Pizza Making at it's Finest....

This post is long over due!!!

A couple of weeks ago I attended a pizza making class and it was so much fun.

We weren't able to actually make the dough to the pizza or the sauce but we were able to add any toppings they had and put our own pizza's in the oven and take them out.

We started with a small piece of dough and we formed the circle ourselves and hand tossed the dough (see video :]).

Then we spread some tomato sauce on top and got to pick from various toppings. I put extra cheese, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms and olives.

The pizza only took about 2 minutes to cook in the brick oven that was provided.

It was the best pizza I have ever had, and to think that I was the one that made it!!

Hand Tossed Pizza :]

The Product!



Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

Milano: Fashion Week.

Milan was the highlight of this past weekend and it wasn't necessarily what we all expected.

We took a trip for the day with a local student travel agency. We first got on the bus and didn't realize how long the ride was going to be. A total of 4 hours to get to Milan. When it is supposed to be about 3. We finally get to Milan and the first thing we do is go to the Duomo of Milan. Half of us were not allowed to go inside because you have to be covered up (In Italy if you are going into a sacred holy monument then you have to have your knees and shoulders covered up to enter.). Normally the church will give you something to put over yourself so you can go in, but this one did not. So we didn't even get to go inside.

After that we got to go into the Galleria which is considered the worlds oldest shopping mall. Has a giant glass dome ceiling connected to long rectangular ceilings made of glass as well, all leading to four arch openings. It was beautiful and had a lot of high end fashion stores inside.

We then were able to break for lunch and this is where the fun begins...

We ate lunch after we searched for about 30 minutes to find a place so that we could be quick and go shopping. I had the best gnocchi ever. It was so rich, but such a heavy pasta. It is a pasta made out of potatoes. After lunch we tried to do some shopping with what little time we had left. It was very hard to squeeze in what we wanted to do at this time.

Then we were taken to see one of the public fashion shows. These shows are normally for some of the less known designers. It was actually kind of cool, for a 15 minute show.

Shopping was a fail, so we met back up with the group and followed the tour guide to the street with all of the high end fashion designers such as, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, and many many more. It was great, except for the fact that we were not allowed to stop inside to look. We had to keep walking.

Along this walk we found out from one of the other girls something very surprising. Our tour guides for the day were not supposed to be our tour guides. A professor from the fashion school in Florence was bringing his students to Milan to learn about fashion business and they were just a long for the ride on our bus. We then found out that our tour guides (the ones we paid for) never showed up that morning. At this point we are a little perturbed.

This whole time we had been following an itinerary of a teacher instead of the one that we were given. We did think it was very strange when we did not stop in Milan's Little Venice on the way back for gelato and crepes.

Aside from that, the bus ride home took about 5 hours, with a stop at "rest area" for the best food in town. NOT. It was fast food, and I can get that at home.

Other than all that, I definitely enjoyed the company of my roommates and the little adventure we can tell our kids someday. All I know is, I will now go back to Milan on my own time.

Goofing off on the "rodeo drive" of Milan

Nennette fashion cat walk


Best Gnocchi ever.

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

Cultural Differences....

I had been waiting to put off this post till the very end, but something very interesting inspired me.....

Outside across the street from my apartment is a community center with two soccer fields. Today as I was looking out my window I saw a ton of children running around and playing on the fields. There is no playground or toys or anything for them to play with. I noticed that every child had a smile on their face. Some kids had found a bouncy ball and made up a game using it, and other kids were playing a little game of soccer. The joy that was on these kids faces was so inspiring.

In America, children need something to occupy them. Especially technology.

Technology here isn't a big factor. I have noticed that I myself have paid more with cash than with a card here because no one uses debit or credit cards here. The Internet is not something they need to have. I feel like it is a luxury in a way. You walk everywhere. When I was walking home the other day I was paying attention to the cars parked a long my street, and not one of them was an automatic.

Last night when we went to dinner, we were treated like princesses. My roommate had been to this restaurant before and knew a couple of the waiters. We got our meal and we waited around a while, but while we waited they gave us a little bottle of free wine, a glass of Limoncello (which is a sweet lemon liquor, usually for an after dinner drink that you just sip on), and a drink at the bar when we left. I also took into account that Americans really do rush their meals. We waited around for a while after we had asked for the check three times, but that made me realize that we need to start enjoying the company we have and the time that we are given. Italians like to sit and just enjoy the food and the company around them.

At lunch time the other day, I walked to a cafe around the corner from my school to do some homework and have a panino while I was on break. I had an hour and a half. I sat down and ordered only expecting to be there for about 30 minutes. I was getting frustrated because when I was finished they didn't come over to ask if I wanted the check or anything. I now realize that you need to ask them. In America, people are so rushed. At restaurants they want to get you out of there as quickly as possible so that they can have the next customers come in and sit down.

For dinner, people tend to eat really late here. Sometimes we will go to dinner and they will start closing and right when we walk up they will tell us they are still open just to have the business. I have never seen that in America. It is hard here because you never know the hours of their businesses. From the hours of 1-3 a lot of businesses are closed for lunch and before and after those hours restaurants or cafes are not really busy because no one eats at that time.

In my Italian class yesterday, we got to have a conversation with two students from the University of Florence. I found out that they do not like to really go out to "clubs" or "bars". They like to spend time with their friends at a pub or a cafe. The perception of "getting wasted" to them is all an American thing. In Italy no one drinks to get drunk, they drink with a meal or with company and know when to stop. For how many times I have been out I have never seen an Italian drunk.

It's also really funny to hear American music all over the place. It is probably a couple of months older, but it is everywhere. They love American music. Which is great for us because we get to hear it in the bars and clubs when we go out.

I've noticed as well that because Florence is very touristy, every business you go to they will try and speak English to help you out. I feel terrible because they should not have to accommodate to us, we should be accommodating to them because this is their country not ours. I love the culture here and the language is beautiful, I did not come here to be a part of an "Italian-American" experience.

I will say that this city reminds me of the quieter parts of New York City. When it is calm it is calm, but there is always a restaurant or bakery or even your favorite store around the corner. People coming out of all different corners, from their houses. Gelaterias are how Starbucks is in the United States, they are literally on every corner.

Italians take a lot of pride in their food and culture, that is why it is so rich.

I am happy to say that I enjoy the differences. I think going back to the States may be a little difficult in the sense that the food will be so different to me, the people, and the lifestyle. I want to be able to take all these cultural differences and apply them to my own life.

I will be sharing more because I still have a few months to go, and I'm sure I will be experiences more of these cultural differences....

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

Siena, San Gimignano, e the Duomo....

So this past weekend was a little relaxing one. Didn't do too much, except go to Siena and San Gimignano. They were beautiful. Not exactly what I expeceted but it is always fun to explore other areas of Italy and Tuscany.

In Siena we were able to venture to the Piazza del Campo which is a large plazza that there town hall is located. In July and August they have a huge horse race there which is extremely famous. I would love to go to that one day. After that we went to Siena's Duomo and climbed to the top and got too over look the whole town. It was breathtaking.

In San Gimignano we all were so tired because we did a lot of walking in Siena. So we went close and went to the central piazza and was able to have, yes, WORLD CHAMPION GELATO. It was delicious. I have never had gelato like it since I have been here. I wish I could go back and get some more. The town itself was really cool. It was very small and totally felt like you were in the middle ages. There were towers everywhere and the buildings were beautiful.

On Saturday I took an adventure with one of my roommates to Ikea. So interesting to see one in Italy, but none the less still amazing and I got a few things to liven up my apartment.

Today after all of my classes I got a chance to climb the Duomo in Florence. 463 steps later and I almost died. I think I have something wrong with my breathing because I was definitely weezing once I got up there. It was actually cold out today so I had a jacket on and it was extremely windy on top of the Duomo. It reminded me of the Empire State Building....with a better view (no offense New Yorkers).

As of now I am planning some more day trips and weekend trips with my roommates so look forward to some very exciting upcoming events....Oh you know like Milan this weekend for fashion week!

World Famous Gelato. I wasn't lying.

Me on top of the Duomo, such a happy camper after that hike.

Piazza del Campo in Siena.

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

Trip to the market...

As I said before I am taking a History and Culture of Food class. Yesterday we took a little field trip to the central market in Florence. This market has absolutely everything you could possibly need for your cooking pleasures. Spices, meats, various cheeses, freshly made pasta and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. People reading from home (Florida) it was like a Red Barn flea market but all with food. I will definitely be making a trip back to do some shopping so I can cook with some fresh foods.

I have been doing quite a bit of cooking since eating out every night is not really ideal. A couple of nights ago I experimented with some chicken, zucchini and a tomato basil sauce. I salt and peppered the chicken then sauteed it in some butter to have a grilled chicken breast. Then I sauteed the zucchini and then added the tomato sauce with it to simmer it a little longer. The sauce was then put over a penne pasta. Along with that I cut some Italian bread and it was delicious. A big thing here to do with bread is to dip it in olive oil and red vinegar. Bellissimo.

A lot of you may know that I really enjoy cooking and I love trying to make new things and learning how to make new things.

A few of my goals while I am here:

-Learn to make fresh pasta

-Be able to make my own fresh sauces for pasta

-Learn how to make a pizza

-try something different every time I go out to eat

-Learn to make a delicious Italian dessert

Below are some pictures from the central market......Enjoy

Freshly made pasta
Fresh vegetables
Fresh breads

and yes, they sell this so you can cook it and eat it!

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

The adventures keep on coming....

Finishing up the weekend with a trip to the beach was great success. On Saturday my friends and I went to Cinque Terre which in translation means Five Lands. It was beautiful. Totally reminded me of the European beaches you see in the movies. I can finally say that I have swam in the Mediterranean. Kind of amazing to say that. We had an amazing trip with bus rides and trains galore, great weather, crystal clear water, and fantastic food. I wish I could go back.

The five different towns that are in Cinque Terre are called

- Riomaggiore

-Manarola

-Corniglia

-Vernazza

-Monterosso al Mare

We mainly stayed in Riomaggiore and Monterosso al Mare. I like Monterosso because that is where the beach and the cocktails were located ;].

There is a hike you can do through the whole town. We only did the most infamous part of it which is called Via dell'Amore, which means the Road of Love. Along the way you see a bunch of locks attached to wire that is hanging from the cliffs and tunnels of the path. These locks represent the bonds of peoples love. In one of the tunnels there were writings all over the wall of people who had put who they love and who they want to be with forever. I honestly wish I had a permanent marker so I could make my mark.

After that we took a train to the very last town to enjoy a relaxing day on the beach. Needless to say the water was amazing and I got a little pink from the day.

The Kissing Statue along the Via dell'Amore

View from the trail
Plenty of boats all over the coast of Cinque Terre


Back to class on Monday. Kind of excited, headed to the food market for class!

Ciao,

Chelsea Lynn

Long over due.....

So sorry for not posting for the past five days. It was a bit rocky this week and now I am finally back on my feet and really enjoying myself.

One thing I would like everyone to know is that I FOUND MY BAG! Yes, it is still in the United States. Cool US Airways, that is not where it needs to be :]. None the less, my stuff is safe and will be too me soon.

On the other hand I started classes last Monday. They are very interesting. My schedule for the week is

M/W: Cross-Cultural Psychology
The History of Food and Culture
Identity in Culture (My favorite)

T/TH: Photography: Portfolio of Florence

M-TH: The Florence Experience IV (which is the highest level language course, scary.)

I am really enjoying them. This coming Monday for my food class we are going to one of the local food markets to do a walking tour of all the various foods sold in Florence. Kind of excited about that. My Identity and culture class is really awesome. I love my professor because he is really into learning about us as people and not as students. His class I think got me back on track because he made me realize why I am here in the first place, and that is to experience a different life style that I would not get back in the states. I am really going to like my photography class. We go shooting on Tuesdays and then photo shop lab on Thursdays (thank you Patty for elements, but apparently it won't work for this class) and thank god she is giving us the program so I don't have to pay hundreds of dollars on it. Italian class is very interesting. I am doing okay with speaking Italian, a lot better than I thought though.

As much I hate to admit this, I have now officially been to three places that the Jersey Shore went to while they were here. Two different clubs and then a Mexican restaurant. Yes, you read that correctly....MEXICAN. My roommates and I were craving something different from all the pasta and pizza and wanted something from our homeland (Arizona) and we found this place called Tijuana, which we found because of the Jersey Shore. It was amazing. I thought Mexican food was good back home, but this was just to die for. It just tasted so much healthier. I feel that way about all the food I eat here.

Last but not least.....

My trip to Chianti with my school. It was beautiful. It did not seem real to me. Other students and myself could only say one thing about the scenery. "This isn't real, it looks like a back drop." It literally did. I was so taken back at how breathtaking it was.

A little info about Chianti:
-It is known for the production of red wine
-Is in the outskirts of Tuscany, countryside
-It is about a 30 minute bus ride outside of Florence

I had a wonderful time and had fun taking many pictures of the scenery, wine barrels, and the food. We had a delicious lunch with a little wine tasting to go with it (wasn't a big fan, because I don't like red wine). The spread included, two types of cold cuts, a thick white cheese, grilled bread with olive oil, two servings of Italian bread, and a plate of the most delicious lasagna you could ever taste.

One of the staff members from school let us break the rules a little bit and we were able to go into the vines ourselves and eat the grapes. On the way down there were some green grapes which were divine and then the red grapes were absolutely delicious and didn't even look edible because they were so beautiful.

Below are some pictures of our beautiful adventure....

Red grapes from the vines

Delicious Lunch

French barrels of wine

Stefanie, Alexa and I in front of the view from the vineyard

Moving on, look forward to a post soon about my trip to Cinque Terre!


Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

Del tempo libro....

Translation: Some free time...

Which probably isn't the best thing right now, but I'm pushing through it.

Still no word on the bag :/


Today I did get to see the statue of David. It was amazing. I never realized how big it would be. It stands at 14 feet and with the pedestal it is 17 feet. The original statue is located in the Galleria dell'Accademia. The museum is only a block away from my apartment which is neat. With my school I get a museum card for 25 euro and we can get into over 15 museums without waiting.



Other than that my roommate and I are about to rearrange our room so that we have more space it is, it is fairly small. I also bought a booklet of post cards so I will be writing some out today and sending them sometime this week, you might be lucky :]

If anyone needs to mail me anything here is my address.....

Chelsea Bolyard
Palazzo Rucellai
Via Vigna Nuova 18
Firenze, Italy 50123


Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

Sono arrivato!

The door of my apartment

Sorry it has taken me a couple days to post anything but it has been a hectic couple of days.....


First i never want to fly by myself again out of the country. That was the worst experience of my life.

Second one of my bags is still on it's way to Florence somewhere. This bag is the bag I purposely packed so that if I lost the other one it would be okay. My flight that was going to Madrid I ran late on because my flight to Charlotte, NC was delayed. So there was no more overhead space on the flight to Madrid and I had to check it. Of course that bag still hasn't made it.

Third, I never thought I would miss home so much. This is a huge adjustment that I should be used to but it is a lot different than I thought.

Last but not least, I have been having a wonderful time. It is absolutely beautiful here and I am kind of getting the hang of where everything is. Well only a few things. I never realized how much money you need to have over here, it is outrageous. The rate is ridiculous because as we all know our dollar is worth nothing.

The scenery is just like I expected. The cafe's, bar's, shopping, everything. It is all gorgeous and so ancient looking that it is breathtaking. The Duomo is a couple blocks from my apartment.

Here are a couple of pictures from my window of the plane....



More to come!

Ciao,

Chelsea Lynn