viareggio e giardino di boboli

rail road graffiti 

 A jewelry shop on the Ponte Vecchio

Enjoying the Mediterranean

Marissa and I cooking for our potluck dinner

I made the rosemary/lemon salmon

My mom sent the candy hearts and Matt wrote me a song for Valentines Day

Graffiti

This week's cooking class project

Friday February 15

Rachel, Stephanie, Marissa and I headed to the train station around 4:00 PM. We bought tickets to Viareggio, a beach town that’s a mere 50 minutes away. On the cheap train, it took 1.5 hours to get there because of all the stops. We arrived around 6:30 or 7 and got to the beach JUST as the sun set. We had about five minutes of sunlight and I got a few photos, but I can’t wait to go back and spend more time on the shore. I might even go back alone with a book to get some “me” time. After taking in the ocean, we found a pizza parlor where I got a Calzone and the best Coke I’ve ever had in my life (at 3 Euro a glass, it better be the best). After, we went back to Florence.

Saturday February 16

In Atlanta, Washington D.C and New York City, the only major cities I’ve spent any considerable time in, there are parks everywhere. Trees line the sidewalks and grass tries to grow through the cracks in the pavement. But in Florence? No. Rome had greenery, but Florence truly has none.

Unless, of course, you make a trip to Giardino di Boboli.

I get in free with my student university card, and it’s truly a hidden gem in the city. It’s the only green I’ve seen so far, and people picnic along the freshly trimmed grass and lay together in the yard. At the top (it’s an uphill garden), there’s a lookout with acres of green. The view of the rolling Tuscan countryside with cypress trees in every direction is beautiful, and when you turn around to the other side of the look out, there is a view of Florence: all of the red-roof buildings and the Duomo, complete with a backdrop of snow-capped mountains. It’s so quiet and serene compared to the bustle of the touristy city below. I’ll have to remember this spot when I need a little get away but don’t want to take a train to get there.

Wednesday February 20

I cooked homemade pasta in my cooking class this week! I think I’ll get a little pasta-maker-contraption (I know it has a name…) when I come home if I can find it cheap enough. This meal took 2 hours to make, but came with serious bragging rights. The pasta was made with flour, egg and spinach. We chopped up leaks, zucchini and carrots, and simmered them with white wine until they were soft. Then we blanched the tomatoes and cooked them in olive oil with some garlic. Lastly we fried an eggplant with a touch of flour to top the dish with a crunchy contrast. Yum-o.

This was also my roommate Marrissa’s birthday! None of us are teenagers anymore. We went to Dolce Vegan for dinner, and I had a soy burger with guacamole/chocolate soy milk to drink. My roommates got Falafel, which is chickpeas mashed up into patties, served with veggies and hummus. That was delicious. For dessert there was an assortment of Tiramisu, strawberry whipped cream cake and chocolate cake. Nothing from the restaurant was made with animal products including eggs, milk, etc. So crazy!

Thursday February 21

My fashion photography class is no joke. It’s so different from the family photography I’m used to, to say the least. It’s very risqué, but beautiful. I’m currently working on a story board to plan my personal photo shoot with the professional models. Kind of nerve-wracking! My teacher has worked with prestigious fashion houses in both NYC and Italy, so it’s interesting to hear about how things like agents work from a first-hand source. Fashion, through any avenue (journalism, photography, design, modeling), is one of the most difficult industries to break into. My teacher told our class today, “if you want it, you have to make it happen.” I think that’s what’s so fascinating about it all, though. Not just anyone can write for Vogue or Vanity Fair or GQ. You can’t just shoot Chanel or Dior’s ads, and major designers have made something extraordinary to get noticed. You have to be passionate, persistent, and far above average to break in and make an impact.

Random notes:

I’m getting published overseas! I have a short article on how to make a quick and easy American breakfast: French toast (ironic?). It’s getting published in an entertainment magazine called Firenze Spettacolo. I also have a separate article that has been chosen to run in FUA’s next newsletter. I will get copies and upload them ASAP…I’m excited!

I went to the doctor last week and the man is from London. He asked me if I had gotten a “flu jab” this year. I thought it was funny—language and dialect are so fascinating to me.

Fun fact I learned in Global Perspectives of Journalism: the shoes worn by Italian soldiers in WWII were made by Gucci.

A difference between Florence and Atlanta: to enter a shop/restaurant in Florence, you push the door. In Atlanta, you pull. That’s not something I’d ever imagine myself noticing, but it’s so second-nature that I have been forced to notice. I always try to pull the push door and end up making a scene.

I booked a trip to Paris for April! I’m going on a Thursday to Sunday for 97 USD. If I was in Georgia and wanted to go to Paris for the weekend…I can safely assume it would be well over one hundred dollars.  

My body literally hurts from the 60-day workout program I’m doing in the comfort of my own living room. Get ready to see some muscles.

Thank you to everyone who has sent me mail so far, it really makes my day when I receive it.

Ciao!