Wine Tasting

I'm not much of a wine drinker, but when our friend invited us to go to a free wine tasting in an Enoteca (wine shop) on Thursday, we couldn't say no.

Making Gelato

Today, we went on a school activity to see how gelato is made in one of the numerous gelaterias in Florence. It was really neat, and included a free cup of gelato! I got biscotti (cookies), cheesecake di fragola (strawberry), and Ambrosia (yogurt, honey, and cinnamon) yuuumm.

Antica Gelateria Fiorentina where we got to watch chocolate gelato being made

Scambio di Conversazione

A while ago I signed up for a scambio di conversazione (conversation exchange) with the university. I got paired up with an Italian and we get to talk to each other in Italian and English a couple hours a week. Today I met my partner for the first time and we spent some time getting to know each other.

Her name is Silvia and she is 4 months pregnant with her first child. She lives in Prato, which is very close to Florence, and she work(ed) here, for the police. She's traveled around the US before (the East and West coast) and she really wants to go again. She loves all the different ethnic foods and, interestingly, the large cups of coffee. I was baffled to find an Italian that prefers American coffee. Silvia said she likes Starbucks and there is only one in Italy, in Rome. Her favorite Italian food is pizza.

I will get to know Silvia much better throughout the semester. I am excited about being able to talk to someone one-on-one in Italian. I'm already feeling my Italian improving :D

I put up 4 more recipes that we made today in cooking class. If any of you get a chance to try any of the recipes, I would love to hear how they turned out and what you thought!

Ciao!
Caitlin
  

On the way home

So on the walk home from the bus station Saturday when we came back from Siena, we ran into a saxophone and drum band in the Piazza della Repubblica. They were amazing! Even though I ran out of battery and Kristen ran out of space, we just put my memory card in her camera so she could record them. Here are a few songs for your viewing pleasure:

   

Siena

Kristen and I took the bus to Siena yesterday! Siena is only an hour and 15 min away, and much smaller than Firenze. Some roads are a bit steep as the city sits on a hill. Vivaldo told us that in the medieval times, Siena was an advanced city because they managed to transport water up and, without a river running through in like here, it was much safer. It was so foggy and cold in the morning, but it eventually it got nicer.

This is a loooong post, but it isn't even half of the pictures I took (all of them are on Picasa):

Piazza Salimbeni