first days of class

the first week of classes has gone by, and overall, it was another glorious week here in Firenze. Yes, the weather is still unbearable, and I'm sweating the minute I walk out my door, but its been beautiful and sunny everyday.

The school is literally around the corner from our apartment- I can leave at 855 and be there by 9, which is nice. First class on Monday was History and Culture of Italian Food. I thought this would be my favorite class, but it's actually my least favorite...only because it's verrry history-based. He is a strict teacher, and on the first day he began by saying "i just want to warn that this is not a cooking class. this is a history class about food." soo..with that being said, it's still intersting, but I prefer my other 3. After that I have Roman Civilizations, my 2nd favorite class. It's all about the Roman Empire and their culture, politics, and contributions, and the class includes a 2 night field trip to Rome! We'll actually learn the history behind the Collesseum (Colluseum? Collaseum? spelling..), the Pantheon, and all the other ancient artifacts. My other class, 3rd favorite, is the Art of Florence. Basically an art history class all based on Florentine art. Every other class we get to go out into Florence and actually see the art work, which will be great. I'm already noticing small things around town that we've talked about, so im hoping to learn a lot by December. And lastly, my favorite all-time class is Italian 101, my basic Italian class. I just LOVE my teacher- she's young, fun, and a really good teacher. I'm already learning a lot of the language, which has been soo helpful around town.

Speaking of Italian, I've discovered the Mercato Centrale, the main market in Florence that's open every morning. It's basically our new shopping market...I've gone 3 times now and some of the people are starting to recognize me...today I bought some roma tomatoes, dried porcini mushrooms (i learned a recipe using them...ill explain later) more nectarines, and fresh pasta. Everything is so fresh and cheap. They say that we should go to the same people and soon they'll give us the best products for cheaper prices since we're not tourists. in the market there's a famous place called Nerbones which we tried..it's just a few men making fresh sandwhiches from whatever they have, but there's a speciality sandwhich that we couldn't figure out. It was some type of hot meat, like roast pork or something, with two spreads on it. The line was out the door, so it must have been good, but when we tried to order it we accidentally ordered another item! It was still good (a roast beef sandwhich) but i'm determined to go back and find out the name of the famous one. you gotta learn from your mistakes...fortunetaly it was only 4 euros.

Since I only have class 2-4 hours a day, that leaves a lot of free time during the day. I'm trying to NOT stay in the apartment during my free time...instead I've been exploring the city, getting lost (with a map handy) on purpose, and slowly finding my way back. It's amazing how many piazzas you run into when you don't know where you're going! but every corner is beautiful. We've also been exploring the local street markets, where people sell leather bags and belts, etc. I've found the most GORGEOUS brown leather bag..its made from baby lamb, and is the softest thing i've ever felt. maybe i'll treat myself soon...lately i've been spending so much money I need to take it slow before I treat myself to something like a bag.

this past Wednesday was my FIRST cooking class. in a word, AMAZING. it makes me realize why I wanted to come here. i went to a 10-person cooking class with a cook who's lived in Florence for 30 years...she married an Italian after studying abroad, and learned how to become a chef from his Italian mother. Last night was the first of a 6 week program, and already I learned so much about basic cooking and the Italian style. we made marinated roast peppers, homeade egg pasta with a porcini mushroom sauce, roast rabbit, and tiramisu. I usually don't even like tiramisu but it was SO delicious. light and fluffy, not dense and thick like i see it in the counters in the States. overall, a great first night. hopefully i can re-create some meals in December!

the last thing worth mentioning was out night out last night. After the class, all of us went to Central Park, a BIG outside nightclub here. Usually it's 20 euros to get in, but on Weds. it's only 3, so we decided to try it. In a word, it was huge. It was what I always pictured as a "european club..." I felt like I was at a private P-Diddy party or something. 5 dance areas, fancy lights and seats, long bars with really pretty Italians sipping on their 10 euro drinks, the whole shebang. I also loved it because I didn't get anything to drink (too expensive!) so the entire night only cost me 3 euro. I definitely wanna go back soon. (Again, pics are on my Facebook of all these things...)

a fun 2 weeks coming up: Chianti tomorrow, Cinque Terre on Sunday, and then next weekend, The Amalfi Coast, Capri, Sorrento, and Pompeii. We're already on our way exploring Italy! Ciao for now! Miss you all. xoxo