Probably not. I am the girl who writes this blog. My name is Sarah and I am witty and clever and highly entertaining and you all love me very much.
Although you're all probably feeling very hurt and abandoned right now, so you probably don't love me too overwhelmingly much. Sorry about that. BUT--you must realize that, while you are all very lovely people, you are indeed being quite selfish if you think that my life revolves around you. It most certainly does not. It revolves around the food and gelato of this country (and possibly the opportunities of this country, but the food definitely takes precedence), and for the past week, the food (and the opportunities) has been calling me in many different directions thus making it difficult for me to write. Also I've just been pretty nonmotivated and just generally lazy when it comes to writing this. But that's not the point! The point is: I still love your poor little abandoned souls and I would like to beg your forgiveness by presenting you with another enthralling installment in my incredibly fabulous life. So...let's get down to business...
(You don't have to decide if you forgive me or not yet...I will let you wait until the end if you like. That is how much I love you all.)
I will begin with my rendezvous to Siena and Chianti. SIENA WAS AMAZING. It is a very very old city built upon three hills. That's a very impressive place to build a city, if you ask me. There are many ravines and most of the streets are very steeply inclined up or down or both. Prior to Florence becoming the largest and most powerful city in the Tuscan region/Italy, Siena held the title of bees knees for this region/country. (Well, there was no actual title that proclaimed Siena as the "bees knees" per say, but you get the point. Siena was the cat's pajama's...or possibly his meow...or something very similar. You do see what I'm trying to say right? Of course you do. You really are a very bright bunch. Good thing. It takes a lot to keep up with me sometimes...) Moving on...
...Sienese (not to be confused with siamese) art is very different than Florentine art. The Sienese style of art was all about one thing: being over the top. For all of you who know me (and that is all of you, I presume, unless my blog is so entertaining that I have become famous...hmmm...), that is my kind of art. I am an over the top kind of girl. I believe extravagant is the word. Dramatic also works well. The facade of their church was jam packed with sculptures and decoration; you would be hard-pressed to find a smooth, blank surface that was more than 2 square inches anywhere on the front of that cathedral. It was incredible. (See photo.) And the inside was just as busy and flamboyant, if not more. Even the floors were made of pieces of cut marble pieced together to depict different scenes. I saw my first Donatello (!) and my first Michelangelo (!!!!!) there. Their work is truly awe-inspiring.
We were able to explore the crypts of the cathedral, see all the original altarpieces and statues from the facade in the cathedral museum, and go to the baptistry as well. We also visited the Palazza Pubblica and the town hall building after lunch and before we left. Also amazing and wonderful and incredible, so no surprise there. Then we were on our merry way back to home sweet Florence...but not without a little side venture to the wine tasting festival in the famous Chianti wine region. Yesss! This resulted in me tasting some very good wine, everyone else tasting some very good wine, and many very happy people on the bus ride home.
What a fantastic day. I know.
Now, as much as I know that you all would love to take a while to stop and reflect on how amazing my life is, we do not have time for that. We must press on. As Willy Wonka would say, "We have so much time and so little to do...STOP! Strike that, reverse it." What I'm trying to say is, we don't have time for you to simply sit and marvel at my privileged life. You must do that on your own time. And so we continue....
...Italian class. Italian class is hard. This week we started the conditional tense, which brings us to politely asking questions of strangers, making recommendations, giving advice, and using the passive voice in the Italian language. But I am learning so much everyday, so whatevs. It is totes worth it. (For all you struggling adults out there, that means: ...[whatever]. It is [totally] worth it. You see, in my generation, totally has been conveniently shortened to "totes" or sometimes it is conveniently changed to "totes magotes." Actually, that second one is probably not very convenient, but it is fun to say. But don't say it please if you are too old. It will embarrass us all. And by too old I mean over 25. Thank you.)
...Friends. I have so many new friends. It's fantastic. I love them all. You know who you are. That's all I have to say about friends.
...Food. Let me please tell you about the most delicious food I have ever put into my mouth. It has no name. It was an experiment that Anna (my host momma who I luuuuuurve (for people who haven't read the Georgia Nicholson series, that means love) so so much) made for dinner this past week. You may want to sit down. It is very possible that you will be so busy trying not to drool on yourself while I explain this that you will forget to stand and that could be dangerous. I don't want Anna's cooking to result in any casualties. I'll give you a moment to find a seat............(although I don't know why you would be standing while reading my blog on your computer...still, some of you are rather strange, so, just to be on the safe side, I feel I need to say these kinds of things...)...............are you all sitting now? Oh, hurry up................I don't have all day.................let's go slowpokes!...............are you quite ready? I hope so, because I'm starting. Okay. Here we go. I shall commence with the description. (I am so excited I have butterflies! Really. I am not kidding you all. Anyways...) She started with a crust that she handmade. The crust was flakey and buttery and delicious enough in itself, but wait--it gets better. Inside the crust, she placed heaping amounts of gorgonzola and then within the gorgonzola was a smattering of sliced up pears. She placed the top crust on (in a lattice pattern like a pie, because she is way too cute) and put the whole thing in the oven. And then she cut it up and put it on my plate and I took a bit and fell out of my chair and started crying because it was so good. Well, actually, that's an exaggeration. I did not fall out of my chair or start crying, but I did seriously consider it. In the end, however, it was my burning desire for 60 or 70 more pieces of this delicious concoction that kept me from doing anything but staying at the table right next to the pears/gorgonzola/crust that I promptly fell in love with. And so, the moral of the story is: If you ever want to woo me or win my heart or ask an obnoxiously ridiculous favor of me, I will always say yes if you make me this dish. End of story.
In other news, I have eaten enough gelato in the past week to keep a small family fed for a year. Do not be alarmed if I return to the States looking like Shamoo's pregnant mother. It will be a tragedy for sure, but even the prospect of becoming a whale is not enough to deter me from eating more gelato than I care to tell you all about.
Okay well, I hope I have said enough to redeem myself from the depths of your wrath because I am out of things to say for now. I promise promise promise I will be more reliable and diligent in the future. Do you all still love me? Can you find it in your hearts to forgive me? Pleeeeeeassee? And maybe send me some mail while you're at it...? Thanks. I love you temperamental people. You keep my life interesting. Not that my life isn't already interesting. It is. I'm in Italy for goodness sake. But still. You know what I mean.
It's time for me to go. Dinner is about to be served. And I hate to break it to you all, but when faced with a choice between Anna's cooking and you, I will choose Anna's cooking every time.
Thanks for stopping by. Come again soon. Have a great day.
Arrivederci my little pallys. Love to you all.
xo Sarahhhh
No comments:
Post a Comment