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My host mom often introduces me to people as her "figlia acquistata," or her acquired daughter.




That's something I have been meaning to blog about for months but it always escapes me. It has a nice ring to it though.

life as i know it

just thought it was worth mentioning that i a) have a schedule for next fall and an idea for the spring and b) have a room in my beloved washburn house!!!


fall:
tennis, MW 1:30-2:30
italian seminar: creation of the italian identity, MW 2:40-4
medical anthropology, TTh 9-10:20
italian literature: dante, TTh 10:30-1120
advanced italian conversation, Th 3-4:20


spring:
an anthro course at another school, hopefully the anthropology of food or something similar
anthro seminal in traditional chinese medicine
anthro colloqium in research skills (or archaeology research skills at another school)


and as for rooms!
i will be living in 308 - cute nook for my bed, tons of space for desk, dresser and chair, and TWO windows!!! breana will be in 210 and allie will be in 208! i can't wait!!!

xoxoxo

barcelona, madrid and london. perfection.

I will warn you in advance that this is going to be both a long and rambling blog as well as one that isn't all that detailed because I would be writing for ages if I explained each day of vacation, not to mention that I can't even begin to remember it all!!! 


On Wednesday, March 31st, Breana and I left for Barcelona (along with a slew of other Smithies from our program so we all went together, it was quite the party!). We sipped some prosecco on the train, checked our bags and then proceeded to wait for a few hours since, obviously, RyanAir was running late. How surprising. By the time we go to the airport outside Barcelona, bussed into the city, grabbed a cab to our hotel/hostel/apartment and paid the balance and settled, it was almost 2am. Quite the travels! 

Some highlights from Barcelona..... Gaudi! Gaudi and his architecture and designs - so incredible!!! My favorite part of Barcelona was definitely Park Guell, high up on a hill, tons of little details that you could never get tired of seeing. Houses that look as though they were made of gingerbread, bright tiles, mosaics, quirky archways and benches, a lizard, and so on and so forth. 


Other than the park, I was pretty impressed by the Sagrada Familia... how something so incredible and interesting and unique could remain unfinished for soooo long is mind-blowing! Gaudi must be so bummed!!!! I also loved the little market right by our apartment where they sold fresh squeezed juice 2 for 1 euro! (Keep in mind that if you go right around closing you can have 4 for 1 euro!!!) 

Another great thing about Barcelona (and maybe Spain in general) are the fabulous parks! In Barcelona there is this amazing park called Parc de la Ciutadella. There is a huge expanse of grass and trees, a zoo, a pond with boats, a huge greenhouse, a castle and the Catalan Parliament! 

While we were in Barcelona, Alex and her friend Kaltra came down from London to meet us. We wandered and shopped and went on this amazing (and free!!) walking tour of the city with an adorable Australian man named Sean. I bought fabulous floral comfy cotton flowing pants (a necessity, I swear!) We encountered a little Easter procession complete with Mother Mary holding Jesus and a little priest who hopped up on the float to place Mary's crown on her head.

Throughout the trip we ate lots of tapas and little snacks, some Cheetoes and Pringles, and some flautas (little baguettes with cheese or meat or whatever you like on them). We learned that most of the paella in Barcelona (and Madrid and most parts of tourist Spain) is not even real. Its from a company that makes it and sends it to all the restaurants and its not at all like REAL paella. Therefore I never had any!! Alex and Kaltra tried some at this really amazing restaurant we all went to and it was pretty good. I had this great heap of seafood cooked in a cast iron pot with white wine and garlic. It was DELICIOUS!! One night we tried to go out but we just aren't Spanish enough and come 1:30am when it was still dead, we couldn't really last much longer! We did acquire a bizarre number of flyers for one (completely empty) club called BLVD. We ended up at some other place whose name I can't remember but it was kinda cute - white palm trees and pineapples inside, free entry, and a cute man who we assumed was Spanish but obviously he turned out to be... Italian! How surprising!! 

In a nutshell, that is a little summary of mine and Breana's trip to Barcelona!! Sunday morning we woke up at 5:30 (when people were just leaving BLVD and Panam's Showgirls across the street was just closing....) and hopped in cab to the airport so we could fly over to Madrid!

Madrid was amazing..... I loved everything about it! White buildings, stone buildings, a gorgeous cathedral, yummy food (not that we had anything truly Spanish, oops!), amazing hosts (we stayed with Breana's family friends, Samantha and her Spanish husband Juan - they were the BEST!!), gorgeous weather, a great day trip and incredible museums! When we got there Sunday morning, Samantha and Juan took us all around the city, showing us everything important. We grabbed some tea and then went out to lunch with them. Then we went to anotherrrr amazing park! It was huge!! With fountains and a really big pond and swans and a crystal palace with trees inside! That night, after napping for awhile, we went out for Chinese food and I have to say.... it was the best Chinese food I have ever eaten!!! And we were the only non-Chinese people in the entire restaurant.... it was very busy too.... 

The next day we walked all over the city again and went to the Reina Sofia museum. I loved it! I am often not a hugeee museum person, and I am rarely a contemporary art person but for some reason there was just something about the Reina Sofia that really hit me!! And luckily my best friend is very well-versed in art and could tell me all the important things about Picasso and such! And we met a nice man (whose wife went to Smith, of course!!) and he asked us to take pictures of this one exhibit and mail them to him because he is the president of this place that is working to digitalize art from museums. We have his business card - you never know, he could be a useful resource in the future!! 

On Tuesday we took a little day trip to Toledo, a cute little city which actually wasn't nearly so little as I had expected. A lot of the museums and things were closed for restoration but we spent the day walking around in the sun, looking ar various things that we stumbled upon. We went in the GIGANTIC cathedral, tried some famous (and delicious!!) marzipan, hunted for synagogues, threw our trash in the bushes after lunch because the waiter told us to and then took a huge outdoor escalator back down the hill to the train station. Overall, it was a success!! 

Wednesday we went shopping with Samantha although we didn't buy anything because her taste, although extremely cute and just what we liked, was a little pricey. It was nice to stroll around the little shopping areas that she loves though! Then we headed to lunch and as we were munching our salads, we cracked a joke about this woman wearing shorts and heels leaning against a tree because she looked like a prostitute. Turns out it wasn't really a joke.... we counted 16 in total... in broad daylight. On a very populated street.... standing by the metro, against trees and lamp posts, in doorways... everywhere.... it was shocking!!! We then went to the Prado museum to see a few amazing works that Breana had really wanted to see by Bosch (again, very impressed, I loved them! If I learned one thing this year in Italy its how to appreciate and enjoy art!) That night, Samantha and Juan took us out to this fantastic Mexican restaurant with Juan's sister and her husband and one of Samantha's friends. It was so much fun! We ate amazing food, drank the BEST (the ABSOLUTE BEST) margarita I have ever tasted, and then wandered around and sipped a beer with them after.

The next morning (after loosing my passport in my backpack for a little while... oops...) we headed back to the airport and headed home to Pisa. From Pisa, I headed to visit Alex in London and Breana headed back to Florence. I met Victoria at the airport and we flew off to the UK together.

I then proceeded to have a fabulous weekend with my bestie!! Thursday night we ate some hummus and bread in her kitchen and took the tube to a cute little place called Dirty Martini where she had a delicious Indian martini and I had a not so delish Cherry Blossom one.... The next day she had to work in the morning so I slept in and relaxed a bit. When she got home, we turned right back around and went to her favorite cafe for lunch and then went to Camden Markets. It was so cute!!! I apparently missed all the amazing parts of London when I went 5 years ago!! We strolled in and out of stalls for a few hours, sampled some amazing Chinese food and then ate some more laterrr (why did I have so much Chinese food over vacation?? Maybe I should go to China....) and then I finally bought a cute little dress for Isadora's bridal shower. That night, after I learned the wonders of Sainsbury's and their beer and cider aisle, we went out with Alex's roomie, Kaltra. We were going to go to a place called Strawberry Moon but when we got off the tube we were bombarded by promotors (a weird concept.... these men work for all the different clubs and get commissions or something so they just try to get you to go to all different places and cut you deals) and we decided to let them convince us of a different place called Pep-C (we only agreed because they promised to give us our money back if we didn't like it, but then the guy gave me his iPod and told me to hold on to it until we decided and if he didn't give our money back, we could keep the iPod... we decided they were at least somewhat legit). It turned out to be a very cute little club! It was much more diverse than anyyyy club here in Italy and although pretty tiny, it was relatively full! I thought it was pretty enjoyable! 

Saturday morning Alex and I went out to breakfast at an AMAZING little place she had been wanting to go. It was in Chelsea and so adorable, and on our way there we passed all these gorgeous houses and flowers and trees covered in blossoms and cute little churches with parks. I think I might be in love with London! I had no idea! I can't see myself living long-term in Italy but I could easily see myself in London! It's so great! And there are kids and parks and everything everywhere - much more family-friendly than Florence, that's for sure!! We had yummy lunch (nachos and a turkey burger) at a little placed called Giraffe and then shopped our bums off. I bought, among other things, two really fantastic dresses for my 21st birthday (okay, okay, I know its still 2 months away but I like to plan ahead!!). We went to Whittard tea which was my favorite part of my trip to London 5 years ago, but they must have closed to top floor or moved or something because when I went before, you could make your own loose tea blends and now you can't! It was a little disappointing!! Saturday night we were going to grab fish and chips and strawberry beer at Alex's favorite little pub but they had stopped serving by the time we got there. We settled for (SCRUMPTIOUS!!) strawberry beer and then got some falafel and chicken curry to bring home. Yet another successful day!! 

Sunday morning I hopped on the tube, grabbed the bus to the Stansted airport and parted for Florence. I had a FABULOUS vacation, but walking into my host family's house was very welcoming! They were so happy to see me and hear about vacation and I was very excited to hear about their trip to Egypt (it wasn't all that special.... hmm... haha, high expectations I suppose!!). 

At this point I am still recovering a little from my lovely 11 day break, hence the delay in the blogging! But I am getting back into the swing of things, writing papers, then other projects and exams.... its insane that 5 weeks from now I will be home... but we don't need to think about that just yet!!! I am just going to continue to bask in the happiness that was vacation and go one day at a time!! 

Baci e abbracci a tutti!! I miss you all!!!! 

Barcelona pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=413959&id=500755531&l=51c1480892

Madrid pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=413998&id=500755531&l=0e2d5d240c

London pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=414001&id=500755531&l=d1078173f4

lovely spring weekend

Okay so this is a blog that I started to write on Monday, March 29th...... Better late than never??? Unfortunately I never wrote more than the following list:


bros bday (also talk about monday)
saturday getting work done
tea house
sunday
vacation


I can't quite remember everything I wanted to say so I will say this:

Monday, March 22nd was the twins' birthday but we celebrated the following Friday. On Monday I gave them party hats, birthday candles and silly string and also brought home their favorite cookies from the bakery. 


Then came the rest of the week. I'm sure it was a lovely week.


Friday night the twins invited 20 of their friends and some of their parents out to dinner at this fabulous pizzeria. I sat with the adults downstairs and all of the bambini sat upstairs and made a ruckus. Dinner was GREAT! Really good pizza, great wine, etc. etc. The usual. 

Saturday.... hmm... Saturday I.... oh, I went to study with Breana in the center. First we went to Moyo, where we often have aperitivo, but it was a little strange because they made us sit at the high table right in the front, facing the bar where all the workers were just standing around, so we couldn't really chat without feeling funny. Therefore that didn't last long... So we headed over to Lion's Fountain for bagels and cream cheese and cider. Only then I decided to have a Bloody Mary instead and it was delicious!!! One of the best drinks other than beer or cider I have ever had! It will be happening again soon! 


Satruday night we went to Mago Merlino's tea house. LOVED IT. A cozy room of tea and floor pillows and lamps and other great things. Breana, Alayna, Lenora, Christine and I just sat and sipped tea and chatted and ate little tea snacks made by the owner (Rocco) until 1am. It was my kind of night, thats for sure! 

Sunday. Not sure why I wrote Sunday on the list.... I couldn't even begin to tell you what I did....


Vacation. I was getting VERY excited for vacation at this point!!! See next few blogs!


xo

quick update

what is better than a bright, sunny march day spent with your best friend sitting in cute bars and pubs, sipping tea, cider and bloody marys, eating bagels, and getting work done.... probably nothing!!! 

unless mago merlino's tea house complete with hookah bar, tea cocktails and a cushioned lounge is incredible!! check in tomorrow for details! 

baci! 

independence and a visit from the boy

I think I just completed one of the best weeks of my life. I'll let you know.


Gaber left today after spending one week strolling my Florence streets by my side. We stayed in a little apartment right in the center by the sede, cooked dinner, came and went as we pleased, slept in, watched tv together, and chatted until 4am. It was the definition of perfection.


Wednesday - went to happy hour at a Mexican bar called Tijuana with Christine, Breana, Anna and Claire, then went to a yummy little trattoria called Gusto Leo (I think?) where we ate pizza, then home to snuggle and watch tv (by way of gelato, of course!)


Thursday - introduced Gabe to the wonder of kebabs in this city (he ate 2 in about 2 hours I believe), then strolled and did some grocery shopping, tv watching and snuggling since it was chilly and dreary, came home after class and made heart-shaped pasta with oil, garlic and hot pepper - so good!! I'm going to guess we got gelato afterward?

Friday - wandered ALL day, went to the History of Science Museum, checked out some cute churches, the building that I want to buy to start my restaurant and hotel (where Napoleon's brother lived and died I might add... its a stretch but its abandoned and beautiful.....), walked up the hill over the Arno, ate more gelato and kebabs, met the crew for aperitivo at Moyo, headed to karaoke and then spent about 20 minutes at 21, a discoteca, then headed home for the night.

Saturday - after not sleeping well at all (we decided there was Red Bull in the free mixed drink shots we got for singing karaoke....) we took the bus over the Arno and up to San Miniato, a beautiful little church on the hill, took lots of pictures, then wandered through Florence to the Duomo, ate gelato, stopped by my host family's house to introduce everyone and pick up all the stuff I sent home with him, then wandered home to cook roast beef, thinly sliced bistecca fiorentina and roasted potatoes (pretty successful, I must say!!). I am tempted to say we had more gelato after dinner.... (In case you hadn't noticed, Gabe was quite taken with the gelato!! Especially the lemon!)

Sunday - tried to go to Villa Demidoff in Pratolino.... after successfully figuring out the bus and wandering until we found the entrance, it was closed for restoration, but we found some snow and a "Gigantic Adventure Park" which was a huge ropes course up in the woods, then we went back into the center, strolled through the San Lorenzo market, stopped for gelato by the Duomo and then headed home to make a feast of amazing meats and cheeses and breads and beer, then tv and chatting til late. 

Monday - after Translation class we wandered all around in the sun, visited my favorite church and sat in on Mass for a little while and then went home to get ready to go out to dinner at an ADORABLE and delicious restaurant that Gaber found called Trattoria da Tito - SO GOOD! We took shots of limoncello with our waiter and the busser and then strolled home... by way of gelato. 


Tuesday - had class on and of all day long, Gaber played computer games, did some work and ran some errands, we made some lunch at home with the leftover meats and cheeses and some tomatos and then for dinner we went to my favorite restaurant in Florence, I Tarocchi, over the Arno where we had pizza, salad, bistecca fiorentina and then topped it off with gelato (we did stop by the apartment to pack for Wednesday first!!) Then there was a minor catastrophe (which we avoided very well!) Gaber left the keys in the apartment.... and the cell phones.... so we couldn't call ANYONE to let us back in.... and other than the owner, there isn't anyone else to let us in anyway! So first we found the woman in the neighboring apartment to see if she had access to the courtyard so maybe we could get in the window, but she didn't.... so she asked someone else.... but they didn't either (very teary and upset Sera on our hands at this point..... very covered in mascara and sniffly and pink....) Then I had an idea.... So we walked to Hotel Maxim, the first hotel we all stayed in when we first got here in September and, looking as sad and pathetic as possible, I explained our problem to the man and he let us use the internet to get the woman's number and then the phone to call her and BOOM! She came in less than 20 minutes! And said we were lucky because she usually turns her phone off at night! THANK GOODNESS! Tragedy avoided! Good thing we also had some strawberries waiting in the apartment to eat in bed as we watched House Hunters! 


Wednesday - a sad day... but we made it! Had some (VERY OVERPRICED) pastries at a famous pastry shop (they were pretty good I suppose!), hopped on the bus to the airport, said goodbye as bravely as possible, and that was that! Then I went to the sede to study for my opera midterm, took it, and came home!! Phew. 


Host family update: It's so nice to be back with them! I missed them! We had an amazingly yummy dinner of chicken, roasted potatoes and salad with tomato and avocado! Then we brought out all the Easter candy that my mom sent with Gabe. The Reese's eggs were a hit among the host parents and the Jelly Belly's were a HUGE success with the host bros. Especially the buttered popcorn ones. Yuck. I think I might have to request some more. And Harry Potter beans because the bros are very intrigued. I am going to miss it here. 9 weeks from today and I will be in my house in Vermont... how did that happen?? Scary, exciting, sad, and very different.... Vermont is going to feel awfully small..... 


Life update: As of right now, while my restaurant dream is still fully in tact, I have a new plan that will help my future in the food biz. There is a graduate program in Gastronomy at BU. And I can concentrate in business. While Gaber goes to school at MIT or works there..... And Alex will live down the street. It's a great life plan. I love being young and falling in love either everything and wanting to do everything. It's so invigorating. Did I mention that I am also considering finding a job/internship/something in cookbook/food book translation? It exists! I just need to find it! It would be AMAZING! 


Anyway! Time to go browse dresses online for my 21st birthday and my lovely best friend Isadora's bridal shower that I am throwing as well as her rehearsal dinner! 


Amore a tutti!!


P.S. Countdown to Barcelona, Madrid and London = 13 days and 19 hours!!!!!

life

i am going to write a book.


i am not going to share too much about it just yet because its still a little baby thought that is rapidly growing. but i think it might just be an okay idea....... it may not be the longest book but i believe it could be good..... who's going to buy it???


once i write it..... i will sit and hope and wish that it catches on and i earn some money from it.... and then i wil try to find a job writing for a magazine writing about food.... and then i will save and save and save.... and open my restaurant.


sounds like a plan, right?