Cinque Terre (Five Lands)

This weekend I was given the great opportunity to travel to Cinque Terre (Five Lands).  You could consider it to be a city, but it's five separate towns spread across a few miles of land all sitting in the hills over the water.  From Florence, it's a good 2 hour bus ride.

I booked my trip through a group called Bus2Alps, which is essentially a travel agency for students traveling abroad.  They provide day trips, weekend trips, and break trips (Fall and Spring) for students at a very cheap price.  Some trips include food and stuff, ours, however, did not.  It DID include our train tickets and ticket in and out of the park (or where everybody walks and hikes).  So for €50, I can't complain!  It was an awesome price.

I've actually been here before, in the past, when I was with People to People.  It wasn't until the last city until I realized that.  When we passed through the first city, we walked as a group and walked about 15 minutes to the next city in which was plastered with writings of lovers, and locks of love.  It was actually pretty romantic for a walk.  Along the way, there were musicians and artists painting pictures of the cities.  If only I had a way to transfer the paintings, I would have bought one.  Only €20 said the guy.  I wanted to snag a picture of the picture (cliché) but he wouldn't allow for me to do so.

We also had a nice group of individuals.  We met a lot of people studying through different universities around the city of Florence from all over the country.  Although no real connections were made, it was still nice to understand why other people chose to study abroad and how they are handling the differences here.

Each city was full of restaurants, cafes, shops, and lots of boats.  To us, these Italians had a very nice, and relaxing lifestyle.  Sure, they work hard everyday, but they are constantly surrounded by their local friends and family, and always smiling.  It seemed as though they actually LOVED their job.  Whether or not they did, didn't matter, they put on a great show and helped you make the right decision when buying one of their products.  I am learning, though, that it doesn't really matter where you get your food, most of the sandwiches and panini are pretty much the same regardless, maybe just a few Euro difference.  I think I have yet to have a band panino.

Coming from the second land (city), we actually lost our group!  A total of 77 students on the trip, and we lost them all.  The group that I was with wandered off (our own fault) because we saw a gorgeous shot (as shown to the right).  We initially thought we were following other people with our group, but we were wrong.  Luckily, the tour guides gave us their numbers in case of an emergency (thank goodness) and provided us with the right (and easy) direction on how to catch up and get to their location.  When we caught up with them, they pointed us to some delicious cafes to get awesome sandwiches for the best price.  The food was very authentic, and the streets smelled of seafood and salt.  Lovely, wonderfully amazing smell that invited you to just stay forever.  It's on my "to re-visit" list in the future and experience each of the cities.


Walking from the fourth to fifth city was probably the most challenging.  Lots of hills and rocks with narrow paths that needed to be crossed.  But the views were 120% worth it in the end.  I kept on saying out loud how amazing and wonderful our world is that we live in, and we have no clue of all the wonderful things it has to offer.  Coming from Baltimore, Maryland, I can only get a taste of what the world has to bring for me.  Considering I haven't even been around our own country!  I'm 22 years old, I still have a lot of traveling ahead of me.  I hope it continues on.



The final island consisted of a very public beach.  For all of you Marylanders out there, you could consider it to be like Italy's Ocean City.  However, I heard a lot of people actually compare it to Hawaii!  I wouldn't complain.  This means that I was in the next-best place!  Our tour guides recommended an awesome little bar that played country music (I dealt with it) and served margaritas, piña coladas, sangria, and all of those other wonderful beach-like drinks that we've all come to enjoy and love.  It was actually a very nice place, I felt like I was back in the States.  I sure do miss home, although, I'm not quite finished with my adventure yet!  Ciao!

Vogue's Fashion Night Out: Florence

Vogue Magazine was in town a few nights ago, and what a celebration that was.  Imagine yourself walking into an entire city full of people, fashion designers, food, drinks, and tomorrow's new hit clothes.  Vogue traveled to Milan and Rome before Florence, so they got a little taste before we did.

The evening started around 20:00 (08:00 p.m.) where promoters were running around giving out free samples of coffee, coke zero, pamphlets, coupons, discounts, and fun little knick knacks to get you to come into the store.  One the stores REALLY opened up about an hour later, they were suddenly transformed into the world's greatest club. 

Most of the top Italian brands here in Italy had a DJ, flashing lights, dancing, free alcohol (which was usually sponsored by that brand), and even bouncers.  Once inside the club, erhm, retail store, you were greeted by camera's and a bartender ready to give you a taste of their new mix drink.  The purpose of the drink was to keep you inside so you could admire all of the new clothing that was on display and hopefully buy the clothing.  What's crazy is that people WERE actually buying the clothing last night while pushing and shoving through the crowd.   Anything to be the first person with the new pair of jeans, right?

What was interesting, however, was seeing how Italians drank their alcohol.  They are very social drinkers.  Of the 5 major-label stores we visited last night, I saw no drunk people.  Italians do not drink to get drunk, they drink for the enjoyment, company, and social ability of what the alcohol does to them.  It's like coffee here, it's what brings people a little closer together.  That made you feel like your night was just a little bit safer.

Literally, the entire city was lit up with excitement, flashing lights, loud music coming from every store, and people just waiting to see what this Fall, 2012 has to offer with clothing.  Barney Stinson from the hit TV show "How I Met Your Mother" would have been very excited and proud to see Prada's new line-up of clothing.   New European car designs were flashed about as people drooled over the exterior design in addition to just wanting to touch the car(s).

This night was definitely a night that you can never experience in the States.  Oh, and why yes, this was actually a trending style (the mannequin, not me).

Food, Food, Food!

Let's get something straight: Italians LOVE to eat.  This is, of course, perfect for me because I tend to base all of my daily activities and planning around when, where, and how I'm going to eat.  As you would expect, many of the dishes revolve around pasta.  Oregano, garlic, onion, paprika, chicken, sausage, veal, and the list continues of Italian favorites the world has come to love.

Tonight, I made Italian Baked Ziti using Mozzarella, beef, Parmesan, Ricotta, and (of course), tomatoes!  I've been the house chef cooking for the roommates and others.  You can call me "Chef Scheff."  As the weeks continue here, students are starting to realize how expensive eating out can be.  Usually wine (per glass) can range anywhere from €2,00-€10,00 based on where you are.  However, some restaurants will just sell a house bottled wine for about €10,00.  Not bad, usually can drink up to 5 people, no more.  I have yet to actually have bad house wine.  For starters, people can get soup or a pasta for about €7-9,00, but as the courses continue (second course), they jump up to around €12-€15,00.  These dishes usually contain a prime cut of meat of beef, chicken, or if you want, fish.  Italians here eat very slowly.  It's not uncommon that people be sitting at a dinner table for more than 2 hours here.  It's a time to come together, hang out with friends/family, talk with the shop owners, people watch, and just appreciate life.  

The coffee here is another story.  Everything is made with whole milk (caffe latte and cappuccino).  And when you order "coffee" like you would in America, you get a little 2 oz. cup with either 1 or 2 shots of espresso.  Espresso is essentially pressured steam/water in a small amount of compacted fine-ground coffee.  It involves a serious machine.  The Italians are very loyal to their cafes.  If you go to the same cafe every day at the same time, you will definitely run into the same people getting the same thing.  Or in the mornings, you'll see a businessman or father standing at the bar and take the espresso like it was a shot of alcohol so they can get the rush of adrenaline!  Otherwise, they'll sit outside, people watch while reading, writing, typing, or just smoking a cigarette.  1 Espresso will run you about €1,00-€2,00 depending on where you are in the city, and cappuccinos will cost about €2,50 on average.  Not too bad for a nice cup of joe!  However, if you want American coffee, you'll need to get an Americano, and they will give you a funny look and not give you cream.  You only add sugar.  Take it or leave it, they make that very clear.

Mornings here in Firenze, Italia are beautiful.  Italians do not have large breakfasts like us, Americans.  They usually have something very small, usually a pastry or croissant with jam and coffee.  Be weary though if you come to visit, a lot of the pastries here are no different than what you will get at home.  Although I have yet to get authentic Italian Cheesecake and Cannolli.   The time will come though where I will give in.

Do not expect large portions here, in fact, the portion sizes here are the perfect sizes (based on the fact that they're carbs, fats, and protein).  However, you better make sure you order something you'll definitely eat because otherwise it's a huge insult to the chef (and restaurant) if you do not finish your plate.  You are to eat slowly, and show that you are enjoying your time, company, and food.  If you want to eat quickly, go to a cafe.  But if you eat your food too fast at a nice, sit-down restaurant, it is a nonverbal sign showing that you really are in a hurry and you're not appreciating the dish the way it should be appreciated.  

Thanks for reading my blog, more coming soon!

Rievocazione Storica e disfida con l'arco

WATCH THE VIDEO AT THE END!  Every year on september 9th (ish), a little town in Italy, Montopoli in Val d'Arno has a celebration remembering the renaissance times and is essentially a bow and arrow competition.  It's actually a gorgeous city sitting on top of a hilltop, offering homemade crafts, goods, and LOTS of food!  Unbelievable small dishes that use very little, yet simple, ingredients.  Kids flocked the streets with ceramic birds filled with water that when you blow into them, a chirp is made, making the sound of the air a beautiful place.

One of the few things I got to try (food wise) was a Ciaccino.  These are very local here in Montopoli in Val d'Arno.  Essentially what it is is pasta dough rolled out, which was then deep fried, and you had your choice of salt or sugar on top of it.  We have to (obviously) get both so we could try it.  And let me tell you, it was absolutely DELICIOUS.  Who knew a total of 4 ingredients could make such a delicious treat / meal!  Everybody was walking around with bags (dripping with grease) and destroying this delicious treasure.

Another delicious treat we had (wasn't much of a treat), but a meal to the least was Ciaccino Ripieno.  What the gentleman told me was "Dough with stuff in it."  I said that's okay, I'll go for gold.  Most people were getting prosciutto in it (ham) but they ran out because it was so popular.  So Jason (my roommate) and I settled for salami (which in all honesty I think was the better choice).  All that they did was bake pizza dough in a homemade brick-like oven until it was a little charred, threw some olive oil on it, and gave you some delicious salami with nice big hunks of fat in it!  The flavor was to DIE for.  There was no cheese, lettuce, tomato, sauce, ANYTHING.  Just meat, and bread.  Two ingredients, but packed a TON of flavor.  I wish I could share some with everyone that's reading this blog, but my words to you would just say to make basic dough, bake it with olive oil on it, then throw some salami on it...It won't be the same though.

Everyone was dressed up in costumes to fit the occasion.  Knights, maids, beggars, kings, queens, townspeople.  If nobody had a cell phone, you could have swore you just travelled back in time.  Quite an amazing experience.  So, for you folks back home going to RenFest, you haven't really experienced a renaissance festival until you go abroad to get a full feel for what exactly it was like!  To make it even more authentic, everybody's native tongue was Italian (go figure), so they didn't have to act with an oldish accent.  It just came natural to them ha ha.  As you can see on the right, even the kids participated!  The city (and area) was divided up to (I think) 4 different sections, in which they competed in archery competitions throughout the day, and the best archer represented his section of the city.  It was an honor if they won the competition.

Festa Della Rificolona

Festa Della Rificolona.  Every year on September 7th, the children in Florence, Italy walk in a parade with family, friends, a band, and more starting at Santa Croche, and ending in a plaza around Il Duomo.   The reason of this is because farmers, traders, would come in to celebrate the birth of Virgin Mary.  People would then sell their food, goods, and services because of the abundance of people that would be there for the festival.  Today, there are a few food vendors and a gathering where the mayor speaks and there are a few performances.  I went to the festival and participated with a lantern (even though I’m not a kid, I wanted the full experience) and tasted some new sweet treats that I’ve never had before.  Everything was abundant and delicious.  I wish I could learn some of the recipes that were used.  On the following day, part of Il Duomo opens up and has free entry in honor of Festa Della Rificolona.  I spent the evening with a woman from Kazakhstan who knew a lot about Italian culture.

 If anyone ever gets the chance to witness this awesome gathering, you will not be disappointed!  Children were flocking the streets and parents, restaurants, families, and friends were all gathered to watch this event.  Overall, it was a ton of fun.  Check out the video, it's not much but it's a quick idea of what it was like!  I couldn't get in a good enough position to get everything and see all of the lights. 

Classes begin!!

So classes started this week, that's why I haven't been able to post lately, but figured during my down time (I have a 3-hour break between classes) I could get everyone caught up-to-date on what's going on in the land of Firenze, Italia! 

I've actually learned quite a bit in my first week of classes.  First, we'll start with ITAL 101.  The most basic course for learning the Italian language.  The class consists of 10 students (8 girls, 2 guys) and one professor who is extremely fluent in the Italian language.  He has quite a bit of character, and almost reminds me of somebody I know because he's just an overall nice professor.  No homework (yet) for this class, but I'm sure it's going to be heading my way this evening (this is the second class I have tonight).  We've been doing basics such as greetings (ie. Ciao, Buongiorno, Arriverderci, Buon Serra).  In addition to learning numbers and the alphabet.  He reminded us that we need to clear our minds of everything we know about our current language (it's harder than you would think), but he promises that if we REALLY put our minds to it, in 2 months, we'll be pretty fluent and be able to understand every day conversations.

Next class is Quarters of Florence:  A History.  This class is probably the most interesting class (so far).  My professor is a little difficult to understand at times, nonetheless, he has a TON of energy and lots of excitement towards the city of Firenze.  During the first 2.5 hour lecture, he gave a brief introduction to how the city started, and where everything USED to be located.  We then took a short 5-minute walk down the street to where the local market used to be, in addition to the middle of the city where farmers, traders, locals, performers, would spend their days.  The city dates back before the 5th Century B.C!  Unbelievable.  However, a lot has been torn down and rebuilt over the last few centuries.  But after time of studying old materials and maps, we were able to get a feel for what the city was like.  I'll take some pictures later and explain in another post, I didn't have my camera at the time.

 My third class, my wine and culture class.  We tasted a whopping 4 different wines!  Who knew one could learn so much about wine, taste, texture, feel, boldness, bitterness, making, and origin of wine in 2.5 hours!  I feel like I'm going to know so much more about wine when I come home, and I can start making better buying decision when it comes to selecting Italian wines.  The class includes a tasting of over 70+ wines all around Italy, including a few excursions around Italy for field trips to the actual estates on where the wines are created.  There is a surcharge, but it's totally worth every single Euro.

By the way, the symbol for a Euro is €.  Also, they don't have decimal places like we do, they use comma's.  For example, one of the books I bought today was €4,80.  Not bad for a textbook.

My fourth and final class, in which I had earlier today, is Intercultural Communications.  I have a pretty young professor with a great sense of humor.  We didn't do much in that class besides get to know one another.  However, it's going to be fun working with students from multiple other states in the U.S., and 3 other countries including: Mexico, Canada, and S. Korea.

Thanks for keeping up with my blogs everyone, let me know if you would like for me to highlight something! 

Short little morning adventure

Ponte Vecchio

Yesterday, I took a stroll throughout the city early in the morning before the whole city woke up with tourists.  Woke up to coffee, and a new discovery:  Oatmeal with Nutella in it.  It definitely hits the spot, and it's absolutely delicious.  One of the POI of this city is the Ponte Vecchio.  This has been rebuilt numerous times in the past due to major storms that has happened in the past.  But the most recent "historic" happening was during WWII, during Nazi, Germany's retreat.  All of the bridges were blown up and destroyed to prevent the Allies from crossing the river, however, Ponte Vecchio remained in tact. 

Walking across the bridge, there's a ton of jewelry shops, tourists, and street-shops trying to sell tourists little knick-knacks and etc.  But it's interesting to hear all of the different types of languages.  Apparently Florence is like Disney World to Europeans.  It's where many Europeans go to relax and go on vacation.  All the streets are swarming with people dragging luggage around.  At one point, I saw somebody riding a bike dragging luggage behind him, smart guy.

 This gate is around one of the statues on Ponte Vecchio.  Many people go out and buy locks, write their name along with their significant others, and lock it onto the fence.  Apparently this trend started not too long ago, but recently, authorities have made it illegal in order to do this because it's damaging the art.  Now, if somebody is caught putting a lock on the fence, they can be charged up to 50 Euro, no questions asked.  Sadly enough, as cool as this is, a local was walking around it with a large chain of keys and taking the locks off of it for his own personal gain.  What he was doing with them, I'm not sure.

I can't believe how large the city is, and how much food, shops, people, clothing, streets, and more it has to offer.  People have cars, but it's rare that they drive them.  Everybody walks.  As a matter of fact, Copenhagen, Denmark is creating a a bike-highway for everyone.  Very interesting!  Maybe we should do stuff like that!

First time cafe experience

The streets are booming with "ciaos" and "grazies."  People are constantly on the move whether it's through walking, mopeds, or bicycles.  I'm starting to realize how lazy and not efficient we are with some of our tactics.  People here are very intense about food, wine, and resources.  Not wasteful whatsoever.  Absolutely incredible, I love it. 

I ate at a cafe yesterday for lunch. As you can see, it was called "Jolly Cafe." I started using a little bit of my Italian and ordered myself espresso and some bruschetta.  It was more of a pizza parlor, but I didn't want pizza.  I felt bad when I couldn't finish the whole thing!  They give smaller portions than they do in America, however, I just have a small stomach, so I can't eat a ton of food.  Nonetheless, it was delicious.  But with most (if not all) of their entrees and sandwiches, are much smaller portions than what we're used to in the states.  So if you're a big eater, you better get used to eating smaller portions! Also, you don't necessarily need to tip here in Italy, usually outside of the restaurant or on the menu, it will tell you if the final price includes gratuity.  If you're still unsure, it doesn't hurt to leave a few coins around.  But everyone is very nice, and they usually cook at their own speed and serve you when they're ready.  When you eat out, you should be in NO RUSH, otherwise, you're going to make yourself stressed, and look weird to them.  It's not uncommon for people to have 2-3 hour lunches and dinners here in Italia.

Oh, and look who finally decided to show up yesterday?!