"Zdravo" from Slovenia!

This post will be brief as writing on an iPod is a pain! However I'm happy to report Slovenia is incredibly beautiful and we've had lots of fun so far! Some highlights of the day include:

1. Arriving at our hotel at 2:30 AM.
2. Snowshoeing across the border back into Italy.
3. Seeing some of an international dog sledding competition.
4. Exploring other sites in the area such as one of the world's tallest ski jumps.
5. Walking across Lake Bled which is frozen over!
6. A filling meal at a traditional Slovenian restaurant.

I can't wait to share photos... There will be many! Apparently they are at a low for snow this season (there is usually 2 feet this time of year!) but to me it's great to see snow at all!

I may be 4500 miles away, but I'm still a Tarheel

Yesterday was frigid as per usual, but I was still excited for my second cooking class! We studied the Piedmont region of Italy which is in the tip top northwest corner of Italy, where you can find the city of Turin (remember the Winter Olympics?). This area is known for their Barolo and Asti wines as well as their truffles found in Alba. Our menu for the night was:
   
 risotto con salsiccia (risotto with sausages), 

brasato al Barolo (beef braised in Barolo wine), 

peperoni alla piemontese (peppers with anchovies and capers), 

torta di nocciole (hazelnut cake). 

 Sounds delicious, right?
I forgot to get pictures of the beef... I ate it too fast. But the peppers and the beef were delicious (he left out the anchovies which we were all a little thankful for). I was in the group making the risotto and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to learn how to make this delicious dish. It's more complicated than I thought but once you have the process down (it's kind of a science) it's not too bad!
   
The big adventure of the night was the UNC vs. Dook game. All the hype on Facebook is contagious even across the ocean, and needless to say we were willing to do pretty much anything to watch it. We were so lucky that a girl in our program found us a bar willing to stay open till 5:30 AM just so we could watch the game (and I'm so thankful for it!). After a brief nap, we woke up at 2 to head over to the bar by 2:30 for the game at 3:00. AM. So early. It was a blast though hanging out with the other UNC students at this little hole-in-the-wall pub in Florence. 

 Unfortunately, the game was a bit of a disappointment. I think that the bartender didn't know how to handle us afterwords! While walking back to the apartment in the cold streets of Florence, we let the city know our frustrations, but I can't imagine what it felt like to be at UNC watching the game! At least we could escape into the city to recover. Julia even made us pancakes at 6 AM to help mourn the loss. Three hours of sleep later, I was up and off to class. 

Today my Renaissance culture and civilization class met at Santa Croce, which was a monastery for the Dominican order (Franciscan Monks) back in the day, and is still an beautiful cathedral housing incredible history. It was nice having a guided tour from our teacher, and I definitely learned a lot that I wouldn't have known from going on my own. However, I think I could go back and spend hours there because there is so much to see and learn! Oh, and no big deal, Galileo and Michelangelo's tombs are there. I wasn't ready for that one! 
     
In an hour I'm headed to the bus station to head to Lake Bled, Slovenia for the weekend. I bought a puffy Italian-esque jacket today which I think I'll be very thankful for in the chilly weather! 

fa freddo...

Living by the Duomo you get accustomed to the touristy side of Florence. There are always caricature artists and tacky souvenir vendors whom we pass every day when walking to class. We have to pass by a t-shirt stand right next to our door every day, and I've grown accustomed to saying "ciao" to the vendor and he doesn't try to sell things to me anymore. These people make their living off tourists, so you know it's a chilly day when even the street vendors don't open their shops because it's too cold. Today we got a little sunshine with a side of snow flurries though so at least it wasn't cold and boring!
  
After class I went shopping for some warm weather clothes (success this time!) and I stopped in the department store, Coin. I have never been so lost in a store before. Literally I just walked around for 20 minutes and went up and down multiple sets of stairs before even finding the scarf and hat section. It's so weird to see huge stores here since property is so expensive! I've been in stores smaller than my dorm room before... I think I would panic if I walked into a Target now because I haven't been in a store that big in a long time!

In other exciting news, for dinner I decided to treat myself to some panko fried chicken and reaffirmed that nothing beats fried food. You can take me away from America but please, please don't take away my canola oil. 

Lastly, tonight I went to see an Italian movie through a film "festival" (I'll use that term loosely because it's just put on for NYU students by NYU). It was open to all students in Florence and I decided to go because it was free and how many chances am I going to have to see Italian movies with english subtitles? The movie was called "Terraferma"and it was about a family living on an island south of Sicily dealing with the shift from the fishing industry to the tourist industry, as well as the issue of illegal immigration from Africa. Ironically, the movie touched on topics of immigration we discussed in a lecture my first week here, and it was an interesting take on the issue since the movie was more of an artistic perspective versus the political debates and news you hear about.

The coolest thing about seeing this movie is that the editor of the movie, Simona Paggi was there. She talked a little about the process of editing the movie and you could tell she was a little nervous to be talking in front of everyone. But, as shy as she was, she's kind of a big deal... if you IMDB her, you'll see that she was an editor for the movie "Life is Beautiful" which is a very famous movie in Italy and the United States! It was a pretty cool opportunity to see her and her work. 

Winter Winds

After our late night last night I am continuously thankful for my 1:30 class! Sleeping in and reading for classes in the morning is just so nice. After class I attempted to go shopping for a warmer hat and a sweater, but to no avail. The shopping is so great here but I just don't know where to start! And it didn't help that the winds were rough again today-- the newest fashion is wrapping your scarf around your face to not only keep warm, but to be able to breathe when the wind blows over you! 

   

Since we've been stuck inside, one thing we've been very busy with lately is planning our travels around Europe! I have big trips planned the next three weeks that have required a bit of planning which can be stressful but will be totally worth it we hope. This weekend I am excited to be headed to Slovenia...

...Ok now that you're back from googling where Slovenia is, I'll tell you. It's located north of Croatia and borders north-east Italy. A few friends and I are going to Lake Bled, (Alright, here's the link to google images, to save you the time Lake Bled Slovenia ) It's not a place I ever thought about visiting, but it seems like a nice break from the hustle of the city and I'm excited to go into uncharted waters (I don't know anyone who's been there and literally, it's a lake.... sorry for the bad pun.) We're also stopping in Venice on the way back for Carnival, it should be a fun time!

More trips for this month? Well you'll be hearing about Barcelona and Munich soon as well! 

   

I'm looking forward to tomorrow... the weather's warming up! Looks like a high of 37 F with 21 mph winds! Bring it on Italy. 

Stuck inside but it's still the superbowl!

Alas, again we found ourselves holed into the apartment on this windy cold Sunday. Many stores on Sundays are already shut down, but with the cold weather it seems the whole of florence has shut down by the afternoon! However, I do have some pictures to make my day seem a little bit more interesting!

I made fried apples per Grandmommy's recipe! A perfect warm treat on a cold day.

Kenan treated our apartment to (don't worry about it) 1 kg of gelato. Perfect especially since my gelato count hasn't been moving much with this weather!

   

Plus, I got to skype with some beautiful people. 

And last but not least it IS Superbowl Sunday so of course we had to celebrate! A group of us headed to the Club House bar where we got to sit with good ol' American chicken wings and beer and watch the football game. Granted, the one difference was that the game started at 12:30 AM and we left after the halftime show (2:15ish...) It was a long night but entertaining nonetheless. It's good to know that you can find classy Americans even in an international city! (note the dripping sarcasm, but it was a good show for us when the game was grasping our attention) The one disappointment is that ESPN America does not have the classic commercials so feel free to send me the best ones! The only commercial we enjoyed was the one advertising the UNC vs. Dook game this week... not sure how we're going to swing watching that game, but we're working on it!

So come out of the cave...

Today I finally ventured out of our (slightly) warm hole of an apartment and did a little adventuring. Well, ok, not so much of an adventure, but more like a trek through Siberian winds to the Accademia to see Mr. David. The museum is incredibly unassuming considering it holds one of the most famous sculptures in the world. I almost missed it because this is all you can see from the outside...

 The museum itself is much smaller than I expected! There are a few galleries but it's clear the show stopping part is Michaelangelo's David. I cruised through the museum in less than an hour (I'm thankful for the few crowds and my museum card!) but next time I go back I'll bring some sort of book or audio guide so I can fully appreciate all the works the museum has to offer!
      
After running some errands to the bookstore and grocery store I came back and made some chicken and pasta (classic menu of my life right now). I got a treat at the grocery store today which was boxed hot chocolate just to check it out. As I've talked about before, hot chocolate here is essentially hot chocolate pudding... and delicious. I found a box mix at the store and it actually turned into this creamy hot chocolate I so much prefer over American hot chocolate. Wrapping up the night watching The Wedding Date with the roommates made for a great day! 

Lazy Days

Not much to report from today! I slept in (which was much needed) and having a bit of an off day, I decided to stay in and mosey around the apartment. The day did get better though when we headed out to dinner at a recommended restaurant to us, Baldovino. We were so impressed with this restaurant; it was small, inviting and had a great relaxing atmosphere which is just what we wanted to start out the weekend! All of us had great dishes and I had a pumpkin and potato gnocchi with cheese sauce which was delicious. It's always a good sign when restaurants have a seasonal menu and it didn't disappoint! We wrapped up our meal with two desserts: a piece of chocolate cake and a piece of cheesecake with strawberries on top. I didn't take pictures (I semi-regret this) but the desserts knocked my socks off. They make the desserts in the restaurant and I do believe it was one of the best pieces of cheesecake I've ever had! 

                             

We came back to the apartment stuffed and happy and we curled up and watched When Harry Met Sally to end the night. Hopefully tomorrow will be more exciting and bring a good day...even with the never ceasing chilly weather! 

One perk of where we live is a huge wall outside with advertisements of things going on in the city... yes I want to go to this one especially!