Ciao Amiche!

I'll be in Cinque Terra for the weekend. More pics to follow!
xoxo

Pizza!

We had quite the interesting combo of food this week for cooking: Spinach Souffle with a carrot sauce, pizza and mint panna cotta with chocolate. I wouldn't normally pair the three together, but they actually turned out really good.

Who would have thought to put corn, mushrooms and ham on a pizza? Not me, but I liked it!

A day in the life...

A few snapshots of what I see every day:

And last but not least, my school. Definitely not your typical university but we love it nonetheless

This quote describes my life:

Credits go to Emily for finding this in her magazine

Buonconvento and Monte Olivieto

Last Friday we got to take a "fieldtrip" out to the Tuscan country side to see Buonconvento,an old city from the middle ages, as well as a Monte Olivieto, a monastery out in the Italian forest. We took a tour of the monastery and then all got to eat lunch together at the restaurant there. On the bus ride, we got to take the scenic way home, so we had amazing views of the tuscan countryside.

Street in Buonconvento

Yay for Italian jeans- we all got the same pair

Monte Olivieto Monastary

My favorite part of lunch... fizzy water! One of the things I'll probably miss most about Europe!

View from the bus on the way home

Florence round 3... the Pitti Palace

We have a list of required places to visit in Florence. My favorite of the day was definitely the Pitti Palace- just down the street from Ponte Vecchio. We only really had time to see the gardens, but they were so beautiful! And they had a fantastic view of Tuscany.
I could have stayed there for hours.

Cooking Class week 4... Vegetarian Night!

Probably one of my favorite weeks so far. I was in love with every course!

Stuffed tomatoes with ricotta, capers, olives and bread crumbs

Crepes with a stuffing of peppers, pumpkin, zucchini and ricotta

Eggplant Parmesan (sorry the picture is dark)

Apple cake with wildberry jam and chocolate sauce. Apparently our chef invented this recipe.

My new favorite spot

My camera accompanied my on my afternoon run yesterday. The scenery was so beautiful that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take pictures of it! I recorded a video so you could all see a better view, but I'm having a hard time uploading it so I guess the pictures will have to do.

I found a little country road a couple miles past our house that goes right through vineyards, farms and olive orchards. There's an awesome Tuscan castle in the background, but it might be a little difficult to see in the pictures.
Hope you like them!

And of course, can't forget my shox. We've been through a lot together.

3 Tuscan desserts that you MUST taste

For lunch on Friday, Emily and I ventured to our favorite pastry shop to try some famous Tuscan desserts that we had been hearing about for weeks. Pane Forte, Richiarelli cookies and Cantucci. I'm pretty sure that Richiarellis are my new favorite food. Mom, Dad and Scott: prepare your taste buds for pure bliss! They are amazing!

Chocolate Pane Forte...
almost like a fruit cake, only with nuts and chocolate- and a lot more solid.

Chocolate Cantucci on the left, Pane Forte in the middle, and Richiarelli cookies on the right.

Florence round 2

Once again, I find myself in Florence.
Don't worry, I'm going again this Thursday- so more pictures to come.
We didn't really have plans for last Saturday so Emily, Jo and I decided to take a quick shopping trip to Florence. We spent lots of time at the market finding loads of leather souvenirs for their families. But I can officially say that I didn't buy anything... except for lunch and my bus ticket. Having to fit all of my belongings into two suitcases really makes me limit my shopping potential.
But really, if any of you have any "leather requests," let me know.
I'm sure I can arrange something:)

One of the many jewelry shops on Ponte Vechhio

Putting my lucky penny in the hog's mouth

This picture is for Mom and Dad- it's the same view of the painting in our living room.
We had some extra time in the afternoon, so we trekked up to the Piazza Michelangelo, which has a fantastic view of the entire city.