EuroChocolate Festival

We took a train for the first time since we've been here to Perugia for the EuroChocolate Festival! Getting there and back was an adventure itself (including a misprint on the ticket telling us to get on the wrong train and a huge crowd waiting for the minitram to get back to the train station, which someone told us the wrong stop to get off at). No worries though, cause everything worked out and we got to enjoy plenty of chocolate, yummm

The train was so full, we had to sit in the space in between cars. We had a lovely view of the bathroom.

The French Riviera

Sorry it took me so long to get this post up, I knew it was going to be a long one, so I wanted to make sure I had enough time to write it.

So, this past Saturday morning, Kristen and I left Florence at 5 to visit the French Riviera! We had 5 cities to see in 2 days, so it was a fast-paced and exciting trip, which included a TON of pictures:

First stop - Monaco, the second smallest country, only the Vatican is smaller.

Saint Nicholas Cathedral

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