In fair Verona, where we lay our scene

On a bit of a whim, I went to Verona (which is in Veneto) for the day with my flatmate Blair.  We'd heard it was a nice city and every girl is slightly intrigued by the idea of visiting Romeo and Juliet's city.  But we didn't have many expectations.

Verona Teatro

It turned out to be a much larger city than the small village we expected.  Once we got to the center of town, we saw the huge pink Colosseum!  The Verona Teatro seems perfectly preserved with all it's white and pink marble.  We were able to walk up and down the stairs, sit down, walk across the middle, and basically act like this was not an Ancient Roman ruin.  I liked it more than the one in Rome because I could really imagine what it would be like to watch a performance there.

Gladiators in Verona

Next we went to an incredible traditionally Venetian restaurant, the Osteria d'Ugo.  We had seen wonderful ratings online, so wondered down some adorable alleys to find it.  I had an amazing pasta with duck and truffle shavings.  No idea what the sauce was, but it was delectable.  For desert, we had a sort of blueberry pie with a sort of cinnamon graham cracker crust. Yum.

Christmas market

On our way to Romeo's house, we came across a huge Christmas market.  It had a lot of Austrian and German goods, beautiful handmade ornaments, and more Christmas knickknacks than could fit inside a house.  When we got to Romeo's "house" we were greeted by a nice Shakespearean quote, and nothing else.  Sometimes when you visit fictional characters, it's hard to get invited in for tea.
Hoping Juliet would be a bit more welcoming, we walked under a graffiti covered archway to a cute courtyard full of tourists.  The wall that people usually stick letters to Juliet was cleared, with a barrier explaining they wanted to preserve the wall.  The wall to a house of a made up person.  Ok.  The sign also tried to explain Juliet's family history as if she was a real person.  Someone had too much fun with the translation there.  There was Juliet's famous balcony, more eloquent than I imagined and a statue that everyone was taking pictures with.  It was a cute experience and I'm glad I did it, but I do have to laugh at myself a little bit.
Next we made our way to the beautiful pink Duomo.  The cathedral had the same marble as the Teatro; I guess it is from that area.  The church was beautiful inside; I'm beginning to think that Florence's churches are more conservative than others in Italy.
We went to the Verona Arena next, which was another sort of theater and museum of ruins.  It gave an excellent view of the city.  Verona's northern Italy location must be why I felt like we were in a different country.  It seems to have Austrian or German influences in the architecture.

View from Arena

Before heading home, we warmed up with hot chocolate.  Italian hot chocolate is basically like a cup of melted chocolate, so rich.
Our wonderful day had one downside, the ride home.  We paid extra so that it would only be about a two hour train ride.  Too bad the train sat idly at a station for 147 minutes.  There was a medical emergency, but it took an hour and a half for the stretcher to even arrive.  Since the announcements were in Italian, I misinterpreted one to mean that the train was going back to Verona and we would have a free ride in the morning.  Too bad all the Italians around me interpreted it this way too.  We all slightly panicked.  In reality, there would be another train to take people to Verona if they wanted to go back, we would just get to Florence really late.  Unfortunate situation, but once I got dinner at 11:30 and went straight to bed after, it didn't matter anymore, we had had a great day.

CALCIO!

The US is one of the few countries not obsessed with soccer.  Here in Italy, calcio is huge; I get the impression that fans never miss out on the game.  I've listened to it on the car radio and watched it on tv with Italian friends; if there is a game, they find a way to follow it.  The home team here in Firenze is Fiorentina, sporting team colors of purple and red.

I have been to two home games, neither against rivals, but both with fans acting like the Red Sox and Yankees were competing in the playoffs.  For the first game, I went with a large group, but my roommate and I bought the "wrong" tickets.  They are very strict about people staying in the section of their tickets, probably to prevent riots.  So we went to the Fiesole side of the stadium while everyone else went to the Ferrara side.  Turns out we were on the wild side which was worth being separated from the group.  The fans had huge flags and were singing the entire game.  They had loudspeakers so that one man could lead all the cheers, his voice was raspy by the end.  When Fiorentina scored a goal, you would have thought they won the World Cup.
The second game we went to was on a rainy night during the week so it was not as crowded.  The dedicated fans continued to cheer like crazy.
I had not seen much professional soccer before, preferring American football, but the players here are amazing.  The ball is passed from one person's foot to another person's head to another person's head.  What a sport!

Welcome to Florence

Atop the bell tower

When Dad and Bethany arrived two weeks ago, I was very focused on sharing the food with them.  So the fabulous time I spent with them will be recorded according to our meals.
Day #1

Eating lampredotto

Lunch:  Lampredotto and vino rosso.  One of the most notable buildings in Florence is the Duomo, so on our way to lunch, we had to stop for pictures and ended up climbing the bell tower.  After more than 400 stairs, we were ready for lunch so I led them to a local sandwich truck where they followed my advice and tried a panino al lampredotto.  This is one of my favorite sandwiches, it's very traditionally Florentine and hard to find elsewhere in Italy, so I was glad they took the risk to try it.  Lampredotto is cow stomach.
Desert:  I gave them a walking tour of Florence and we went to Santa Croce, Ponte Vecchio, all the usual spots, and we stopped at the wonderful Gelateria di Neri for gelato, cannoli, and profiteroles.
Aperitivo:

Piazzale Michelangelo

We made a long hike up to Piazzale Michaelangelo to have one of the best views of Florence.  On our way back down the hill, we stopped in a wine bar.  Along with our wine came incredibly thinly sliced toast drizzled with olive oil.  It was still too early for dinner, so we stopped along the way to ride a carousel in Piazza della Repubblica that I have been wanting to ride all semester.

Carousel

Dinner:  For dinner, we went to a restaurant that I've been to a few times before, Il Teatro.  We started with a tray of Tuscan appetizers like crostini, bruschetta, prosciutto, etc.  We enjoyed shrimp scampi, gnocchi, beans, meat balls, sausage, followed by some limoncello and bed.
Day #2
Coffee:  After attending Friday morning Mass at the beautiful Duomo, we went to an elegant cafe nearby for espresso, cafe americano, and a delicious sort of turnover filled with ricotta cheese.
Lunch:  Next we explored the Mercato di San Lorenzo, also known as the leather market, where vendors sell jackets, scarfs, purses, souvenirs, etc.  Dad was quickly wooed by a salesman encouraging him to upgrade his 20 year old leather coat.  Before leaving the shop, we each sported new Italian leather jackets.  Tired from out shopping spree, we found a very local spot for panini that Grammy and Grampy showed me when they were there.  Tuna, onion, tomato, mozzarella for me, and prosciutto, mozzarella, and tomato for Dad and Bethany.  Then Dad and I did a tour of the beautiful Medici apartments in Palazzo Pitti.
Wine Tasting:  Later in the afternoon, we went to a wine tasting that I had done with one of my professors.  The man who conducts the tastings, Pino, is the owner of a great deli, a wine connoisseur, and a Mario lookalike.  Before wine was poured, we sampled different balsamic vinagrettes and olive oil with bread and parmigiana, and learned about how they make such goods.  Then we moved on to the wines, learning the history and how they are made today.  We tasted a white and two different Chiantis alongside three different hams.  I was very happy to have Dad and Bethany there because it gave such a great view of Italian cuisine and the love for the products they use.
Dinner:  We power walked from the wine tasting to make our reservation at La Giostra.  This was the best meal I have had in Italy.  First we were served complimentary sparkling wine and typical Tuscan appetizers.  Then came our first courses.  Bethany had the best shrimp scampi I have ever tasted, Dad enjoyed a classic Ribolitta which I have made in my cooking class but his was better, and I had pear and pecorino cheese raviolis.  All the pasta was homemade and we were blown away by the food.  Next came something I had been wanting to try all semester, Bistecca alla Fiorentina.  It's a steak kind of like a porterhouse that is grilled only for 5 minutes on each side and standing up.  I'm not usually one to eat meat that isn't well done, but after realizing that I had eaten raw sausage a few weeks prior, I was ready to try anything.  And this was the best piece of meat I have ever had, ever.  Although Dad's baby back ribs are a close second.

Aboard the gondola

Day #3
Lunch:  After a bit of a train ride, we arrived in Venice on Friday, hungry for seafood.  We rode around on a water taxi for a while until we found a place that looked less touristy.  We sat in the sunshine by the canal and enjoyed seafood soups, pasta and clams, and seafood crepes.  We spent the rest of the day exploring the city, we saw the beautiful St. Mark's, and took a gondola ride.  Venice was such a unique city and was beautiful on such a sunny weekend.
Dinner:  We made a stop in a beautiful ritzy hotel along the canal for a glass of wine and to warm up a bit once the sun fell.  They had a lot of guidebooks, so we looked for the perfect restaurant.  And we found it.  It was deep into the residential area of the city where it was barely lighted.  Just as we started to think the guidebook lied to us, we stumbled upon the restaurant.  Our charismatic waiter urged us to get the chef's special which is three courses prepared according to what was best at the market that day.  So we followed his suggestion and enjoyed wonderful clams, mystery shrimp, tuna with a saffron and persimmons sauce, and a desert of chestnut mousse with a pastry.  It was so fantastic, everything was bursting with natural flavors.  The choices were so out of the ordinary, I never would have thought to order them otherwise.
Day #4
Breakfast: Let's just say we had a feast for breakfast full of prosciutto, salami, yogurts, pastries, and more at the hotel. Full and ready for the day, we went into Venice planning to go to the island of Murano to see the famous glass making.  Unfortunately, the water level was too high and we did not have time to get there.  Instead we relaxed on the water taxis and casually strolled the streets of Venice.
Lunch: Before the train to Venice, we grabbed a quick meal of pasta and clams, raviolis, and soup.
Dinner: We got to Milan when it was dark and rainy, so once we got to the hotel, we decided to make it an early night.  We went for a light aperitivo and then Bethany and I got grilled eggplant with buffalo mozzarella.
Day #5

Milan Cathedral

Breakfast: Another large hotel buffet early in the morning.  Dad and Bethany made their way to the airport and I explored Milan for a while, going to the cathedral and the designer stores.  It was great to see the cathedral because I had written a paper about it last year, but other than that, Milan was so spread out that I found it difficult to entertain myself.  Also, I was sad to see Dad and Bethany leave, we had such a great time.  I loved being able to show them my life here and teaching them everything that I have learned.

Bella Roma

Italy has been keeping me occupied and away from my blog, so it's time for some serious catching up!  Let's start at the capital, Roma.
Three weeks ago, I met my beloved Tufties, Miriam and Alex in Rome on a beautifully sunny day.  We were the crazy Americans in tee-shirts and tank tops on the 70 degree day; the Italians kept their leather jackets on.

Alex, me and Miriam at the Colosseum

First we did what ever tourist does, we went to the symbol of Ancient Rome, the Colosseum.  It was very surreal to be inside the incredibly famous and old theater, but having seen it in so many movies, it was almost like I had been there before, like it wasn't new to me.

Fontana di Trevi

Colosseum

As the sun set, the Colosseum and many other monuments closed, so we made our way to the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain.  Having just done an Italian presentation on La Dolce Vita, I was especially excited to see La Fontana di Trevi.  It was actually much more beautiful in person than I expected it to be.  Especially at night, what a romantic spot.  As I am sure many of you know, I would very much like to return to Italy someday, so I threw a coin into the fountain.
Next we crossed the Tiber River to enjoy a more authentic dinner.  Night one was fantastic pizza.  Exhausted, we went back to the Sleeping Beauty guesthouse and fell right to sleep.
Friday morning, we went straight to the Vatican.  The Vatican Museum was overwhelming, beautiful, incredible.  Every square inch was decorated with frescos leading up to the Sistine Chapel.  The whole museum was a bit of a sensory overload, in a good way.

Foro Romano

Next we went to Foro Romano.  This was like a playground of Roman ruins, we just got to stroll around like it was a park.  It could be a great place for hide-and-go-seek.  I think I liked these ruins more than the Colosseum because it was a unique setting and a place I knew nothing about.  That evening we saw Piazza della Republica, explored some churches, and ate a delicious meal on an unknown sidestreet.  I had some sort of shrimp and pasta and it was incredibly flavorful.
The next day, made a leisurely walk to the Spanish Steps, which were pretty but a boring in the grand scheme of things in a city like Rome.  We then explored the other side of the river and found a cute place for refreshing salads.  Then we made our way back to the Vatican to see St. Peter's Basilica.  All the churches in Rome where much more ornate than the ones in Florence, so I had high expectations for this basilica.  The dome was a beautiful silvery blue that seemed to reflect the sky, so the outside was stunning.  Upon our entry, I felt like I had shrunk.  Everything was massive and I was so small in comparison.  If they added clouds and more light, it would make a very good representation of what heaven might be like.  I especially loved the pinkish marble which shined it was so well polished.  That evening we went back to the area on the other side of the river where we were the first night for our last dinner together.

St. Peter's Basilica

The next morning, Alex and Miriam had already left, so I went back to the Vatican on my own.  There was a 9a.m. mass at St. Peter's so I got there fifteen minutes before it started.  Already, they were seating people outside in the piazza, after about five minutes I realized that the mass would be conducted outside.  Everyone was dressed up though which I found strange.  They were wearing all sorts Renaissance monk and nun costumes.  They were definitely not real monks and nuns. 
When it became 9:30 and mass hadn't started, I began to think something was up.  Some people were passing out prayer cards and everyone was getting very excited, almost competitive to get them.  The woman next to me got two of the same, so let me have her extra.  When I asked her who was handing them out, she noticed my accent and seemed very surprised that an American would be at this service.  We got to talking and I learned that she had come from Sardinia for mass today because it was a special mass for the Confraternities of Italy, that's why they were dressed up.  Mass did not start until 10:30.  When it ended at 11:45, the woman from Sardinia helped me find the window where the Pope would give his blessing.  There was so many people in the piazza, it had been filled with visitors and when the mass let out, we were all quite squished.  But I did find a good spot in the crowd and got to see the Pope.  It was quite the experience to see him, he has a very calming and kind speaking voice.  As soon as he finished, I ran back to the metro so that I could check out of the Sleeping Beauty in time.

Sunday morning at the Vatican