, 2018
After sleeping in, Michaela, myself, and two of our roommates went out for “brunch” around 2pm at Le Vespe Cafe. It was absolutely delicious, providing a high quality American inspired breakfast. We will most definitely be returning!!! Afterwards we went to the grocery store, and then ended up being lazy the rest of the day. Michaela and I even decided to play some cards! The weather has been great this whole trip but the past few and next few days have been very rainy so there isn’t much to do.
Monday, October 29th, 2018
Today we slept in, enjoyed some leftovers for lunch, and straightened up our rooms, went to the store to pick up a few things, and relaxed for the day. When we went out. We tried going to our gelato shop but to our surprise, they’re closed on Monday’s… what a disappointment. For dinner we went with our roommates to a Mexican restaurant downstairs for Margarita Monday! The margaritas were delicious and only €4.50. I also got nachos which were great too!
Tuesday, October 30th, 2018
First day of our second session of classes!! Today was the end of our intersession (break) so we jump into new classes! Michaela and I are only taking 1 class this term, the Florence Food and Culture Experience. This class runs M-F 3pm-5:30pm and we have the rest of the day off! This morning Michaela and I went to brunch at Le Vespe Cafe, our new favorite brunch spot and we got bagel sandwiches and I FINALLY had a great mocha iced coffee!! Afterwards we went to our class where we spent the first hour discussing the Mediterranean Diet and Olive Oil and then spent the last hour and a half cooking! So fun!
Wednesday, October 31st, 2018
BOO! Today Michaela and I woke up, got ready, and went to Ganzo, the school restaurant. I got a Cesar Salad for an appetizer, The Argentina (Steak with chimichurri, roasted potatoes, and artichoke) for my meal, and Montezuma (a dark chocolate and raspberry tart) for dessert. All together I used 4 meal units, and I still have 29 left to use within the next 3 weeks! From Ganzo we walked to our class early to pay the course fee. Our class has a different theme depending on the day of the week, and Wednesday is Wine day! After class we went to an American Bar for Wing Wednesday with our roommates and then went to a local club to celebrate Halloween.
Thursday, November 1st, 2018
We had no class on Thursday due to All Saints Day! Michaela and I went to lunch at Le Vespe Cafe and then spent the rest of the day relaxing!
Friday, November 2nd, 2018
For lunch, Michaela, one of our roommates, and I went to Ganzo (school restaurant) again for lunch! I started with the Pulled Pork, the Argentina (again), and then had a different dessert that was unfortunately not as good as the Montezuma. After lunch we took our roommate to the leather market because she wanted some help finding a deal! Then we all went to class and during class we did a food tour of Florence! We went to a upscale grocery store which sold local items, and then to a few different restaurants to try some local favorites like Porchetta (yummy), Lampredotto (4th stomach of the cow), Bollito (boiled beef), and Tripe (1st or 2nd stomach of the cow- NASTY), a herb and veggie crostini, a salami crostini, and a mini truffle sandwich. Yummy!! After class we got some gelato from our favorite spot and then spent the evening playing cards with some of our roommates!
Saturday, November 3rd, 2018
Michaela and I woke up around 11am and went to “The Diner” for an American style breakfast. Afterwards we walked around and got some things we have needed. Michaela needed to grab something at the leather market and of corse we ended up spending a while there. After spending about 6 hours walking around, we went to dinner at Zaza, a restaurant that was on a list of recommendations I had gotten from one of Austin’s friends. The restaurant is known for its truffle but I’m not a truffle fan so I got penne with a creme tomato sauce, which was fabulous! After dinner we went back to the apartment and played some cards.
Sunday, November 4th, 2018
Today Michaela, our roommate Ruby, and I decided to actually set alarms for 9:30 am and went to Le Vespe Cafè for their Sunday Brunch menu! I got Ouvos Ranchers which was five, beans, 2 eggs, home fries, guacamole, and salsa... YUMMY! Afterwards it started sprinkling a bit so we went home to do some laundry. After an hour or so we went back out and walked around for a few hours and ended up at Pizzeria O’Vesuvio, where the cast of Jersey Shore worked during their season in Florence. I got a Margarita pizza which was DELICIOUS and it was cool because we could watch them cook the pizza in the middle of the restaurant! From the ceiling we could also see Jersey Shore cast’s clothes hanging, and Sammi and Ronnie even signed the wall! After lunch, we went to the grocery store for dinner supplies and then went back to the apartment and played cards. For dinner Michaela and I cooked for our roommates! We decided to do pasta, sauce, and a few baguettes, nice and easy! Pasta is about 30 cents here and a jar sauce (it’s not seasoned so it needs to be enchanted but isn’t terrible) is about 60 cents! Ruby, one of our other roommates made a spinach tomato bruschetta appetizer which was yummy too! After dinner we all went for gelato at our favorite spot … Gelateria dei Neri.
