Rome, Calabria and Piemonte. Spring Break 2013.

CIAO!!! It is the day you all have been waiting for- the blogs have returned! I'm sorry for the excessive delay in getting these posted. This Monday and Tuesday I had dinners with my Dad and Uncle while they were in Florence and they turned into very late nights, so I didn't have very much time for posting the blogs, let alone homework. By Wednesday I was so exhausted from the last few days that I fell asleep, and then finally, Thursday, when I actually was ready to start writing the blog the power went out! The power came back on, but the wifi wasn't working until after midnight. So, now it is Friday and I will finally be able to get everything up! I am confident that you will all agree it was worth the wait! I am putting everything into one blog-which I think will make it easier to read. Sorry for the length, ENJOY!

DAY 1- FRIDAY 1/3

Spring Break had officially begun! I woke up pretty early considering it was Spring Break, got ready and finished packing my bag. A little after 9 my host mom took my to the train station. The traffic was absolutely crazy and I was sure that I would miss my train. Around 9:40am I arrived at the train station and made my way over to the departures board. The day before my friend explained to me how the train works and what I needed to know. (Their train system is a bit different than in the U.S.) I found my train and had to wait until the bin (track) number was put up. About 10 minutes before the train was to leave the number was finally posted. I made my way down to the track, all the way to the final car of the train and got into my seat. The U.S. really needs to do a major overhaul on our trains. These trains were so nice and they went extremely fast! So fast I even had to equalize my ears a few times because of the pressure. The trains have screens placed periodically throughout the aisle so you can keep track of where you are, the next stop, and other info about the train. Some of the info they provided was the current speed of the train- which I then converted from km/h into mph- we were going 156 miles per hour!! I was amazed. In the U.S. you really don't gain any speed by using a train as opposed to a car, but in Europe you do! I got into Rome precisely at 11:30 and met up with my Dad and Uncle Al. We then took a short subway ride and then walked a few blocks to our hotel, which was right around the corner from the Trevi Fountain! After dropping off my bag we headed out towards the Colosseum. While walking along the street I ended up running into someone from my program! Its such a small world! Before we went into the Colosseum we stopped and got lunch at a bar, which was extremely crowded and busy. There was a little bit of confusion but we managed to order okay and got what we wanted. We then continued on our day to the Colosseum, where we spent some time looking around and taking pictures. After we tried to figure out how to get into the Roman ruins. Instead of finding the entrance we ran into the church of Saint Bonaventure which was hidden from view. By this point we were getting tired and it was beginning to rain a little bit, so we ducked into a bar and got caffe for the men and a gelato for me! We then decided to head back to the hotel for a little bit to rest up before dinner. After realizing that we still had about an hour before the Pantheon closed we quick headed out so that Al could see it! We then wandered the streets looking for a place for dinner- in search of fried artichokes! We ended up in Piazza Navona and had a very delicious dinner! Sometime after 10:30 we headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep, but first we stopped at the Trevi Fountain so that I could throw my coin in!

Trevi Fountain

Lunch: Dad- zucchine pizza, Al- salame and mozzarella panino, Me- prosciutto and mozzarella paninio

The view walking towards the Colosseum

Inside the Colosseum

The floor at the top of the picture is the same level as the original floor. The ruins in the main part of the picture were the underground tunnels.

Stella really did come with! Okay, not really, but this cat was inside the Colosseum! I thought of Stella. :)

The layers of the Coloseeum

"The money shot"

The church of Saint Bonaventure

The Roman Forum

Dad and I reenacting a picture we took 4 years ago on New Years Eve. In front of the Roman Forum

The outside of the Pantheon.

My dinner: Tortellini in a cream sauce with ham. These were the first non soup tortellinis that I had during my trip. They were wonderful!

Al's dinner: Spaghetti with pepper and pecorino in a fried cheese bowl

Dad's dinner: Spaghetti with clams

The Jewish style fried artichoke. It was pretty good and tasted like a potato chip

We then split a very good cannoli.

Making my wish and throwing my coin into the Trevi Fountain.

Our hotel.

DAY 2- SATURDAY 2/3

Despite some snoring I slept fairly well. We woke up around 8 am and went down to have breakfast in the hotel. I chose a chocolate filled brioche, corn flakes, and orange juice. There were also many types of meat and cheese, but I decided to skip it because I didn't want to upset my stomach. Then we showered and packed up our suitcases and checked out of our room. The hotel held our suitcases because our ride to the airport wasn't coming until 1:45. We walked around the area for a few hours to kill time. We ended up having lunch at a little pizza place nearby. Finally it was time to head to the airport. We arrived around 2:30 pm, but got dropped off at the wrong terminal, so we had to walk back to the correct one. Then when it was time for me to check in and check my suitcase the handle to wheel it did not want to go down! I was freaking out a little bit because I didn't know what we were going to do if we couldn't get it to go down. Finally we opened up my suitcase to try and get it to go back down, which worked. Luckily I had no more problems with it for the rest of the trip. We were in the second row of the plane, which was actually the first row on our side of the plane, so we got to stretch our legs out! There was quite a bit of turbulence, but no real problems. For the snacks they offered one of two kinds of biscotti- sweet or salty. I chose sweet, and they were really good mini chocolate chip cookies! When we landed everyone on the plane clapped and cheered! I had heard that it was common on Italian flights, but this was the first time I had actually experienced it. When we got through the arrival gate we were met by Vincenzo and his wife Maria. We then drove to Teresa and Pietro's house, where we would be staying. We were greeted by a big dinner with everyone! We had antipasto, wine, lasagna, pork, a grape and a nutella crostata, and some after dinner drinks. It was quite an event. We finally got to bed around midnight!

My margherita pizza from lunch.

Dad's broccoli and ham pizza.

DAY 3- SUNDAY 3/3

I slept extremely well, and woke up around 8 am. We had caffe, yogurt, cereal, and some of the leftover crostatas for breakfast. Then after breakfast we started drawing out the family tree. It is extremely large, and a bit confusing, but I think we got it all! Then after a relaxing morning we all got showered and ready, and we headed out to Vincenzo's house for lunch. For lunch we had antipasto that consisted of 4 different types of meat, fresh mozzarella with olive oil and pepper, fresh ricotta with balsamic, mushrooms, olives, and bread with a pepper spread on top. All of that was then followed by spaghetti with chick peas, two different kind of pork, mustard greens, and peas. Then came dessert! We had melon and mandarins, grape crostata, a cake that had honey, rains, and nuts in it, and a chocolate pannetone cake. We then had more after dinner drinks! I had my first taste of limoncello, which was really good! After lunch we got a very nice tour of the house, and got to see where Vincenzo makes his wine! Later in the afternoon we went to Angelina's house, where we worked some more on the family tree. She offered us some caffe and cake as well. Then after a little while we headed back to Vincenzo's where we had hazelnut gelato! We all had a good time, and I really enjoyed watching Lulu, who is 2 years old. Her little Italian voice is absolutely adorable! That evening we went into Cosenza and walked around for a while. We got to see the fountains, which during the summer dance with the music, as well as the statues that line the streets. We then returned home and relaxed a little bit before bed.

The beautiful view I woke up to in Mangone.

The fountains.

A tree that was entirely made out of plastic bottles.

The streets of Cosenza.

Beautiful lights.

DAY 4- MONDAY 4/3

I woke up around 8 am again and head breakfast and showered. During the morning we went out to the cemetary and saw where the Montemurro's are buried and got some more history about the family. Then we went and stopped at Saint John the Baptist church and took some pictures. We then were off to meet some more relatives! We went and met Salina, who offered us some snacks as well as caffe. We returned home to Teresa's around 1:30 and had lunch. We had pasta with pistacchios, which was extremely good, along with a mixture of cheeses, bread and some fruit. We finally finished lunch around 4 pm and headed out to il mare (the ocean)!! It was absolutely breathtaking and we got there right as the sun was setting. We walked around, took a lot of pictures, and skipped some rocks. Then we stopped to get some gelato. I got cookies and kinder bar flavors. They were both very good. Afterwards we stopped at a grocery store and they picked up some foods that they wanted us to try. They got chocolate covered figs, which were really good as well as some glazed chestnuts. Then we returned home and were picked up by Lorenzo. He took my Dad, uncle and I to his house to have dinner. We had dinner with Enio, Frencesca, Lilia and Lorenzo. We had a very good antipasto, bread, pasta al forno, beef with arugula and some of the most delicious macaroons. They were dipped in alcohol and then filled with chocolate and creme. We also had some chocolate and fruit after that. After dinner we sat around and talked for a while and had quite the laughs trying to take pictures! After a wonderful evening, Lorenzo drove us back home and we got to bed a little after 1 am.

Al, Enio, Francesca, Lilia, Dad

Me, Lorenzo, his dog Ryan , Lilia

DAY 5- TUESDAY 5/3

Today I woke up around 9 am and had my breakfast. I was one of the first ones showered and ready so I went into Cosenza with Maurizio. He had a few things to get done, so I tagged along. Over the last 2 months I've seen the crazy parking that Italians have. It is very common to have people double park, and I always wondered what you did if you got stuck. Well today I found out. You lay on your horn until the person parked behind you comes out to move his car. Then afterwards we returned home and waited for everyone else to come home so we could have lunch. Around 2 pm we had lunch. We had pasta with zucchine and shell fish- but mine was without the shellfish, olives and mushrooms, wine, bread, cheese, swiss chard, two different kinds of fried fish- anchovies, and merrutzo which is small pieces of cod that is dipped in a batter. I did not eat the anchovies, but I liked the merrutzo! We also had peppers that were filed with pecorino and dessert. For dessert we had biscotti that we dipped in Vin Santo, as well as fruit. After lunch we met another relative who stopped over! Then we headed out and walked around Mangone and saw the old houses of the relatives. Then we returned home for a little bit before we headed out for our last dinner with everyone. We went to a pizzeria and had 4 different kinds of pizzas along with bruschetta, and figs al forno.

Everyone was so generous during our trip and really made us feel welcome. I definitely will have to take them up on their offer of coming back during the summer when it is warmer.

Driving with Maurizio to Cosenza.

What road signs look like- could you imagine having to read all of those and quickly decide which direction you need to go?!

Maurizio making lunch.

Pasta with zucchine and shellfish

My pasta with out the shellfish

The merrutzo- fried fish

Cheese!!!

Peppers filled with pecorino

The meat that they cure themselves!

The old house of my great great grandparents.

Pizza!

They look like prunes, but they are actually figs.

DAY 6- WEDNESDAY 6/3

We woke up around 7 today, ate, showered, finished packing, and said our goodbyes. Francesco and Pietro then brought us to the airport. We checked in and then were waiting around talking for a bit when our names were called through the speaker of the airport. I got a little worried, but we headed over to the desk to find out what the problem was. It turns out a copy of Al's passport and fallen out by the desk when we checked in and they were returning it. No major problem thankfully! We had a smooth flight into Rome, had about 20 minutes until our flight to Torino boarded, and then we had a smooth flight into Torino. Gianni picked us up at the airport and brought us back to his and Antonella's home around 2 pm. Antonella made us pasta in a red sauce, cheese, bread, and wine for lunch. We were all very hungry because we hadn't had time to stop for lunch between our two flights. After lunch Gianni took us around Torino, giving us a sense of the area. Then we stopped at his dad, Aldo's house. We talked for a while and showed pictures, until it was time to head back home for dinner. Gianni made fish, and some steak for me, along with salad, cheese, and their homemade wine. After we had fruit for dessert and talked for a while before we all headed off to bed.

The views from their home in Torino.

DAY 7- THURSDAY 7/3

Today we woke up around 8:30 am and had yogurt, fruit, fresh squeezed orange juice, and cereal for breakfast. After we all got ready we headed off to Meana. We saw the little neighborhoods of Susa and Capodilupo with Aldo, Gianni, and Olivia. We saw Aldo's house in Meana and the view is absolutely breathtaking. We then had an extremely good lunch at a local restaurant/hotel. We had 2 plates of meat, the largest grissini (breadsticks) I have ever seen, peppers- which I loved, ravioli, cheese, fruit, and nuts, and wine from Meana. I had quite the fun experience trying to crack the nuts. I had them flying all over the room! We then drove around the area after lunch and saw a few churches and got great views of the mountains. Afterwards we returned home. I read for a while, Al napped, Gianni did some work on the computer, and Dad and Antonella went to the store for groceries. Around 7 I went with Antonella in the new Cinquecento (!) to pick up her son Luca for dinner. I decided that after I graduate when I go to buy a car, I will buy the cinquecento. So my goal for the summer is to learn how to drive manual! We went to dinner with their friend Giulia and her son Francesco. Before dinner we went to Giulia's house for happy hour. At dinner I ordered carciofi ravioli in a butter and sage sauce. They were very good. For my second course I had fried mozarella, zucchine, and eggplant. It was all very good, but very filling, and I didn't have any room for dessert, despite it all looking extremely delicious. After dinner we headed home and headed off to bed.

Driving to the Meana.

Where they grow their grapes for their wine.

View of the train station from their house.

Aldo in front of the little chapel.

The old house of my great-great grandparents.

The cemetary in Meana.

The tiny streets of Meana.

GRISSINI!

These peppers were absolutely amazing.

The appetizers that we had at Giulia's house before dinner.

DAY 8- FRIDAY 8/3

Today we woke up around 9 am and had breakfast. After we got ready we headed out to the center of Torino and walked around and did some shopping. We saw a lot of landmarks, which I can't remember all of the names right now, but they are pretty none the less. Then we had lunch back at home- pasta in a pesto sauce. I'm becoming extremely fond of pesto sauce. The weather wasn't very nice the rest of the day so we stayed at home the rest of the afternoon, and I went with Antonella to hang out with her son Luca and daughter Marta for a while. For dinner we had some of the best chicken I've had in a long time. It was in an orange glaze sauce and was delicious. I will definitely be trying to make it sometime on my own. Then we had salad, wine, bread, cheese, and prosciutto.

After dinner I video chatted with my sister Emily, and she got to say hello to Gianni, Antonella, and Olivia.

Most of the downtown area has these covered walk ways which make shopping really nice in inclement weather.

The front of the Duomo of Torino.

Yes it is much smaller than the Duomo in Florence.

They had the medal ceremonies for the Olympics out in that Piazza.

Inside a courtyard at the University of Torino.

The front of the Torino Opera House.

The symbol of Torino.

The oldest pharmacy. 1732.

This is Olivia, their dog. She turned 9 while we were there. She is VERY big, but very nice!!

DAY 9- SATURDAY 9/3

Today we got up around 8 am and headed off to Bardonecchia in the Mountains. We got to see the mountains up close, the snow, Olympic Village, as well as Gianni's ski house. We walked through the streets of Bardonecchia and it was absolutely breathtaking with the mountains in the backdrop. It really was what you'd picture a ski town to be like, but with a little bit of an Italian twist. For lunch we went to a Pizzeria. I got the Olympic 2006 pizza that had mozzarella, wurster, spicy salame and arugula. It was really good! After lunch the sun came out and everything got even more beautiful. We then continued to walk around and do some shopping. So many people knew Gianni,that we were joking that he could run for Mayor! After a nice afternoon we returned back to Torino and stopped by Aldo's house again. We said our goodbye's and I got a little choked up. When we got down to the street where the car was parked I looked up and he was standing in his window waving down at us. I was really glad I finally got to meet him.

For dinner we went out to a very nice restaurant that was a bit of a drive away. I got potato gnocchi with chestnuts in a creamy cheese sauce. It was the best gnocchi I have ever head. They melted in my mouth and had amazing flavor. I decided to skip a second course so that I would have room for dessert. I chose a chocolate dessert- there was a thick chocolate mousse on the bottom, topped with a scoop of hazelnut gelato, and a piece of sugar. It was heaven and absolutely delicious. There was quite a bit of fog on our ride home, but we made it home safely and then had to pack and get ready for bed.

The Italian Alps

The map of all of the ski/snowboard runs

A cow on skis!

Me, Dad, and Al in front of the Olympic Rings

Gianni's Ski house

Gianni's pass from working at the Olympics

My Olympic pizza!

Bardonecchia. :)

Olympic Village

The half-pipe from the Olympics

The ski lift.

Dad, Antonella, me, Gianni, Al

DAY 10- SUNDAY 10/3

Today we got up very early, around 6:45 so that we could leave for the train station at 7:45. We got up, finished packing, and loaded up the car with our bags. We got to the station, got our tickets, and had some breakfast (caffe and some pastries). Then we headed off to our train and said goodbye. We had about a two hour train ride from Torino to Milan and then had to change trains to get us to Florence. We got into Florence around 1 pm. The hotel where Dad and Al were staying was very close to the train station, so we walked over, checked in, and dropped off our bags. Then we headed out for lunch. We got lunch at a little place near the Academia. The food was very good, especially because I was starving! Then we headed off to visit San Marco and the Academia. I got to see the real David! He was absolutely breathtaking, I could've stayed there all day. By the time we finished there it was around 6 pm. So we headed back to the hotel to decide what we were going to do for dinner. It was raining pretty heavily and we didn't want to trek all through the city for dinner so we decided that we would have dinner at the hotel restaurant. First we sat in the bar lounge near the lobby for about an hour before heading up to dinner. The restaurant is on the top floor of the hotel and has a great view of the city.

We had a very nice dinner and got to talk with some people sitting near us that were from Australia.

After dinner my host mom picked me up from the train station and brought me back home. At which point I had just enough energy to open up my suitcase and get out my toothbrush and get ready for bed before I fell asleep.

My grilled chicken that had been marinaded in balsamic vinaigrette.

The view of the Duomo and bell tower from the restaurant.

Dad's Florentine Steak.

My wonderful molten chocolate dessert.

MONDAY 11/3

Today I slept in until 10:30 am. I was absolutely exhausted from such a busy spring break. I had a lot of fun, but today I had to go back to class. I had class from 2-5 and then met up with Dad, Al, and Chris from school. It was time for Chris' homestay  dinner at my house, so he was coming with my Dad and Al and we were going to have one big dinner. The housing coordinator from school also came for dinner along with her daughter and her exchange student. We had quite the party. My mother made a delicious dinner, as always!

TUESDAY 12/3

Today I had my early morning class from 9-12 and then I met my Dad and Al in the Piazza outside of my school. I took them to my favorite panini place for lunch!! They were very excited to finally get to try one of the blog-famous paninis. After lunch I went with them to help them find places for a little bit more shopping until I had to return to school for another class from 3:30-5:30. After class I then met back up with my Dad and we headed to our cousin Vincenzo's house for dinner. He lives in Florence- only 2 blocks away from me!! We had an absolutely wonderful dinner, and their son Giovanni, who's 8, was absolutely hilarious.

Al chose braesola, prosciutto, pecorino, and tomatoes for his panino.

Dad chose speck, prosciutto, lettuce, pecorino, and tomatoes for his. They both really liked their panini especially the bread I recommended. They said it had the perfect balance of crunch and softness.

After lunch we stopped for gelato. I got chocolate fondante and hazelnut. Dad chose marscapone. Al chose pistacchio and another flavor that I can't remember.

Dinner at Vincenzo's

WEDNESDAY 13/3

Dad and Al left this morning. So it was back to a normal schedule for me. The afternoon was pretty uneventful, except for trying to catch up on homework from the last two days. A little after 7 pm I heard that there was white smoke coming out of the Sistine Chapel! I quickly ran into the kitchen and told my host mom and she turned on the TV. We then watched the coverage until they announced who was chosen and through the new Pope's Blessing. It was really cool getting to watch the selection from Italy, especially since now I have been in St. Peter's square. I know what the energy and excitement was like during the Pope's New Year's blessing 4 years ago, so I can only imagine what it was like that night.

For dinner we had polenta with sausage and beef with some tomato sauce. I'm not a huge fan of polenta, but it was pretty good. The sausage was my favorite part, though.

THURSDAY 14/4
Today I went with my Art History class to the Uffizi (pronounced oo-fee-z, not oo-feet-z like most people say. There is only one z so it does not get the 'tz' sound.)
It was really cool getting to see pieces of art that I had only heard about or seen in pictures before. After class I went and did some homework back and school and had my lunch. Just as I opened up the page for my blog the power went out and then the internet stopped working. So I spent my evening starting to read my next book for class- The Monster of Florence. This is definitely going to be a good book, but a little gruesome.

Today I bought my first Italian paper-for a good reason too! Have to commemorate Pope Francesco!

My attempt at being creative. I took this picture outside the Palazzo Vecchio. :)
Today my host mom made an amazing dinner! First we had some angel hair pasta, with the spicy oil sauce that I like, followed by extrememely juicy and tender chicken drumsticks and thighs, and to top it all off- MASHED POTATOES! I was just thinking earlier in the day how I missed mashed potatoes, and then she ended up making them for dessert! They were really good. :)

FRIDAY 15/3

Well I am finally caught up! I just spent 4 hours and 41 minutes writing the blog and uploading all of the pictures. I hope it didn't take you all that long to read it! Now I am off to shower and get ready and head out somewhere for dinner!