Saturday, June 23, 2012

Best of Florence

Below is a guide I typed up for friends I know who will be studying in Florence in the future; some info was based on the guide that was sent me before I went.


Restaurants

-Birrificio Mostodolce (awesome pizza place, good goat cheese salad, and brewery!) Try the beer with honey in it!
-Gusta Pizza (known for the best pizza-thicker than normal Italian pizza though)
-Acqua al 2 (best steak I've ever had, get the platter with the balsamic and blueberry steak--sounds gross but its awesome and they're famous for it…Brad & Angelinas favorite)
-Il Gatto e Volpe (go with 6+ people and ask for family style--you pay 15 euros and get 4 apps, 4 pastas, wine and water, so much fun with a bunch of people)
-Dantes (free wine for students)
-Trattoria La Guido (they had a really good filled pasta with pears and cheese on special)
-Pepo (near mercato centrale)
-Salumeria Verdi (best sandwiches in town)
-Mario (supposed to be the best lunch place but I never made it in time)
-Dionoso (for you greek food craving)
-Salumancas (spanish food and the best Sangria with the big crazy straws)
-Il Latini (a huge restaurant that is always packed and widely known; can do family style for double the price of the other family restaurant, but all the food is so good)
-Pepe (neat restaurant in San Niccolo area)


Gelato

-Il Re Gelato (Best gelato in town! This is where the olive oil gelato was invented--must call ahead if you want it. They have different flavors every time-the greek yogurt with cinnamon is my favorite)
-Grom (Most famous gelato place in Italy, always a long line, locations in other towns nearby also; crema di Grom is their specialty flavor)
-Venchi (Known for their chocolates, all natural ingredients; they have gelato as well as an italian ice variety, in many other towns as well)


Markets/Shopping

-San Lorenzo Market (good cheap leather but not as authentic as Mercato La Loggia)
-Mercato la Loggia (best leather market in Florence, each stand moves around every day; 2 good brands are Christina Rui and Victoria, negotiate prices and smell the leather always!)
-Santa Croce (all the leather shops are here, but Old Florence leather shop is the best--to the left of the church…he gives you 50% off everything and free engraving for students)
-Mercato Centrale (the food market, make sure to go to Pasta Fresco in it and get fresh pasta the best thing we made it twice a week at least, cooks in 2 minutes)
-Ponte Vecchio (famous old bridge with jewelry shops lining both sides and big wood doors disguise them at night)
-Via de' Ginori 52/r (leather shop where the lady and her husband make everything)
-San Niccolo area (full of Artisan shops and cool artsy restaurants)
-Piazza behind Uffizi (really good canvas paintings from this guy with an eye patch, he hand painted one for me)
-Tuesday market in Cascine Park (from 7-1; you have to be ready to dig--its like a huge goodwill with food and much more!)

Night Life

-Red Garter (one of our favorites, pretty American but a good mix, karaoke every night)
-Kikuya (next to Red Garter, try the Dragoon beer, it's a good dark beer with 10% alcohol)
-Eby's (chill 2-story wine bar)
-Volume (locals wine bar in Strozzi)
-Cafe Bigalow (close to the Duomo, buy a card you get 3 for 10 drinks)
-Lion's Fountain/Lion's Den (where you'll always find someone you know, the typical American bar with all the colleges shirts)
-Friends (locals sports bar on the other side of the bridge)
-Art Bar (Monday & Wednesday- happy hour all night with big fruit drinks)


Sights to See

-Piazza Michaelangelo (climb the steps to see the most beautiful view of Florence/at sunset there's live music; Bobolino gardens right below it)
-Boboli Gardens & Pitti Palace (give yourself a whole day, so much to see; can study here too)
-Duomo (climb the 464 steps to get to the top; go right when it opens in the morning to avoid the crowd; wait in the other line to see the Basilica too)
-Uffizi (Main attractions: Michaelangelos "Holy Family", room 25; Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" & "Primavera" rooms 10/14; DaVinci's "Annunciation", room 15; Caravaggio's "Medusa" & "Bacchus")
-Accademia (the real statue of David)
-Santa Croce basilica (beautiful with the bones of Michaelangelo and tribute to Machivelli)
-Museo Salvatore Ferragamo (fashion museum with shoes and accessories)
-Museum of Alessandro Dari (went on a class field visit-the neatest jewelry I have ever seen-San Niccolo)
-Just past the Ponte Amerigo Vespucci bridge on the non-duomo side there's a little path that brings you down to the water where you can sit over the waterfall, drink wine, and watch the sunset-bring your camera


Other Italian Towns to See

-Fiesole (take the bus from Piazza di San Marco for 1.20 euro its only 15 minutes away or you can hike up the mountain. View of the whole city of Florence; best Indian restaurant in all of Europe!)
-Lucca (bike the ramparts-so cool and different; eat at Trattoria da Leo)
-Siena (so beautiful; spend the night and go to the towns nearby also)
-San Gimigniano (cool old Tuscan city with lots of little shops and places to eat; get gelato at Gelateria di Piazza)-great view of Tuscan countryside also
-Padova/Verona/Venice (weekend trip-don't stay in Venice, just go for the day because it's so expensive; Padova and Verona were great, Padova has a huge university so lots of young adults)
-Amalfi coast (weekend trip or more- stay in Sorrento and take the ferry to Capri for a day and do the chairlift to Anacapri, ferry to Positano also for good shopping/food. In Sorrento eat at La Tavolla di Lucello and get the pasta with saffron, zucchini, and clams!)



Ciao Ciao,
Tarra

Friday, June 22, 2012

Sights in Firenze

Piazza Michaelangelo


We climbed the steps up to Piazza Michaelangelo twice during our time in Florence. It wasn't too bad of a walk, because when we got to the top we had the most beautiful view of Florence at sunset, with live music, gelato, a bottle of wine, and good friends to share it with. The green David of Michelangelo is also here as well as the Bobolini Gardens just below it.



Climbing the Duomo 


The cathedral ceiling

On one of our last days, we finally made it to the Duomo before 9 am to climb the 464 steps before the crowd came. It was definitely a hike, so glad we wore workout clothes, even though it may have been looked down upon Italy. It was a beautiful day, so we got some great pictures! 



Museum of Alessandro Dari 


With our Anthropology of Fashion class, we went to Alessandro Dari's studio and museum where he was working diligently. We didn't get to talk to him much but his work is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. He creates jewelry as a goldsmith, sculptor, and pharmacist incorporating his own experiences into his art. At first look, you would have no idea it's jewelry until you poke around and look closer. He has produced 900 pieces that are all divided into collections that are inspired by Gothic art, castles, music, alchemy, and sacred art. Each collection has such a wonderfully deep meaning and connection to the physical and personal aspect of it all. You can check out his website here, since we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the museum, but I did sneak one from the outside. http://www.alessandrodari.com/eng-index.php For our class we had to right a reflection essay one of our visits, so I chose this museum because it moved me so much. 



Sunset on the Arno River 


We were running to the Tuesday market one morning and found this great spot with cement that goes over the Arno river where the waterfall forms. Just past the Ponte Amerigo Vespucci bridge on the non-duomo side there's a little path that brings you down here to the water. One night we went out there for sunset with a bottle of wine and took the most magnificent pictures. It's a great romantic place for a picnic any time of the day! 



Boboli Gardens 


On our last day, we tried to fit in Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens but definitely didn't leave enough for it. We went in through the palace and said we would come back to all the museums on our way out. We walked up the steps exploring the different areas of the gardens and the Porcelain Museum, ending up at the Bardini Gardens. There was so much beauty to see there but we didn't have time to walk through them though, we had to leave and pack up our apartment. There were people studying, having picnics, and going on long strolls through the beautifully historic gardens. I have heard the palace is amazing to see as well, it will be a priority next time I visit for sure. 


Pitti Palace

Piazza della Signoria



Loggia dei Lanzi


Palazzo Vecchio

The main square, Piazza della Signoria, houses the most important pieces of Florentine history. The Palazzo Vecchio (translated as old palace) stands out with its huge clock, is Florence's city hall. The Loggia dei Lanzi and Uffizi Palace are on one side of the square, and on another side is Accademia, which houses Michaelangelo's original David, with the replica in front of the building for public display. Behind Uffizi, you can find the piazza where I got my canvas painting. He was a man with one eye patch who had a painting of green doors that looked very similar to our Florence apartment, so I described to him what was needed to make them look just like ours and he added just what I described and put our apartment number and a note to me on the back.
Our apartment door and my painting of it
Ciao,
Tarra

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Italian Food & Culture: Pairing Food & Wine

Marco cooking for us on test day
This food and wine class I took was the most beneficial class I have ever taken. I learned more in these four and half weeks of class than I have learned in all my years of schooling. Our teacher, Marco, had such a passion for his class that made the world of a difference. Each class, we would spend the first hour learning about the recipes and the history of each along with the wine that would be paired with it and why. The next hour of class was dedicated to cooking four courses. We were split into groups and shared the kitchen accordingly. The last half hour of the class was meant for eating the food, analyzing the wine, and discussing the pairing amongst each other. We always were behind schedule and often the courses weren't able to be served in the proper order, but they still all tasted amazing and we were able to have seconds each and every time. Thanks to the timing of this class and amount of food we ate, I didn't have to eat much beforehand, which saved a little money. The best food I had in Italy was always in my class, because we got to try so many authentic Italian dishes, and we knew exactly what was going in them. The thing that makes Italian cuisine so marvelous is simplicity. Only a few things are in each dish, so the individual flavors jump out at you, making for a memory in your mouth.
Mercato Centrale
Aside from our cooking days in class, we went on a few field trips as well. The first Florence city gourmet visit on was probably my favorite. We went to Mercato Centrale, the main food market in Florence where locals go daily. My roommate and I had already shopped in the market multiple times, but were always unsure which place to get fruit and veggies from, which meat and cheese shop was best, where to get the best bread, and so on. Pasta Fresca was one thing I'll miss the most about the market. They would cut fresh pasta for you in whatever shape/size you wanted, and had spinach gnocchi, ravioli, linguini, and much more. It was so great Marco took us to the market because he pointed out the not so good, average, and best places to get all different types of food. We started at one of the best cheese and prosciutto places in the market, where they arranged a tasting for us of five different cheeses and three types of prosciuttos. We tasted Picolino Toscano, four months aged; Pitto, from the Lombardi region and Milan, three to six months aged, and Parmesiano Reggiano, 24 months aged, topped with aged balsamic. We also tried brie cheese, which was more that six months aged as well as Tosco Mano, a blue cheese. As for the meats, we had prosciutto cotto, prosciutto toscano crudo, and soprasatta. We were explained the differences of them all, the right order to taste them in, and how to order them when we come on our own with a student discount. We also went to a pastry shop in the market where we got to try sciachatta, which is bread that is pressed flat. The most humorous part of the visit was when we went to the coffee bar in the market and the guy gave us a glass of grappa for everyone to pass around and taste. Well the first guy in our class to try it just downed the whole glass himself, not knowing what it was really. Everyone was astonished and waiting for him to fall over or throw it up, but luckily neither of the two occurred.
Gelato Master

The next gourmet visit we had on the same day was to Il Re Gelato, a special sicilian pastry and gelato shop, that instantly became my favorite. We first tried cannolis and fried sweet rice balls while we learned what the different flavors of gelato were that they offered and heard about a creation they made in a container with seven different layers of gelato and fillings. Next we got to go in their gelato kitchen and hear from the head chef how they make their gelato and a new thing they are trying by making it with an olive oil base. He called himself crazy for doing it but it really is a genius idea and tasted so smooth. He topped it with breadcrumbs, parsley, croutons, and a chili pepper, making it into an after dinner gelato, incorporating food flavors rather than sweet and fruit flavors. He has a dream of opening a restaurant in New York City based solely on gelato for every course. It is such a genius idea and would be so successful in New York. 

Alessi Wine Cellar
The next visit we went on was to the wine cellar called Alessi where we learned about the proper position wine should be stored so that it keeps contact with the cork. We also walked around the cellar which was divided by regions, learning about the specialty of many of them. We then had a tasting of three different wines with bruschetta, including a Chianti from the hills of Siena, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, and a Moscadello amber dessert wine. It was awesome to see an actual wine cellar in Italy, wine country.

Our next visit that day was to Grom. We watched the making of gelato and learned the history of the company and how it started. I definitely have to say Il Re Gelato is my favorite because it is a small, individual shop, making it much more authentic. While Grom tasted excellent, the fact that it is a chain changed my opinion of it.



Wine tasting in San Donato

Our last and biggest fieldtrip was a visit to Fattoria San Donato, a wine and olive oil producer at a vineyard near San Gimignano, about an hour and half south of Firenze. We heard from the guy giving us a tour about how the vineyard has been passed down in his family for many generations with wines being named after most of his family members. I thought this was a really neat idea. We enjoyed a Vernaccia and Chianti produced there, and paired them with a variety of foods including bread with their olive oil and salt, prosciutto, salami, brie, saffron paste, and a separate bruscetta. I made sure, as always, not to let any of the food or wine go to waste before leaving the room. I bought a bottle of their Chianti and olive oil to bring home to remember this visit, but ended up giving the wine to Carly's aunt and uncle in Tuscany, who let us stay with them at the end of our trip. 
Making spinach ravioli from scratch
Previously I had thought I knew a lot about wines since I got tested on them at the restaurant I worked at (their region of origin and describing characteristics to customers). The bit of knowledge I had helped me understand everything else I learned in this class, but in the scheme of things, I knew barely anything about wine. Upon leaving to come to Italy, I told my restaurant if they let me go and come back next school year I promise I will be much more knowledgeable about wine and food to enhance my skills as a server. This class has exceeded my expectations so much and has been such a wonderful experience that I will take with me for the rest of my life. I am so blessed to be able to take Food and Wine in Italy and learn from a wonderful Italian cook with such a passion for what he teaches.
Last day of class :( Never been so sad
Ciao,
Chef Tarra

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Barcelona, Spain

La Sangrada Familia  
After debating back and forth where to go on our free weekend, we agreed on Barcelona, Spain! We didn't have Friday classes so we were comparing all the options with dates, times, various airlines, and where to depart from while saving the most money. We kept putting off booking it, hoping that prices would go down last minute, but they never did so come wednesday evening around 9, we searched the best options at the time, and five hours later, just picked one from the spanish airline, Vueling, which was recommended to us. Well, it turns out that we were way too tired to be doing this so late, and booked the wrong flight, departing from Madrid instead of Milan. And even worse, I read the final information out loud to Carly to make sure we were booking the right one, and we didn't even realize our mistake until one of the other girls coming with us called and told us we were leaving from Spain and not Italy. The terms and conditions on the website said it was 39 euros to switch a flight, and we had two of them, but for some reason they charged us 156 euros, the price of four flight changes (we still need to call and get this money back). After this disaster, we decided to go to bed and book the hotel in the morning. Well of course on thursday morning there were no hotels or hostels open for thursday, friday, and saturday at the same place so when we found one available, we went with it. Before paying, the confirmation page said the price for thursday-sunday for 3 people. Well it just so happens that once I click pay, the confirmation page shows that that was for each night. Frantically, we ran to our advisors office to use her phone to cancel, and the company we booked through says the hotel system is down and this is not possible at the time. We leave for our field trip in food and wine class to San Donato in an hour and haven't began packing. Never receiving an email the rest of the day, we took the 10:30 plane from Firenze-Barcelona, not arriving at our hotel until 1 am, still unable to contact the agency to cancel the reservation.

fresh fruit juice, every flavor imaginable
Sending a few urgent emails paid off when I woke up the next morning to an email saying the next 2 nights were cancelled and we received a little discount. We booked a hostel in the lobby for Friday and Saturday night, then walked across town to find our hostel right on Las Ramblas, the main street in Barcelona. The hostel was a very interesting experience. Where we were consisted of 5 bedrooms, each sleeping 8 people in bunk beds. Every room except for ours was full of dirty Spanish men who smoked cigarettes all day long and never left. I showered at the beach, went to the bathroom downstairs at Burger King because ours was so gross, and slept on my purse every night. We got really lucky with the room we were in though, it was the 4 of us, a 20 year old boy and his sister from Madrid, and 2 guys from Hungary who were here for Sonar, the biggest electronic music festival in Europe all summer. There were no lockers at all so we were sketched out when the brother from Madrid was in the room every time we left and came back, but then learned our last night you really can't judge a book by its cover. He was only there in case his sister needed anything, she was 15, and in Europe that's comparable to an 18 year old in America. She would go out every night on her own and he had no idea where she was, but his job was to just stay at the hostel for when she returned. It didn't phase him at all, one of 8 children, and one of the most genuine and interesting guys we met. It was definitely an experience, but hopefully one that I'll never have to do again.
Ice Barcelona
Friday, we spent the day at the beach, where we first got lunch and a pitcher of Sangria, still in disbelief that after all the mistakes, we actually made it, and were here in Barcelona, Spain! Most of the women at the beach there were topless, and it didn't phase anyone at all. It was humorous when you can spot who's a tourist because they parade around the beach topless, making a big deal about it. That evening we found a hole-in-the-wall restaurant with Sangria, seafood paella, and gazpacho, which was exactly what we were searching for, typical Spanish food. Afterwards, we headed an Irish pub called Cheers where we watched the eurocup game of England vs. Sweden. It was awesome because everyone spoke English so we could understand their excitement and passion for the sport and this game, like it was their life. One time when England scored, these British guys lifted up our table spilling beers everywhere like it was tradition. When the game ended, we headed to the infamous Ice Bar of Barcelona. They have multiple ice bars in the world, but this was the first I had been to. It was much smaller than I expected, but we got cool parkas and gloves because the room was -10 degrees Celsius and everything including your drink cup was made of ice. We weren't too smart in planning though because we wore shorts and sandals, so couldn't stay very long.

Everyone else got really burnt on Friday, so unfortunately didn't want to go to the beach much on Saturday. In the morning we walked to the market where we got fresh fruit juice (they had every flavor imaginable) and a half kilo of fresh cherries. We then walked through the city, passing by the buildings by architect Antoni Gaudi arriving at La Sangrada Familia, which was interesting to learn that it has been in the process of being built anise 1882. Gaudi passed away in 1926, so other architects continue to work on it, with hopes that it will be finished in the 21st century. I stopped in the Nesspresso store, where I got dad the featured flavor and a free espresso to drink there, it was a great setup. We walked back to the market to get another fresh juice, Carrot Orange this time, and an unbelievable organic dish with a modge podge of stuffed eggplant, falafel, pita, spanish rice, and many veggies. We headed to the beach to swim for an hour and shower in the beach showers, getting more gazpacho and seafood paella on the way back to the hostel. We found an awesome antique market that was unfortunately closing, and wouldn't be open in the morning before we left, so quickly got a few things. We took naps at the hostel which made us extremely tired, and took a few of us to convince ourselves to go back out for our last night in Barcelona. We went to another Irish pub called Cheers, where they had live music and a fun atmosphere. We were tired afterwards, so just walked along the streets getting a glimpse of Barcelona's nightlife, where everyone goes out from 1am-6am. We headed back early, with our last stop at Doner Kabab to end the night great, and left early in the morning. I'm so glad we chose Barcelona for the weekend, it's a beautiful city where you can relax but still enjoy the history and architecture as well.


Ciao,
Tarra