So the reason I didn't blog yesterday was...I don't remember. I was probably just lazy and tired and had an early morning today. Yeah, let's go with that.
So Wednesday morning, we woke up with those of new roommates swirling through our minds. When would they get here, what would they be like, etc etc. But alas, class called our attention. Our cultural activity was a wine tasting. At 11 am. Needless to say, some of us hopped on the struggle bus a little early. We learned about and tried four different Tuscan wines: a Vernaccia, a Pomino Bianco, a Chianti Classico and a dessert wine, specifically Vin Santo. Surprisingly, I really liked all four of them, especially the Vin Santo. I'm really getting into wine over here...I guess it's about time.
The Vernaccia and Pomino Bianco are white wines that are more or less your stereotypical white wine: young, crisp, fresh, fruity etc. The Vernaccia is interesting though in that it's only made here in Tuscany and the specific one we tried was made around San Gimignano, which I've already visited. HAH. The Chianti, of course, was excellent, as most chiantis around here are. It's a lighter red, more fruity, so I'm definitely a fan. But, I have to say, my favorite of the four was the Vin Santo, the dessert wine. I think technically it's called a fortified wine since it's alcohol content is over 15.5% but I'm not positive. Anyway, the tradition in Tuscany is to take a small glass of Vin Santo and some cartucci, sort of almond biscotti-cookie type things (that are also delicious) and dip the cartucci in the Vin Santo. You wouldn't think it would be very good but man, it's incredible. The Vin Santo is very sweet so it sweetens the cookies and in turn, the cookies add an almond flavor to the wine. I think I'll probably be replicating this in the apartment and I'll probably even try to bring some back to the US, for those of you not cool enough to come to Italy (if I were in person, this would be where I toss my hair and look disapproving).
After wine tasting, me and Jessica (it's probably time to start using people's names), the one who I don't share a room with but is from UNC, went to the Mercato to get some apples (found the Pink Ladies, yesssss) while Liz (other UNC roommate and girl I actually share a room with) went to pick up flowers and back to the apartment. While me and Jessica were walking back, we were wondering if our roommates had arrived and trying to guess what they might be like. We walked into our piazza, saw that our windows were open and got excited. Liz doesn't normally open the windows, could it be them? We walked upstairs with bated breath, opened the door...and found Liz cutting flowers in the living room. Our roommates hadn't arrived yet...or so we thought. We then sat down, had lunch and mucked around for a while.
Then, around 2:30, after Liz had gone to class, our doorbell rang. No one was expecting anyone and we hadn't gotten any emails about people coming by the apartment so who could it be? I peeked my head outside and saw an old man that I didn't recognize standing outside the door. While I debated with Jessica on whether to open the door or not (after all, he was a stranger), he kept ringing the buzzer and eventually tailgated into the building and began ringing our doorbell. Jessica finally answered the door while I hid around the corner for a surprise attack if needed and it turns out it was our landlord's father who had come by to make sure the apartment was ready for the new girls. Phew. But really though, we couldn't have gotten an email warning us about this? Anyway, he started going through the apartment and asking us when the girls had gotten here and we said that they hadn't gotten here and we didn't know when it would be. Then he went into the other bedroom that we thought was unoccupied, only to come out and ask us who had been sleeping in there. We told him no one, we hadn't touched the room. After about two minutes of this conversation back and forth, neither side understanding what the other meant, I walked into the bedroom to find luggage on both sides. Our roommates had arrived and left sometime after we left and before we came back from class. Oops. We apologized, said we didn't know they were here or when the third girl would get here, and he left fairly soon after that.
After he left, me and Jessica hung around a bit more, waiting until it was time to leave for class when we heard someone attempting to open the front door. We knew it couldn't be Liz since she was still in class, so it had to be our roommates and it was! We got to talk for about 15 minutes before Jessica and I had to leave so we didn't learn much and once we got back from class, they were already asleep. So we just had dinner at the apartment (chicken tortellini with tomato sauce again - yum) and had a night in. Around 9, our third roommate finally arrived but as she had just gotten in, we said our hellos and let her go to sleep pretty quickly.
So that brings us to today. Goodness gracious. This morning, the UNC kids left before any of the others were up (understandable). Our activity was a tour of one of the suburbs of Florence, Scandicci. The suburb itself wasn't that interesting - there was a castle kind of thing that we saw the outside of and a really small outdoor market selling clothes, food, etc.
The real interesting part came after the tour was over. Our teacher showed us how to get to the Coop, one of the more interesting places I've been. Not because it was super historical or famous, but because it was a supermarket that looked like it was a shopping mall. Basically, there were several stores inside, like a mall but most of it was a giant supermarket. Like an American grocery store. I didn't have nearly enough time just to walk around and see all the neat stuff they have, so I'll probably go back. I really like looking around other people's grocery stores, but maybe that's just me. After the grocery store, we went back to the apartment and found the new roommates were still out at orientation. Had lunch, mucked around for a bit and then the roommates came back. They were still fighting jetlag so we talked for a bit and then they went to take a nap.
Then it was time for class. Jessica and I left early so she could stop and get a wax seal for letters (an interesting item to purchase but to each his own) and so we got to find the cutest little paper store. They had all these cool posters and stationary and all kinds of neat stuff, so some of y'all's souvenirs have officially been picked out muwahaha. Then it was our last Italian class - boo. I've actually really enjoyed Italian class - my professor is awesome, I really hope I have him for a class during the semester so keep your fingers crossed. After class, we all decided to go out to dinner and gelato together to get to know everyone. We ended up going to a pizzeria called Gusta Pizza and it was incredible. Like really incredible. I had a pizza with spicy salami, mozzarella and basil. It was amazing.
And the place was cute! As a table, we had a barrel with glass top and in the barrel, people had put all these notes with their names or messages on them. I think I'll probably leave one before I leave so a part of me will always stay in Firenze.
After dinner, we got gelato at this little place called L'Antica. I had bacio, biscottino e fragola. Any guesses? Nutella, biscotti and strawberries. They were all just unfairly good. I think my favorite was the strawberry. It was so fresh but was still not like sorbet, it was still creamy or something. I'll have to keep you all updated on my favorite flavors. After gelato, we came back to the apartment and have just been hanging around talking and getting ready for our tests tomorrow.
So, here's the rundown of the roommates:
- Liz: girl I actually share a room with. From UNC. Has a boyfriend. Is super nice and doesn't mind if I leave my clothes on the floor.
- Jessica: other girl from UNC. Bio major, pre-med. Sophomore. Might actually be okay with directions if she paid attention to them. Also super nice.
- Jamie: girl who shares a room with Jessica. From Chicago, goes to Illinois State University (ISU). Sophomore. Has a boyfriend. Seems nice but quiet. Loves taking photos.
- Alex: Goes to UNCG but is from Ohio. Has a boyfriend. Nursing major. Is a bit of a slow eater. Seems nice and more outgoing.
- Erica: Goes to a school in Illinois and is from Chicago. Family is from Italy. Business and Administration major. Senior. Very chatty and funny. Seems awesome.
That should probably be all for this mammoth of a post. Right now, we're talking about going to Arezzo and Cortona on Saturday but who knows. Classes start Monday - yikes. Have my big Italian test tomorrow - double yikes. Eh, maybe if I just keep writing ciao and pizza I'll at least get a 50. Sound good?
Ciao!!
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