Genuine

Hi Lovelies,

This bag was featured on a previous post, but I realized that I never gave it the attention it fully deserves. I purchased this bag in the San Lorenzo leather market on one of the last couple of days during my stay in Italy and I absolutely love it. It is genuine leather and buttery soft. It's is big enough to hold all of my essential stuff, a book or two (to read on the train going to work,) plus a couple of odds and ends items yet, at times, it's actually too big - it does take me a while to find my keys and phone when I'm in a rush. I have a lot of black bags at home (granted, they aren't real leather) so I wanted to go for a different color. What was most important for me, however, is that the bag should be a classic staple that I would wear season after season. This Italian leather one will see me for many summer's to come as well as helping me transition from summer to fall and spring to summer. 

Wishing you all a very lovely day!

Eternally yours, 

Stephanie

It's T-Shirt Time

Ciao Lovelies,

Seeing as how it's all of the news, I'm sure most of you are informed that the Jersey Shore cast is filming their fourth season here in Florence. I'll admit that I have mixed views of the show as they do portray young Americans and Italian-Americans in a pretty negative light yet I can't deny how entertaining they are to watch, almost like a train wreck where you just can't look away. So when I got news that they were moving in on my final day in Florence, I sacrificed an hour in the middle of the day to watch them move in. And after our last nice dinner out, with the 6 new best friends that I made, we caught the cast walking around the city and followed them around.

I'm at the far right, in the middle of speaking.

I'm to the right of "The Situation's" head, with my friend Kate

I'll admit that I felt ashamed that I was caught up in the hysteria but it's a strange force that pulls you in. These people contribute nothing to society except entertainment and it's not even the quality entertainment that actors and singers provide you. Yet, because these people are on T.V. people, myself included, get wrapped in the thrill of being near someone "(in)famous" and will see what they're up to.

So what are your thoughts: Was it ridiculous that I spent several precious hours following the cast around with my group of friends? Can you understand the hysteria not only on reality T.V. stars but celebrities in general? What do you think about the Jersey Shore? Honesty is always appreciated :)

Eternally yours,

Stephanie

The Food Of Italy: Sicily and Sardinia

Ciao Darlings!

We have reached the end of our Italy tour of all of the foods of each region. I still have two more posts to do regarding previous regions, but as of today, this was my last cooking class. Next week is our written final and the week after that is our practical final. Tears! Sicily and Sardenia are two big islands of Italy and our menu today is Pane Carasau and Cannoli.

My cooking professor and I

Pane Carasau:

Ingredients 

400gr buffalo mozzarella

4 bell peppers

Rosemary

2 garlic cloves

4 green olives

4 black olives

4 slices pane carasa

Oil, salt, pepepr



Slice the buffalo mozzarella, and put it in a colander to drain for 20 minutes. Roast the bell pepper in the oven until soft and browned then remove the peppers from the oven, and put them in a ziplock bag for a few minutes to steam. Peel the peppers, take out the seeds, and cut the peppers into big strips. Salt them and add quite a bit of chopped rosemary, chopped garlic, and oil. Take out the seeds from the olives, and cut the olives in big pieces. Place two pieces of pane carasau on a big sheet of foil. Top it with about a third of the mozzarella, bell pepper, and olives. Place another piece of pane carasau on top, more toppings, then the last pane carasau, and the rest of the toppings. Close the edges of the dish with foil, and bake for 15 minutes at 200 degrees C.

Before

After

Cannoli:

Ingredients

150gr flour

10gr sugar

1 egg white

2 tablespoons marsala liquor

Pinch of salt

30gr Crisco

250gr ricotta

100gr powdered sugar

30gr mini chocolate chips

Chopped pistachios

Powdered sugar

Carefully melt the Crisco in a pan over low heat, and immediately remove from heat to let cool. Place flour out on the table and make a hole in the middle for the sugar, salt, egg white, marsala liquor, and melted Crisco. Mix it all together with your hands until you've made a ball and leave to rest for an hour. Wipe the cannoli molds with crisco. Take a little piece of dough. Roll it very thin, as thin as possible and cut it in a circle. Roll the dough around the cannoli mold and make sure to close the edges very well, otherwise it'll open up when you fry it. Deep fry the cannoli forms in very hot oil. Dry them on paper towels. Take out the molds when cool. Be careful; they break easily. Mix ricotta with powdered sugar and chocolate chips (or candied fruit) until just mixed. Put it in a pastry bag and pipe the filling into the cannoli. Dip the ends into chopped pistacchios (or put a candied cherry on each end), and then sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve!

 

I'm off to my final destination of my weekends traveling. I'm going to the city I have dreamed about for forever: Paris! I'm extremely nervous about traveling by myself, but can't wait to explore the city :)

Eternally yours,
Stephanie

Photo Credit:
Katie S. blogspot 

Credit: By Me

Ciao Darlings, 

As promised, here are some pictures that I took of Christy when we visited the Boboli Gardens last week. I still have a lot to learn regarding photography, but I think I'm getting hooked! I especially love the sound of the clicking and feeling so professional.

For those with professional camera skills, do you have any helpful hints and tricks that I could learn?

Eternally yours,

Stephanie

Thicker Than Water

Ciao Lovelies,

In front of my mom's old house in the Italian mountains

Over Easter weekend, I traveled to Emilia-Romagna to visit cousins I haven't seen since 2007 and relatives that I haven't seen since I was eight years old. I was most excited for this weekend and was planning it since February, using my mom to help me translate e-mails since my Italian is very broken and my cousin, who I am staying with, speaks broken English. Stepping off the train, I was excited and nervous. Two hours into the visit, I was exhausted; my brain literally hurt from trying to translate the Italian into English, comping up with a response and then translating it from English to Italian. I was also extremely overwhelmed knowing that even though I haven't seen or spoken to my relatives in years, I was a welcomed guest and treated like royalty. This weekend was one for the memory books.

The town where my relatives live

Only in Italy would you find fresh ravioli pasta in an ice cream freezer

I remember this from when I was eight year old!

Mom's house :)

The view outside my mom's old house

I'm sorry for all of the scenic pictures. The one above was the only picture that did not have family members in it.

Eternally yours,

Stephanie

One Short Day

Ciao Darlings,

I have Mondays off so I decided that I was going to explore the other side of the Arno River which is more local than the touristy side that I live on. My solo exploration was delightfully sidetracked when Christy suggested going to the Boboli Gardens. With great company and beautiful weather, how could I say no? Along with looking at the beautiful scenery and talking about our travel plans after our program ends, we stumbled upon a grassy area that had sunlight pouring in at various spots. A silly photo shoot took place with Christy's Pentax camera (I have to ask her what model.)

I am wearing: Shirt and Necklace: (Charlotte Russe); Jeans: (Calvin Klein Jeans); 

Headband: (Forever 21); Flats: (Unlabeled); Ring: (purchased at a Croatian market)

One of many outtakes

This looks like my high school senior photo!

If I get her permission, I might be able to do a post with the pictures that I took of Christy.

Eternally yours,

Stephanie

Photo Credit: 

Christy B.

Learning The Basics Of Wine

Ciao Darlings,

One of my fears upon returning home is that people will assume that I have acquired a vast knowledge of the different types of wines offered in Italy. Despite the fact that I went on a wine tasting tour is Southern Tuscany and that our fireplace, the area where we are collecting empty wine bottles, has become full from all of the bottle my apartment mates have been consuming, I'm by no means a wine connoisseur and my knowledge is pretty limited. So with a little research and the tidbits that I do know of wine, please read on for some basic knowledge of why Benjamin Franklin says “Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy."

What Is Wine?
"Any fruit containing sugar will turn to alcohol if you leave it to ferment because yeast converts the sugar into alcohol. Yeast lands on the skins of grapes so when grape juice is left to sit, the yeast will mix with it and ferment it naturally. Different strains of yeast will lead to different flavors of wine."


The Ingredients
"The inside of red grapes is essentially "white;" it is only their skin that is red and most wines are made with just the inside of a grape. The red color in red wine is created by allowing the fleshy interior to mix with the skins when it is being crushed. This process infuses red wines with "tannin," the ingredient that gives red wine its distinctive flavor. So you can make white wine with red grapes."

The Process
"The grapes are crushed with or without the skins and then left to ferment. A disinfectant is used to neutralize any contaminants, such as mold and bacteria, that may have been on the grapes. The fluid, or "must," is then left to complete the fermentation process in either big steel vats or small wooden barrels - barrels call for a longer process. Some vineyards will age the wine for years in oak barrels, which infuses the wine with positive woody hints." Most of the wine's aging is done in the vineyard and the vats so when you buy a bottle, you don't need to store it away as it is ready to be consumed.

Wine Tasting
The results of the four recognized stages to wine tasting:

• appearance
• "in glass" the aroma of the wine 
• "in mouth" sensations
• aftertaste

are combined in order to establish the following properties of a wine:

• complexity and character
• potential (suitability for aging or drinking)
• possible faults

Pairing Food And Wine
"If you are going to be eating something delicate with subtle tastes you should avoid drinking something with a strong flavor that will overshadow the food. Conversely, a hearty meal will often be best complimented by a strong wine with flavor of its own. White wines tend to go best with fish and white meats, like chicken and pork; red wines go best with red meat and red sauces."

So, with these bits of information, you can now go around telling people about the basics of wine. If you have any input, questions, or more knowledge, then please, I would love to know!

Eternally yours,

Stephanie

Sources:

http://www.soyouwanna.com/soyouwanna-learn-basics-wine-1501.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_tasting

Into The Woods

Ciao Darlings,

The weekend before I left for Greece was filled with lots and lots of rain. Many people were upset about the gloomy weather but I actually really enjoy rain. I obviously am not a fan of the frizzy hair and the wet shoes from accidentally stepping in puddles, but I think that rain gives scenery a little touch of something extra. It's hard to describe, but the smell of rain plus the feeling in the air after a downpour adds a glimmer of magic in the surrounding area. Also, falling asleep with the rainfall on your window is a pleasure enjoyed by all.

I am wearing: Sweater: (Forever 21); Dress: (H&M); Stockings: (Ann Taylor Loft); Flats: (American Eagle); Purse: (Mondani)

On a study break for one of my midterms, I wandered across the Arno river and went into the Boboli Gardens, using my much abused Ufizzi Pass that got me in for free! The fact that it had just finished raining brought out the deep colors in the greenery and the stones in the different statues felt alive. I took advantage of the fact that few people ventured out into the gardens and snapped a couple of pictures.

Have a Lovely Weekend!

Eternally yours,

Stephanie

An Evening In Roma

Ciao Everyone,

This was a lazy weekend spent studying for midterms and getting a feel for Florence nightlife. I don't go out during the week days due to early morning schedules and the past couple of weekends I have been traveling, so I used this weekend as an excuse to go to the nightclubs that people are always talking and raving about. A lot of fun, but I'd much rather spend my free days seeing the world than doing something that I could do back home in New York. But I digress, lets talk about Rome shall we? It has such a romantic feel to it and while I was initially worried about not having enough time to explore and see everything it has to offer, we were able to hit all of the major sites with enough down time to relax at night - special thanks to Shannon who is such a great organizer and has the best traveling tips!

We arrived in the early afternoon on Friday and explored the Villa Borghese which is a beautiful park that has enchanting views of the city. There was a point where we overlooked these beautiful steps with a million tourists on it. Little did we know that it was the Spanish Steps we were looking at! We returned to the train station to pick up our fourth friend who had to arrive in Rome a bit late because of a class and on the way we humorously tried to pick oranges from an orange tree that was far out of our reach. Once we were all together, we checked into our hostel and then explored the area, Travistera where we got dinner at a homey trattoria..the Coliseum was right around the corner! It was drizzling, but I felt that it kind of gave the area a magical touch to it. I had a Dean Martin soundtrack playing inside my head :)

First night's dinner - pasta con pomodoro

The next morning we woke up really early and booked it to the Vatican museum about 40 minutes before it opened. It was a smart move because we were one of the first people in and the first few rooms weren't as crowded. The museum was stunning..so many different rooms with different mediums of art. I did an audio tour which was another great decision as I could replay it as many times as I wanted. My camera started to die by the end of the tour (I was in there for about six hours and I didn't even notice) but I was lucky enough to have gotten all of the pictures that I wanted.That night, we grabbed dinner near our hostel area and then Christy and I went to see the Trevi Fountain at night which if I was by myself, I probably would have stayed there all night. Alas, we had to get back and help Shannon celebrate her 21 birthday!

Lana and I - waiting outside the Vatican Museum

Some works of art from inside the museum:

Raphaello's masterpiece fresco

A Vincent Van Gogh original art piece

A Salvador Dali original art piece

Sunday morning was another early start as we wanted to explore St. Peter's Basilica the afternoon before, but the line was outrageously long. When we got there early in the morning, there wasn't any line at all and the morning sun was so relaxing overlooking the square. We explored inside the church for about 45 minutes and then stayed for the morning mass. It was incredible to be in a mass where the Pope was and even though I had no idea what was being said since it was in Italian, I was able to observe the magnificent alter and try to catch onto the words. The afternoon was filled with exploring the ancient city and we got to ride bikes around the Coliseum - it was so surreal that it looked right out of a movie. We visited the Trevi Fountain again and ate gelato on the Spanish Steps. After the afternoon delight we caught the early train back to Florence and prepared for the week ahead.

In the Vatican

St. Peter's Basilica

Spanish Steps

Concentrating hard on my wish :)

I'm off to study for midterms - up next is Greece!

Eternally yours,

Stephanie