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Last Saturday I went to Lucca with some friends. I was supposed to go to Pisa with them as well, but it didn’t work out unfortunately. The day brought several complications (such as missing two trains), but my time in Lucca was good nevertheless. After pulling into the train station, I walked a little south of there and explored the area. It was interesting to see a “suburban” area (if it can actually be called that) with houses and smaller apartments. There were even some houses that looked somewhat influenced by modern architecture, although there was still an Italian flavor to them. A few residents were relaxing and enjoying their Saturday morning at the local gelateria. Outside of the walled portion of Lucca, the city quickly turn into open green areas. One can see the rows of houses disintegrating into the countryside even just a few minutes walk from the station. The city of Lucca itself is quite beautiful, though I can’t put a finger on what makes it different. We had some time to walk along the top of the wall and see the city from up high. The wall itself has passageways above and below that I could have spent hours exploring, as well as plenty of places to just sit down and take in a panorama. As we left the city and I purchased my train ticket, I thought of the town’s beauty and how I would like to go back and explore Lucca and the surrounding area. And as I walked on to the train platform I got there just in time… to see my friends pulling away in the train and wait an hour for the next.

Number two in my cooking series is Gnocchi di Susine, or Plum Gnocchi. Yes, you do indeed wrap a plum in gnocchi — well, half of a plum. It’s then topped with sugar, cinnamon, and toasted bread crumbs. These are so delicious, but very rich. Although I did like them very much, I do think they could be even better with Satsuma Plums, which have red meat and are sweeter. I believe I used Damson Plums, which have yellowish meat and are tarter. Also, when I make these again I will make it a point to have a very large, floured plate to keep the gnocchi from sticking together before being put in the pan. That way I’ll have twelve separate gnocchi rather than one giant one.

Earlier this week I finally got around to cooking a recipe from Fred Plotkin’s book, Italy for the Gourmet Traveler. I decided my first recipe would be asparagus risotto. I didn’t really know what risotto was until I came to Italy. For those of you who don’t know, risotto is an Italian dish of rice cooked in stock, often with meat or vegetables. I got a bundle of asparagus from a nearby open-air market. I chose to use vegetable stock instead of the recommended beef stock because I am a vegetarian. That choice may or may not have also had to do with the fact that I couldn’t find any beef stock. As you can see below, it isn’t much to look at, but I assure you it is delicious. The asparagus was tender and fresh, and the flavor came through wonderfully. That is all for now — I must go attend to another meal I am cooking from Fred’s book. Ciao!

When I first looked over the Arcadia University study abroad program dates, I was pleasantly surprised to find that a day trip had been planned on my birthday. On Saturday we made the trip to Siena and San Gimignano. Both towns were constructed in medieval times and had noticeably different architecture compared to Firenze. I specifically noticed that there were more arches used around the cities. I wonder if this has more to do with the time frame in which the city was built or things like regional differences. Another difference between the two and Firenze was hills! The streets in both Siena and San Gimignano were very steep due to the region’s topography. It’s easy to see how Italians stay in shape in those cities, but I can only imagine what it must be like to drive there.

In Siena, the hills were so steep that outdoor dining tables had to be “adapted” so that they didn’t lean. You can see a picture of them below. The hills also made for interesting architectural views. Rather that most of the buildings being mostly at the same height, they stepped up and down, creating the appearance of terraces, almost as if the plans were taken from the illustration of a fairy-tale city. Siena is the larger of the two cities and is most noted for their annual horse races. It was interesting to hear our guide explain that the races themselves only take a few minutes, but lining up the horses for the race can take several hours! While in Siena, we stopped at the Gallo Nero for lunch. It was quite a unique dining experience — we were placed in a lower room with no windows. The smell of the room reminded me of the wine cellar we visited previously in Chianti. Nevertheless, all the food was delicious. The main course was hand-made pasta typical to the region and dessert was a ricotta cheese cake. While there I was also able to find some beautiful typography which may serve as inspiration for some drawings in the future.

San Gimignano is the smaller of the two, but certainly not less beautiful. If you make the trek to a higher point in the city, you are rewarded with beautiful panoramas of the surrounding countryside and its grapevines and olive groves. The city was unique in that there seemed to be a tower of some sort in nearly every direction. I’m unsure of the reason for this, but I know one of them is famous and is open to the public (for a fee). There were several street musicians in San Gimignano, including and overly-energetic flute player. It seems that wherever there are tourists there are street musicians, and I can’t help but think that they seem a bit out of place. At the same time, I do enjoy the sound of music echoing through the streets and the energy they add. The masses of tourists in the city overwhelmed many of the streets and piazzas, making it look as though there couldn’t possibly be room for anyone to actually live there. However, once off the main streets it’s possible to walk through quiet neighborhoods and see people living out their daily lives. It was nice to see an elderly gentleman napping in the sunshine while his wife gardened and know that these beautiful cities are more than just tourist hotspots.

Siena and San Gimignano were a great way to spend my birthday and I’m thankful for the time we spent and the people who made it great.

One of my goals while in Firenze is to learn to cook some Italian meals, and a student who lived in the apartment before left Italy for the Gourmet Traveler by Fred Plotkin. It’s a book that has information about restaurants and recipes broken down by region, which I am looking forward to going through. However, I decided to start things off by making gnocchi from scratch using a recipe I found here. Overall, things went pretty well — I think the greatest difficulty was finding a way to mash up the potatoes. I settled on using a glass with a flat bottom, but if you have a grater or food processor, that would probably work better. Still, I think they turned out well:

The thing I love about Italian food is that it often uses a few simple ingredients and yet still tastes great. This gnocchi has two more great things about it. First, it is inexpensive — the ingredients cost me little more than a few Euro. Secondly, it’s very filling. No need to go back for seconds with this recipe. This is a delicious recipe that I would encourage anyone to try. Happy cooking!

After spending the first twenty years of my life within the United States, I now have the privilege of being able to study abroad. I will be studying this fall at the Accademia Italiana in Florence, Italy. A couple of friends and myself stopped in Paris on the way over. It was so surreal standing underneath the Eiffel Tower. We also took a boat tour and spent a substantial amount of time just walking around. The food was wonderful, and I especially enjoyed the fresh croissants and crêpes. The architecture was very interesting and Notre Dame was especially stunning to see in person.

However, our stay in Paris was short and we were soon on an overnight train to Florence. Our train arrived late and we quickly had to grab a taxi to get to our housing. I went to my friends’ apartment, but had to walk to mine from there. I felt incredibly out of place walking through the narrow, stone-paved streets of Firenze with a 29-inch suitcase. I’m sure it must have been quite comical for locals. After settling in, all the students went out to dinner at a local restaurant. The main dish was a pasta stuffed with pears and cheese and it was delicious. That weekend we went to the Tuscan countryside and visited Greve in Chianti and visited a local winery. It was exciting to see where wine is made and aged. We also tried four wines: Super Tuscan, Super Tuscan Reserve, Merlot, and Vino Santo. Super Tuscan was a dry red, while the Reserve was a little sweeter, but both were wonderful. My favorite however, was the Merlot — it had such rich, complex flavors. The Vino Santo is more of a “dessert” wine, if there can be such a thing. It is incredibly sweet and syrupy, not something to be had in large quantities. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera with me and I am still kicking myself. However, I just see it as motivation to return to the Chianti region.

On September 8th the students had the privilege of going on the top balcony of the Duomo. This balcony is only open one day of the entire year. From the balcony it was possible to see much of Firenze and I took many pictures. The following weekend a couple of my roommates and I went to the beach at Viareggio. The city seemed somewhat similar to Firenze, but a little more open. There were also more tropical plants and brighter colors that really made the architecture pop. Almost all the beaches were paid, and it was obvious that the beach was the commercial center for the city. We did find a free beach, a 15-foot-wide strip of sand leading to the water. It seemed comical compared to the others. There was also about 10 feet along the shore where red seaweed washed up, making the water look almost purple. There was a large park nearby where we rented a bike-car and rode around. I didn’t go swimming while I was there, but it was nice for a change of pace.

This Friday I went to “Abitare il Tempo,” an Interior Design convention in Verona. It took place in what looked like several large warehouses. The parking lots were lined with Ferraris, Audis, BMWs — you name it. The products I saw there were absolutely stunning and make me want to study Industrial Design. Who knows, maybe I can do an independent study at home. Although it was an international event, I think it was an interesting look into Italian Style. The event was so overwhelming that I can’t even describe everything I saw, but I hope to renew my Pro membership with Flickr so I can share them.

In school, I will be studying a couple Graphic Design classes of course, but I will also be taking a Fashion Illustration class. I am looking forward to getting out of my comfort zone a little and learning some new illustration techniques. I am also taking a photography class and I am excited to work in a darkroom rather than putzing around on Photoshop. I am also taking a beginner’s Italian class. I feel horrible being unable to speak Italian in Italy when many Americans expect others to speak English the moment they set foot on U.S. soil. Thankfully, Italians are more gracious and I have yet to have a horrible experience.

As far as Italy goes, the food has been wonderful, the coffee has been great and the wine has been even better. I am looking forward to my future adventures and will keep you all updated here. I will make a post when I renew my Flickr so that you can see my photos. Ciao for now!