An American in Paris: The First Night

Fall break was absolutely amazing. I am still in shock of how lucky I am to travel to all these beautiful places & to study in such a beautiful city for 4 months. For break I traveled to Paris & London with some friends and it was wonderful :)

The first stop was Paris...

Ashley, Teresa & I took a bus from Florence to Pisa on Friday the 21st. We flew out from Pisa because it's a much smaller airport & we scored really cheap flights (I'm talkin' no more than 20 euros cheap). The bus was supposed to leave at 11:15 but it left about 20 minutes later than expected and took a bit longer to get there than we anticipated. Needless to say we RAN through the Pisa airport to check-in and find our gate (let me add that I was carry a bag that was 15 kilograms (about 35 pounds) that had no wheels to drag.. it was not pretty). Luckily we made it to our gate with a little time to spare. We flew into an airport right outside of Paris (again, because it's cheaper) and then took another bus into the city. We were dropped at the Metro station where Teresa & I parted ways with Ashley (who met up with her mom) and we soon started navigating ourselves through the metro to find our hostel (again, all with a very heavy, awkward bag). We found our hostel with no problem and were finally there around 5pm. 

This was my first time ever in a hostel and in-all it was enjoyable. The only semi-problem was that Teresa & I thought we booked a 4-person all female room with an attached bathroom. Turns out, we booked a 4-person mixed room. So, we shared the other beds in our room with boys. But not to worry, they were all really cool, and from all over the world. We had people come in and out (since we spent 5 nights there) who were from Brazil, Australia, Germany & Turkey. The only inconvenience was that we had to change in the bathroom (not a big deal). Boys are usually more easy-going than girls anyways, so it was fine :)

the first night there we were pretty tired so we took it easy. We went to a cute french restaurant that was pretty close to our hostel and had some fries, a yummy burger and a delicious dessert. Walking back to the hostel we noticed a movie theater on our street, which made us SO excited since we've been movie-deprived since being in Firenze. We decided it would be cool to see a movie we had both seen but in French, since we both don't speak a word we thought it would be a cool way to try to pick up some of the language. We decided to see Crazy Stupid Love, but to our surprise when the movie started playing it was in ENGLISH! We were a bit disappointed, but it was nice to see a movie regardless. Afterward we went to bed and prepare for the big day ahead of us... 

Midterms are Over, Fall Break Begins..

I am finally done with midterms! These past three days have felt like forever & I am so happy I am done with my exams because now it's time for some TRAVELING!!

On Friday I leave for PARIS with my friend Teresa & we will be there for 4 days & next Wednesday we head to LONDON where we will meet up with my friends Karyssa, Amy & Jenny. I am SO excited about my upcoming travels & I have jotted some things down that are a must do/must see in both places

 

PARIS:

The Eiffel Tower

Go to the Lourve

Notre Dame

Moulin Rouge

Arc de Trimphe

go to abar called "Sexy Bar" that my friend Karyssa recommended.. haha

Get macaroons from Laduree

Luxembourg Gardens/Tuilerie Gardens

Pere-Lachaise Cemetery (this is where Oscar Wilde & Jim Morisson are buried) 

Obviously EATING as much as possible. Especially crepes & steak frites 

Visit Ile-Saint-Louis, where the oldest ice cream parlor in the world is, called Berthillon

Drink delicious wine

... really the list is never ending :)

LONDON:

Go on the London Eye, the largest ferris wheel in the world

Lots of shopping on Oxford street :)

Shops including, but not limited to Top Shop & Primark ;)

Stonehedge

Go to a show at West End.. Hopefully Les Miserables

Buckingham Palace

Eat CHIPOTLE! (I have been having major cravings for it since being in Italy)

Eat fish & chips

See the Clock Tower

... this list is to be continued as well. 

I am beyond excited for my fall break & I will be sure to take lots of pictures to share with you all :)

I'll leave you all with a few pictures of what I'll be seeing... really just to make you jealous ;)

 

clearly this is what I will look like while admiring the Tower

 

ciao

au revoir

cheers,

Erica <3

EuroChocolate Festival in Perugia

On Friday, October 14th I went to the EuroChocolate festival in Perugia. It was a lot of fun & I ate so much delicious chocolate.

Perugia is just under a 2 hour drive from Florence. We left early on Friday so we could have the whole day to explore around the city & obviously taste as much chocolate as possible. We got these things called "EuroCards" which gave us free samples & discounts at most of the booths at the festival. 

There were so many booths & so much chocolate! Seriously chocolate in any form you could think of.. they had it! It was heaven.

 My chococard! The border were all the samples & free things I could get

 The Dog Choco stand! They had a whole stand for dog & cat chocolate-flavored treats. I had to get some for Howie for Christmas :)

 My "hot chocolate" which was really just hot melted chocolate. It was pretty chilly & windy in Perugia on Friday so this was wonderful... & I might have had two... shhh ;)

 Chocolate liquor! I was able to sample it & it was seriously delicious... I might have gotten some as presents to bring home ;)

 Chocolate pasta... only in Italy would there be chocolate pasta

Mounds of chocolate

The day was wonderful.. I did my two favorite things in Perugia.. ate & shopped. We found this cute store and went in since we needed a break from all the chocolate & I found the cutest black leather vest!

Perugia was really beautiful & it was a perfect fall day filled with good friends & delicious chocolate :)

Ciao, Erica

Midterms...

 

Tomorrow is the start of midterms week & I have NO motivation to study. Back home I have little motivation to study but here, in Italy, there's practically none. There are so many other things I'd rather be doing. 

But, nonetheless I will be studying practically all day today. And when I say study, I mean an hour studying, followed by an hour eating/on the internet/watching a TV show... haha clearly my study habits are bad, but to be honest classes in Italy aren't nearly as hard as back home. I think the professors know that we are all here to explore Italy and other places in Europe, so none of the work so far has really been that strenuous. 

So that's what I'll be doing today, sitting on my bed (because the library is closed today & our couch in the apartment is pretty much broken) studying. But, I really have no excuse to complain because after my midterms it's FALL BREAK!! And I am headed to Paris & London. Can't wait :)

Anyways, wish me luck & motivation to get through this day of studying. Also, I have a post coming soon about my recent trip to the Chocolate festival. This will probably be up later today since it will be a way for me to procrastinate haha :)

Ciao, Erica <3

October 12th Cooking Class

Every Wednesday morning I have my Contemporary Italian Cooking class & every Wednesday I say that the recipe from that day has been my favorite so far... 

So it will come as no surprise to you when I say that today, October 12th the recipe in class was SO DELICIOUS and has been my favorite ;)

We made Lasagnetta alle Melanzane, quartirolo e basilico, and for the 99% of my friends who don't speak Italian... Lasagna with eggplant, quartirolo cheese and basil. 

Here is the recipe:

300 gr (10 oz) eggplants (about half) already left 30 minutes under coarse salt to drain

60 gr (2 oz) grated Quartirolo cheese

50 gr (1 1/1 oz) grated Grana cheese

6-7 cherry tomatoes, dried in the oven

1 garlic clove

extra virgin olive oil

zucchini

a small potato

half a carrot

2-3 pieces of green celery

basil 

1 large layer of fresh pasta

 Raw Tomato Sauce: Peel 3-4 San Marzano tomatoes, take out the seeds, put them in a mixer with olive oil and salt and basil, and blend them into a sauce. See picture below :)

 

Vegetable Sauce: cook the zucchini, carrot, potato and celery in a small amount of water and a spoonful of oil on the stove. Once they are soft, put in a mixer with a small amount of cooking water, 2 spoonfuls of olive oil, 1 spoonful of Grana cheese and 5-6 basil leaves

the quartirolo cheese

Cook the layer of pasta in a large pan with salted boiling water; drain it on a cloth

The fresh pasta

Golden the garlic clove in olive oil and saute the diced eggplant, then mix in a blender. Spread the pureed eggplant on the pasta, sprinkle the both grated cheeses, distribute the chopped dried tomatoes. Roll the pasta layer and steam (or bake) them.

 the eggplant

 

Inside the lasagna, eggplant, both the cheese and a cherry tomato

Here is the finished product :) My lasagna roll, tomato sauce and vegetable puree

In class we called this "lasagna cannoli" because of there shape. It was so delicious and after eating 2 I wanted more. I'm so happy I decided to take this class not only to learn all these awesome recipes but also to eat foods that I normally would avoid. Yesterday if you had asked me if I wanted lasagna with eggplant and zucchini in it I would have turned up my nose and said 'absolutely not, I don't like those vegetables' but.. they were DELICIOUS. Being in Italy and being in this class is definitely broadening my food horizons.


 

Ciao, Erica <3

Orvieto, Saturday October 8th

On Saturday, ISA planned a trip to go to Orvieto. A small hill town about a two hour drive from Florence in the Umbria Region. It was so peaceful & beautiful there, it reminded me a lot of Lucca, which was a nice change of pace from Florence.

Orvieto is famous for the ancient city, which are a bunch of caves underground. We were able to tour one of the caves, which was cool to see but kinda of claustrophobic. I got a few pictures.. 

The Duomo was also really gorgeous. I'm beginning to learn that all the Duomos in ALL the cities are amazing. They are all so detailed, they are like huge pieces of art.

After our tour we had some lunch & did some shopping. 

 My delicious pasta

Orvieto had a lot of really cute pottery shops. This one place we went into was heaven. Everything was so gorgeous. The artist was working when we went in and she was the nicest women, she was so friendly and helpful when I was speaking Italian with her, she was really willing to help.. which I have found that not all Italians are, or they just immediately start speaking English because it's faster. But I really love & appreciate when they are patient with you & willing to help!

All of her pieces were so beautiful that I had to pick up some things... and some presents too ;)

 

Here are some pictures of the beautiful view of the town

 

 And some other random photos from throughout the day..

Ciao, Erica xo

Gusta Pizza

Now that I have been in Florence for almost seven weeks (crazy, I know) I definitely have certain places that have become favorites. I have found different shops, restaurants and places around the city that I love going to... so I thought I'd share my favorite pizza place...

GUSTA PIZZA

I have been to this pizzeria three times already since living here in Florence, and I assume that I will be going back A WHOLE LOT MORE before I leave to go home in December. For just 5 euro you can have a DELICIOUS margarita pizza. They have a few other types of pizza but the margarita is so good I have just gotten that each time.

The pizza is made in a wood oven and you can watch them while they make it for you. And... if you flirt with the chefs (who are all young, cute Italians) they'll make your pizza in a heart shape (see pictures below) :)

I will seriously miss the pizza in Florence so much, especially Gusta. It is so delicious and just a quick ten minute walk from my apartment. Makes me hungry for it just writing this quick post.... ;)

Ciao, Erica <3

Tre Gusti Per Un Dolce

For my Contemporary Italian cooking class we made a dessert today!! I was so excited, because baking is definitely more of my forte. We made a dessert called "Tre Gusti Per Un Dolce" or "Three Flavors for One Dessert." It was so delicious & I cannot wait until I make it back at home. Sadly I forgot to bring my camera to class, but this treat was so good I had to talk about it anyways. 

It was a layered dessert, with a "chocolate biscuit" or brownie on the bottom, then a layer of Coffee Bavarian Cream, then a chocolate mousse and finally at the top creme brulee. It was one of the most decadent things I have ever eaten.

Here is the recipe if anyone wants to try making this at home :) 

Chocolate Bavarian Cream

200 gr milk

200 gr heavy cream

6 egg yolks

100 gr sugar

4 gelatin sheets (softened in cold water, the squeezed)

50 gr instant coffee

Gently heat milk w/o bringing it to a boil. Beat yolks with sugar, then add the hot milk. Bring back to the flame and gently heat until cream thickens, w/o having it boil. Pass through a sifter. Add the softened gelatin sheets and the instant coffee. Let cool, then whip the heavy cream and fold it into the coffee cream. Cool in the fridge

Creme Brulee

250 gr dark chocolate

500 gr heavy cream

8 egg yolks

125 gr sugar

 3 gelatin sheets (softened in cold water, the squeezed)

Beat yolks with sugar over a bain marie, until the cream thickens. Melt chocolate over a double boiler and add to the cream, the add the softened gelatin sheets. Let cool, then add the whipped heavy cream. Keep cool in the fridge.

Creme Brulee

1 vanilla bean 

175 gr milk

175 gr heavy cream

150 gr sugar

6 egg yolks

Caramel: 1 cup of sugar + 1/2 cup water

Prepare the caramel by boiling the sugar with the water until the caramel forms. Drizzle on bottom of baking dish. Beat yolks with sugar. Gently heat milk with heavy cream and vanilla bean, then add to the egg yolks. Place cream in a baking dish and back at 100 degrees C for approx. 30 minutes.

Chocolate biscuit

150 gr chocolate

15 gr butter

50 gr sugar

3 eggs (seperate yolks from whites)

Beat yolks with sugar. Melt chocolate with butter over a bain marie, than add to the yolks. Whip egg whites and fold into the chocolate mixture. Place on baking dish covered with wax paper and bake at 180 degrees C for 5 minutes. 

Assemble the dessert by layering the creams into individual dishes. Layer with chocolate biscuit on bottom, then coffee cream, chocolate mousse, then the creme brulee. 

It was absolutely delicious!! I wish I had an actual picture to show you. Next week I will make sure to bring my camera to class.

Here a picture off of google to show you what the dessert should kind of look like:

This photo definitely doesn't do the dessert justice, but it's just to give you an idea.

Next week we are making, Lasagnetta alle Melanzane, quartirolo e basilico. Which means.. lasagna with eggplant, cheeses and tomatoes. Should be delicious!!

Thanks for reading!

Ciao, Erica xo

Fiorentine Versus Lazio Soccer Match

Yesterday, Sunday October 2nd I attended my first professional soccer game!!

I have grown to love any and all live sporting events so I was extremely excited that ISA gave us the opportunity to go to one.

It was so much fun! The only problem was that it was UNBEARABLY hot outside.

I'm not sure which was hotter: the temperature or the players ;)

It was about 90 degrees and everyone was sweating, but I think it was worth it to see the game!

We had awesome seats. They were on the ground about 5 rows back, so we had an awesome view of the game.

 

 The fans were CRAZY!!! It was a sea of purple at the stadium, so many flags & signs cheering Fiorentine on. There were so many different cheers & songs the fans were singing (I should have done research before hand so I could have sang along).

  

Sadly, we lost the game. It was close with a score of 2-1. Fiorentina was the first to score just ten minutes into the game. By then end of the first half it was tied, and then at the very end, with just fifteen minutes remaining in the game, Lazio scored. 

 Above is a picture of Teresa, Ashley & I

I got a few videos at the match. The first is of the players entering the field and the crowd singing the Italian national anthem, and the other a quick clip from the game. 

Ciao, Erica <3