College is Over

So today I took my last final as an undergraduate. I can't believe it! I am done with college and about to start my European adventure. I leave for Capri tomorrow with my program. Then Monday I head to Dublin for St. Patty's Day, London, Paris, then Spain for about ten days, then on to Nice, Portofino, Cinque Terra, and back to Rome. Quite the whirlwind adventure.

I think I am still in disbelief that I am done with college. We all went out for drinks and lunch this afternoon and it is finally starting to hit me that I am about to leave Rome. And leaving Rome means leaving my computer, so I will only be able to write when I find internet access. So right now is going to be all or nothing. 

I am pretty darn scared about my adventure but I know it is going to be amazing. It kind of feels like all of those times I have been scared to do things and mom has pushed me and then I end up doing them and having the time of my life. Except this time I don't have mom to fall back on. Its only me and thats all I have to go one. Kelly is traveling with me and we have things pretty well figured out, but it is still weird. Weird to be traveling all over Europe with nothing but a backpack. But I'm sure i'll manage. Please don't judge if I come home smelling a little funny. By the way, I'll be back in Phoenix on April 20th and most likely back in Seattle on May 13th. If all goes as planned. I should be in Seattle for a good bit of time before graduation, and then once again in June for the big ceremony.

By the way, for those of you who may not know, I am leaving Seattle and moving back to Tempe. I accepted a position as an elementary school teacher with Teach for America. So I will spend the next two years of my life teaching in low-income schools in the Phoenix area. Should be quite the adventure. Maybe even more so than my journey around Europe. And I will be coming back to my roots as a Sun Devil. I will be in grad school at ASU getting my masters in elementary education. 

Rome has been absolutely amazing. I can't believe that I have already been here for so long. Time really did fly by. The weather has gotten substantially better and today it was even warm and sunny. My apartment all bought shirts that read, "I love Rome" and we wore them around the city today, ate gelato and took pictures at all of the famous cites. Certainly a great way to end out stay here. 

So I guess thats it! I will try to write here as often as possible and check my email when I can. Luckily most hostels have internet and there are internet cafes everywhere! 

Cheers!

Let's Talk GELATO

Gelato is of course the most important food group in Italy. It is absolutely delicious and the perfect way to start or end your day.  Gelato can be at any time of the day. It is the perfect after lunch treat, mid-afternoon snack, and it makes a great dessert. Enough gelato can even qualify as a meal itself. There are plenty of gelato shops in Rome, just about an many as there are Starbucks in Seattle. Unfortunately, not all of them are fabulous. There are your typical chain gelato shops like Blue Ice which are great for a late night treat, but only a really late night, possibly after the bar. These shops are everywhere and unsuspecting Americans wander into to them quite frequently. We certainly did on our first few days here in Rome. We couldn't find the good places and we just had to have gelato. So we fell pray to the Blue Ice gelato gods. But alas, we discovered the best gelato in Rome. It is unlike anything you have ever tasted. Melts in your mouth, as perfect consistency and each new flavor is better than the last. This magical gelato shop is called Della Palma and is located just a few blocks from the Pantheon. Now you might ask yourself who Della Palma is my favorite gelato shops out of all the gelato shops in Rome. Well i'll tell you...

Della Palma has over 100 flavors. Yes you read that right, over 100 flavors and each and everyone of them is absolutely out of this world delicious! You can mix and match and never get the same flavor combination twice (but really I have found my favorites and have stuck to them.) And a cup or cone of two flavors of gelato is only 2 Euros! What a deal! I have tried many different flavors, but my favorite so far is crocalle de pistachio (probably isn't spelled right but it is vanilla with chocolate, carmel, pistachio, and some other random ingrediant which in the past has been heath bar, coconut, and marshmallow fluff.) Honey-almond comes in a close second and amarena, frutti de bosco, biscotti, and meringue are close behind. 

You simply can't get enough gelato in Rome. It is way too delicious to have only a few times. It is simply a staple of Italy cuisine, quite like pasta...everyone loves it! Now go out and get some of that American Ice cream because I bet you are salivating after reading this. It will be good, but probably not as good as the gelato from Della Palma!

Il Fornaio

So there is a great bakery just around the corner from my apartment. They also do quite a bit more than just bake. They have great pizza and sandwiches. They make their sandwiches with the biggest salami I have ever seen in my entire life. It sits just outside the store in a glass case and someone comes out and cuts it each time they need some. We know that they have gone through at least 3 salamis since we have been here because it gets smaller and then bigger. When mom was here she didn't believe me that it is actually there and they use it, so I took a picture. I will try to take more pictures as it gets smaller. 

Just some pictures!

Square in Florence on a beautiful day!
Duomo in Florence
View from the top of the Duomo
On the Ponte Vecchio
looking at the Ponte Vecchio
Riding Bikes in Borghese!
More Bike fun!
Our Bike, I got to drive!

Climbing the tree is Testacchio
The view from Testacchio
For your enjoyment! Cheers!

Florence, the second time around

So I decided to go back to Florence because last time I was there it was pouring rain and I had a little falling incident, go figure. But David's friend is studying abroad in Florence so I had a place to stay, all I had to do was get myself there. So I hoped on the Eurostar train at Termini and headed to Florence. Lauren was in class when I arrived in Florence so I spent about a hour wandering around and asking everyone in a Northface jacket (a northface jacket almost always means they are american and therefore speak English) where the street was that I needed to find. I eventually found Lauren and headed to her apartment. We at dinner and crashed, ready for our fun filled day.

On Friday we woke up to the most beautiful day. The sun was shinning, birds were chirping, and everything was fantastic! First Lauren and I walked to San Lorenzo leather market to do some shopping. I had a laundry list of things to get people at our favorite leather store. I got a great leather clutch, a present for Vanessa, and lots of things for friends back in Rome. Next we went to the Ponte Vecchio to get some gloves for mom and wandered around a little more. I bought a few bottles of Tuscan wine and we dropped everything off at Laurens. Then we grabbed a bite to eat and climbed up the Duomo, all 463 steps of it. The climb was totally worth it because it was a fabulous view and a great day to be up there.  

Italians know how to eat!

Now that I have been in Italy for just over nine weeks, I can say one thing for sure, Italy wins the food wars! The food here is unbelievable, yet everyone (and I mean most people) remain ridiculously thin! It is the most amazing thing! Everything is bread or meat or cheese or soaked in olive oil, but you can't seem to ever get enough. Plus, there are so many little open air markets, quite like the one that occurs six days a week just out side my front door, that there are fresh fruits and veggies every where. It is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Food, good food, a cook's paradise, just sitting here, waiting to be used.

Because of all of the wonderful food and amazing ingredients, I have been able to do my fair share of cooking. My new favorite thing to make is soup. I make all kinds of soups. I started out with just a little chicken noodle, but I have progressed up to a sausage soup (of course made with sausage from our favorite deli) and now I have been making tomato based vegetable soups (and of course I make my own tomato base.) They are delicious, I love having a nice hot bowl of soup for dinner. And top it off with a loaf of Forno's famous olive bread, mom you know what I am talking about, and you've got yourself a meal!

There are a few other staples that I have lived off of while in Rome. I basically always have cheery tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil laying around, makes for the perfect snack! Can't get enough of it. I also like getting focaccia sandwiches just around the corner from my place. My favorite is eggplant with cheese! Forno also has great pizza, thin crust of course! But my favorite pizza place thus far is over the Ponte Sisto in Trestevere. I'm not even positive what its called, I think it is La Renalla, but I might be wrong. They have thin and think crust pizza with everything on it you can imagine. My favorites are spinach with cheese or sausage. I took my mom there while she was here and she loved it. Its a great little place to sit and each and enjoy the locals. 

There are so many other amazing places to eat and I am getting rather tired. It's almost 2:30AM here and I have class in the morning. Plus I was us pretty late last night, we went to a bar called Big Hilda's Cafe. I have no idea why! Gelato will be my next food entry for sure, it is pretty amazing. But I will have to save time to write about the great restaurants, the coffee, and of course the wine!  Before I leave Rome I will have to write about all of the places I get my groceries and all of the interesting people I have met along the way doing so. And I also have to write a little more about all of the food I have been cooking and the recipes I have been inventing!

Until next time...

Cheers!

Benissimo...

View from the keyhole, this is incredible! It really is tiny and has the most amazing view... pretty much looks like a postcard!

             Sperlonga!




   Bernini's St. Teresa in Ecstasy 

What a wonderful last few days. I never thought anything could beat Venice but the last few days have done just that! We all turned in a huge paper on Wednesday and proceeded to celebrate till the sun came up on Thursday. One Thursday we went to a hew Churches, one of which was where Robert Langdon in Angels and Demons in order to save one of the Cardinals. We were at the Santa Maria dell Vittoria church with the Bernini sculpture of St. Teresa in Ecstasy. This sculpture was too "risque" for the Vatican,  so it had to be put somewhere else in Rome. But it is a wonderful sculpture. The rest of Thursday we simply recovered from the night before.

On Friday we went on a group excursion to Sperlonga, a beach town about an hour and a half south of Rome. We had the best weather possible! We walked along the beach with our shoes off, it was so nice to feel the sand in my toes and stick my feet in the water. We also visit the ancient "play house grotto" of Tiberias. And we ate a fabulous lunch overlooking the water. Couldn't have been a better day!

On Saturday, a bunch of us decided to be real tourists for the day and go explore Rome. We started off by heading over to the market in Testaccio. This market is a lot like the Campo but has more locals and a lot less tourists, therefore it is much cheaper! We got all sorts of fresh fruits and veggies plus dried fruit and nuts. After the market we headed up to Aventine Hill to check out the "keyhole." The "keyhole" is an actually keyhole in a door built by the Priory Knights of Malta. When you look through the keyhole there is an absolutely magnificent view of St. Peter's Basilica. It is hard to believe that this view is from a little tiny keyhole. We then headed back to the apartment to drop off our groceries and pick up some sandwiches from our favorite deli. And then went on to the Spanish steps. We picked up a few beers, sat in the sun, and ate our sandwiches right on the steps. It was such a beautiful day and it felt like the rest of Rome was sitting on the steps too! After our relaxing lunch we went up to the Borghese gardens and rented bikes. Now these aren't regular bikes, they are four person little "car" looking bikes. We rode around but it was very difficult because the park was INCREDIBLY crowded and avoiding people became quite difficult. But we had a blast. Our great day ended with iced coffee and a wonderful dinner! Can't wait for tomorrow!