On Monday I went to the Mercato Centrale, literally the Central Market (although its not really centered, its a large, can't miss it kind of building). Outdoors there is a continuation of stands from the San Lorenzo Leather market... this is kind of the cheap and not so real leather. The real leather market it amazing, but I'm getting side tracked! The market was so neat!! Inside was all this fresh meat, cheese, fruits, vegetables, oils, nuts, everything! So cheap, fresh, and mostly healthy. The first booth I went to was for verdure and frutta... this adorable older woman was bustling around humming to herself. Keep in mind I only had two days of Italian class at this point... so I said "vorrei piccolo pomodoro e fragola (I would like small tomatoes and strawberries)... and do you have lettuce" I tried really hard to say everything in Italiano but I didn't know how to say lettuce. She kind of giggled at me and I paid her 2 euro and went on my way. Next I got some fresh bread, pane, brie cheese, and walnuts. I didn't pay more than 7 euro for all of my goodies!! Awesome!! Can you guess what I've been eating with all that?? Salad and bread :) Although simple, very delicious and fresh from Toscana!
Also on Monday, I went to a panini place for lunch called the Oil Shoppe... AMAZING! One of the most delicious things I have ever tasted. This is just a little hole in the wall shop that sells delicious panini until the bread runs out. If it runs out at noon, they are done for the day! They have a great deal of a panino, fries (one of the only places to find them I hear) and water for 5 euro!
Tuesday night my roommates and I went to a bar called BeBop. On Tuesdays they have a Beatles cover band that plays. It was soooo cool!! It was downstairs and the band had a little stage... we just jammed to some good old Beatles and had a great night.
It has actually been rainy and stormy this whole week! I haven't done as much exploring as I would like to because of the unusual weather, but hopefully I will get to do more soon. Last night we went to the other side of the river, The Oltrarno, and had dinner. We went to a trattoria/pizzeria called Dante's. For student, you pay a flat fee and receive unlimited wine... obviously we had to go! A friend had recommended the "striped macaroni" and white wine. Delicious. Probably my favorite meal in Italy so far. We had an antipasto of cheeses and meats before our meal which was excellent as well. And of course we had dessert too... tiramisu and something else incredible that I don't remember the name of! Very delicious.
I guess I should talk about my class since, as my Mom reminded me today "that is what you are over there for..." There are only nine of us in class, so it is quaint and intimate. Our professore, Marco, is very animated, friendly, and helpful. But... the class is basically all in Italian. He rarely says anything in English, so it is sometimes hard to keep up. I have a quiz tomorrow! My first Italian quiz... say your prayers.
Today I went for a walk after lunch to the Oltrarno again. I just kind of wandered around taking pictures of things. Everywhere you look there is something beautiful or old or unique... everything here is so interesting to me. I want to know all the history, where it came from, how long its been there, who is it for, what's its story. When I turned the corner after walking for a while I ran into this HUGE palace on a hill. It is called the Piti Palace... it was again very beautiful and large. People were lounging in front of it reading, laying, talking... it was really cool. Look for some pictures below and on facebook.
Hope everyone is doing well. Hope those of you reading going to Florida travel safely! I'm sure I will speak with you soon. I am going to Verona and Lake Garda this weekend, so look for a blog on that after the weekend! Love you!!
Ciao,
Kimmy
Piti Palace
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