Ikea and the market

Saturday at lunchtime, we went back to the same market to pick up some more treats:

More focaccia,

a linzer tart-like cookie with Nutella instead of jam,

a small block of feta (I am planning to make orzo with garlic-y spinach and feta on Tuesday, yum!),

and another mozzarella.

The woman who runs the cheese/meat counter recognized us. We wished each other buon weekend, e ci vediamo Lunedi (Monday). Unfortunately, our beloved market isn't open on Sundays!

The rest of the afternoon was spent at Ikea. I had never been before, and that's the "thing" to do. Pretty cool to see the mountains, Gli Apennini in the back (pardon that random person in the photo).

That night we went on a pub crawl with a million other students. We went to 3 bars and one club, and while I was afraid that it would be just tourists, we actually met some Italians. I made sure to speak in Italian, and made sure they would speak back in Italian. Overall, it was a good night, and a great way to be introduced to the Florentine nightlife!

Ciao!

Scenes from an Italian market

One of the reasons that I chose Florence is because of its amazing markets. Leather markets, produce market, food market, I even Googled an antiques market. I have noticed that Italians do not buy in bulk as we do, and instead, they love to take their time (non c'e fretto!) and peruse the markets, buying the freshest foods of that day. Sthat is exactly what I plan to do, go to the markets. Every. Single. Day.

The Mercato Centrale (aka San Lorenzo market) is known for its leather, but Monday-Saturday 7am-2pm, they set up a tent outside for produce, and have a HUGE indoor market with anything and everything! Beautiful fish, meat, bread, pasta, dessert. I haven't been to many indoor markets but it is a little similar to the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia (in my opinion).

Here are some of my favorites from the market on Friday:

Huge head of a pesce spada (swordfish);

tongue;

pretty sure this is a hollow face of a cow? Looks like a mask!;

not sure if this is a SHARK?!;

prosciutto crudo;

whole chicken;

oranges picked fresh;

and my favorite:

PIG HEADS! This macellaio (butcher) saw that we were staring at the pig heads, so he put three up on the counter to take pictures. Then he and I started singing the 3 little pigs song (in Italian), it goes like this:

Siamo tre piccoli porcellini

Siamo tre, bidichin

Mai nessun ci dividera

Tra la la la la la la

You can hear it here. Then I asked him what he was using it for? "Zuppa?" "No, arrosto" (roasted). And he held up a pig head and kissed it. You have to love the passion that Italians have for their food!

Then we went home and made this from our market finds. Un panino con focaccia, tomato, prosciutto crudo, e mozzarella fresca. Che deliciosa!

I cannot wait to go to this market again!

Ciao!

Finally here!

Hi readers (parents, friends, whomever is out there)- I'm Genevieve and I am spending my spring semester in Florence. Studying and traveling in Italy has been a dream of mine for years and years, and I am just here to soak it all in. This blog will basically be a photo diary of everything amazing I come across; people I meet, food I eat, sights I see, all the good stuff that Italy is made of!

Anway, I got here on Wednesday and it has kind of been a blur of meeting people, unpacking, grocery shopping, jetlag, and running around. Orientation was boring, but as Rachel (my lovely roomie) and I were walking from one school building to the other, we saw the Duomo di Firenze and it just hit us that we are FINALLY here!

Feeling very Italian, we headed to get an amazing cappuccino, delicious.

He swirled a heart into it and I got a biscuit filled with Nutella.

Some other stuff we hit up between Wednesday and Thursday- our first dinner out at this cute trattoria, and I got the pappardelle alla cinghiale (wild boar), and basically just walking around for hours. We saw the Ponte Vecchio,

the famous cinghiale statue (fun fact- it's nose has become that bright golden color by people rubbing it for good luck),

and hit up a bunch of piazzas- like the Piazza della Signoria.

I also "cooked" my first Italian meal: focaccia, bocconcini, prosciutto, and chickpeas!

I am still super jetlagged and am going to take a nap, as the Italians do (I love, LOVE that naps are not only acceptable, but encouraged here).

Ciao!