Settling In

As you all know, I arrived in Florence last Thursday afternoon. On Friday morning, I had orientation, which was very informational (every thing from where classes were to where to shop, not to mention repeated reminders to be careful of trusting anyone we meet) and very boring.

On Friday night, Lorenzo de Medici (my school in Italy) hosted a welcome dinner at the Palazzo Borghese. Now there is a place to have dinner! The building was absolutely incredible, decorated in the height of the luxurious. It was buffet style, but the meal was brought out in courses. First appetizers, different types of salads, tomatoes with mozzarella, etc. Then they brought out several different types of pasta, including risotto (my favorite!). Last, they brought out several desserts, which were scrumptious. It wasn't perfect, but it was very good and, more importantly, it was free!

Two of the girls I live with went on a school trip for the weekend to Cinqueterra, so the other four of us spent the weekend exploring Florence. This was also the weekend of the Florence Gelato Festival, which we greatly enjoyed. The main part of the festival was across the river, on the Piazza Pitti. There were about 10 different gelatarias that participated, all with several different flavors to try. I discovered my new favorite: cannella (cinnamon).

We also explored the Mercato Centrale, and bought some essentials, like bread, olive oil, wine, and cheese, as well as ingredients to me to make risotto for dinner. We're all on tight budgets, so the more we can make for ourselves, the better.
Sara, enjoying dinner.


Kim


Mai

Yesterday was the first day of class. My teacher, Marco, gave us a brief run through of expectations throughout the course and then walked us around the Mercato Centrale, showing us where to buy the best meat, fish, vegetables, cheese, and wine (and pointing out where we can get a discount), as well as teaching us what to look for. The man at the cheese counter gave us free samples of about 6 different cheeses and 6 different dried meats. Yum!

Today was the first day of practical cooking in class. Marco started by showing us knife techniques, and then we moved into the recipes. In each class, we will make a four course meal (appetizer, first course, second course, and dessert). Today, we made a creamy leek soup (topped with chives and fresh, homemade bread), pesto pasta (topped with toasted walnuts and tomatoes), stuffed tomatoes, and homemade almond and lemon macaroons. He showed us how to plate each course artfully. Because my birthday is Friday, I got to have the demonstration plates.


Everything was delicious! I can't wait for tomorrow!