Parma and Modena

Today we took a bus to two different cities in Italy, Parma and Modena. There were about 25 of us that went, and we had to meet this morning at 6:15am, so it was an early one!

The first stop was to the Parmigiano Reggiano factory, which was incredible. We took a tour through the factory, watched the master cheese maker take the whey from the previous fays cheese, and start a new batch for today. A little history, this cheese has been made for over 8-- years, and the process has changed very little. It is truly an exact science, and the techniques were like watching hands of magic. The important part that sets this cheese apart from other varieties, such as parmesean cheese, is the cows are raised in Parma, the feed that is fed to the cows is grown in Parma, and the only way this cheese can be called Reggiano is because of this local process. We stood in the warehouse room where the cheese is aged, shelves stacked floor to ceiling with rounds of cheese weighing up to 90 pounds each. They are checked very regularly with specific tools to check the aging process and make sure nothing is going wrong with the cheese.

The second stop was in the town of Parma, we walked around for an hour or so, had some lunch and wandered though a chocolate festival that was going on this weekend. I tasted some yummy treats!

Back on the bus, we were on our way to Modena. Here, Traditional Balsamic Vinegar is made. It is a rather simple process, but the aging time is very long! The vinegar sits for a minimum of 6 years, and there really is no maximum. We tasted 6 year old white balsamic, made from white grapes, 12 year old Traditional and 25 year old Traditional. All I needed was some fresh strawberries and vanilla gelato to go with the balsamic and it would have been heaven. 

Next weekend we are off to Rome, for a hopefully sight-filled and INEXPENSIVE trip around the city!

Love you you- Ciao Bella

Italian Update :)

Hey there all my fans!! Haha, just kidding :)

I haven't blogged in a little while, I have been really sick and in bed for most of this week. I went to the doctors on tuesday, a British man who was very sweet and fixed me right up. I spent all day wednesday in bed, didn't get out once, and then slowly moved around thursday, went to class because I was getting cabin fever. Thursday night we went to soccer, Fiorentina vs. Amsterdam, boy those fans are insane!! Flags and chanting, and they are all dressed in purple and red, which is our teams colors, and the opposing team has to enter at a different part of the stadium and sit totally separate from the Florence fans because there is so much fighting between the them. It was below 20 degrees outside, so us girls we so cold! 

Today we went to Chianti Classico Vineyards, and had a wine tasting. It was fun, but I didn't feel it was worth the 30 Euro I paid to go, and since money is so tight, I can't be spending it on things not worth while. Tomorrow we are taking a trip to Parma with school to learn about cheeses and prosciutto and balsamic vinegar, so that will be interesting, and more up my alley!

Miss you all! I will write more this weekend!

Love you- Ciao Bella

Carnevale!

Yesterday we went to Carnevale in Northern Tuscany, it was so awesome! This is the traditional celebration before Lent begins. It is similar to Halloween in that people wear costumes and hats and masks, but also similar to a fair, with music, food, booze and lots of fun! The highlight of the festival is the parade, which is several floats that are HUGE!! and made of paper mache. They move and make noise, and people wear costumes on the floats. Many of them are models of political figures in Italy, and there was one of Obama, which was exciting to us American girls :)

The bus ride was pretty fantastic too, it was on a nice country like freeway, similar to HWY 1, and a view of the Ligurian Sea. This sea borders the west coast of the country. The Carnivale took place right along the waters edge, so at the end of the day, after much fun, we enjoyed huge delicious gelato cones and the sunset on the seashore. 

Hope you all spent your Valentines with the ones you love, I was thinking of you all and wish you a wonderful week. 

Ciao Bella Mio Amichi 

Squolla de Italia!

I just remembered that I have yet to blog about how classes are going, which is the main reason I am here, so its about time I share the good stuff.

I start my week with Italian on Monday mornings at 9am. Its a great class, and although learning a language is difficult, my teacher is very attentive and helps to explain all of our questions. I can't wait to be fluent!

Monday afternoons, its to the kitchen! I have my baking techniques class, which gives me one more reason to visit the school gym a few times a week. This class is really fun, and its very educational. The different types of flours they have in Italy are not available in stores in the U.S., so I am learning about new textures and glutens and proteins for different types of breads. I think I can order these flours online, which will be a goal of mine when I come home.

I go to Yoga on Monday nights with a roommate, its pretty fun! We even got the guys to go this week, so that was humorous. Hopefully they will come back.

Tuesday mornings I have my management class at 9am. This class is a bit repetitive to the class I took back home, but I know its important information to help with Catering, so I will sponge up all the information I can. After that, I go to my wine class, which is great, as I am sure you expected. I am a rookie when it comes to wine, so I am learning a great deal in this class. We are taking a field trip next Friday to a winery outside of town, and it is famous for its Chianti, so I am excited!

Tuesday nights I go to pilates with a different roommate, this is a new thing for me because I had never been before I came to Italy, so its fun and a good workout at the same time!

Wednesdays is back to Italian in the morning, and then the class titled Tradition of Italian Food and Culture, otherwise known as LUNCH!! Its a great class, and very tasty as well. Today we made Risotto with white truffles, yum!

Tomorrow, or Thursdays, I have one class, Italian Creative Cuisine, at 3pm, which is great because we focus a lot on presentation and the combination of different flavors. Its very fun!

Needless to say, I truly have found my niche, and I am completly in love with school! Off to the gym, I need to work off all this eating! Ciao Bella!

Sienna and Venice! Bellisimo!

This was a wonderful weekend!
Friday I spent the day in Sienna with my roommate Bonnie and her father. They had a rental car and we drove about an hour and a half out of the city into the country. The scenery was beautiful, I can only imagine what its like in the spring and summer months. The city itself is smaller then I expected, but they have a huge soccer stadium, so that was fun! We enjoyed an authentic Italian lunch and I also had a gelato cone. It was nice and peaceful!

Saturday and Sunday, Alex, Molly Taylor and I spent the weekend in Venice. What an incredible time we had! When the train first arrived at the St Lucia Train Station, we were surprised to see we truly were surrounded by water. Upon exiting the train station, we bought tickets for the water taxi to take us to our hostel. We were so enchanted by the city “streets” or canals as they are really called, and took tons of pictures of the surroundings. When we exited the boat, we found out hostel and went to check in.

When we got there, we were unpleasantly surprised to see that there was nobody there. We called, and knocked on doors, nothing. Finally, someone came up the stairs and checked us in, but he wasn’t very polite and we were a bit frustrated by then. After settling in and dropping off our bags, we set out in search of a gondola.

Before we left Florence, we checked the weather for the weekend in Venice and were told it would be raining, so we packed for cooler weather. Even though it only rained a little in the evening on Saturday, we were glad for the warmer clothes. We got down to the canal and found a gondola and driver, named Marco. He offered us 60 Euro, which is a total bargain, to ride on the gondola, so the four of us split the cost and smiled in delight. The boat ride was so peaceful; we snapped tons of photos and asked lots of questions. He took us by some buildings that were 500 or more years old! It was quite historical.

That night for dinner, we met up with three other girls who are here at school from the United States. One girl goes to school with two of my roommates back in Boston. Dinner was very tasty, but we were not expecting so much water! We decided to eat right on the edge of the Grand Canal, and where this was a great idea, we had no idea about high tide! When the sirens for the city went off, we asked the waiter what it was for. He told us it meant the tide was coming in, and in the next hour or so the water would raise into the streets all over the city. The hour passes quickly, and while I am enjoying dinner, I start to feel the puddles below my feet. By now, my shoes have soaked up water and my feet are wet! What an experience!

The next morning we decided we wanted to go to the island of Murano, and because of the high tide that was still unusually high, the taxis were having a hard time getting under the bridges in the canals. I decided to walk around the corner and check things out, and I found a guy who was in his boat, engine running, music blaring, and I asked him where we could catch a taxi. He tried to show me on the map, and after telling me how beautiful and sexy I was, I asked him if he wanted to have seven beautiful American women in his boat. He said, kindly, for 50 Euro, so I hollered for the girls, told them the situation, and with huge smiles and squeals, we loaded the boat the Murano!

It was amazing, the glass blowing factory, which we were given a private tour, was incredible, and the art that comes from this island is fantastic! We all bought little trinkets to come home with and were so happy to have had such a wonderful experience!

Miss you all terribly, hope all is well! Xoxo- Ciao Bella

Duomo, The David, and Pisa

We climbed the Duomo yesterday, saturday, and it was incredible. 493 steps to the top, and when we reached the last few stairs, the sun was setting on the city, it was so amazing! We took several pictures, but for some reason blogger is giving me trouble when I try and upload, so hopefully I will get that taken care of before too long, I know you are all anxious for photos. The inside of the Duomo is also a sight to see. The round roof is all painted, with the most beautiful work I have ever seen, it was breathtaking! There are Mass services held in the church, and I am hoping to attend a few services while I am here, as they sound amazing, and are in Italian, which could be fun. We also went to the Academia Museum and saw The David. That was really neat, the detail on his hands and feet are amazing! We were not allowed to take photos in this museum but there was incredible art on all the walls, most of which are more then 500 years old so it was neat to see some ancient history. 

Friday night there was a welcome party for all the SAI (Study Abroad Italy) students, and that was also very fun! There were two free drinks for everyone, and loud music with a dance floor. My roommates and I danced until late, and then slept yesterday until 1:30 in the afternoon, so that was a new one for me. I have never slept that late. We are going to the same club tonight to watch the superbowl!

Orientation is all through now, and classes start tomorrow. I am excited to get into a routine and attend classes. They all sound so interesting!

Here is my school schedule for the semester, for those who are interested. 

Monday- I have Italian Language class from 9-10:15am

Tuesday- Restaurant Management from 9-10:30am

Wine Appreciation from 12-12:30pm

Wednesday-Italian Language again, from 9-10:15

Tradition on Italian Foods at 12:00

Thursday- Creative Italian Food and Decoration from 3-5:30pm

And I have friday off, which is nice, and so do all my roommates so we can get an early start to our travels for the weekend!

Today we spend the better part of the day in the town of Pisa. It is an hour train ride from Florence, and the tickets were only 5 Euros each way, so that was a nice little trip without too much of a cost. In this town is where the leaning tower is, which was pretty incredible to see. I also took lots of pictures here, so hopefully I will get those up soon. We met some guys earlier in the week, both of which go to Alabama State University and both of them are named Hunter, which is ironic, so we have been going out with them at night, and they joined us in Pisa today. Its nice to have some guys around, we don't attract so much "attention" from the Italians and other travelers. 

I miss you all so much, and hope that the weather is treating you well. It has been in the late 50's here, so not too bad. It rained a little today, nothing to heavy, but its nice for some cozy weather as there had been hardly any rain in California before I left. 

I will write again soon. Love you!! Ciao Bella!