Ciao Tutti!

I decided to do a quick entry tonight since I have some time. Today in cooking class we made tons of delicious food! It was all recipes with seafood so it was delicious. First we made a pasta dish with orecchiett(the type of pasta shaped like small circles) with potatoes, broccoli rabe, and anchovies. It was good although a little boring. Then we had kebabs with zucchini, tomato, smoked mozzerella, and swordfish rolled in a breadcrumb/herb mixture. That was delicious! My favorite part though was the calamari. We made a dish with calamari, mussles, and clams in a tomato sauce kind of thing. We also had foccacia bread to eat with it. It was soo good. Then for dessert we had fresh fruit with a cream on top. The cream had some orange zest/juice plus amaretto so it had a delicious flavor. I was stuffed after class!

Then after class I met up with some friends visiting who are studying in Spain. We went out to dinner and i got a giant calzone. It was 6 euro and about a foot long! So I am extra stuffed now!

I have also noticed some more interesting stuff about daily life in Italy. I mentioned in another entry (I think!) about how people ride their bikes to work, in suits, women in heels, everything. They also ride them on their cell phones and if its raining some people will ride them while holding an umbrella! It is a very funny sight. Also everyone here eats dinner around 8:30 or 9 and they eat for a long time. Italians take their meals very slow often 2 or 3 hours so if you go to a restaurant they pretty much expect you to use the table for the whole night. Very different than the US that's for sure!

The weather here has still been pretty mild until the last few days.The days have been about 61 during the day and mid 40's at night although according to the weather the temperature is going to drop about 10 degrees the next few days :-/It has definitely been good though, hasn't gotten into the 30's yet and overall I here it rarely snows in Florence.

One thing I have found interesting about Florence is how expensive everything is! For example a pair of jeans is easily 60-80 euro (about $80-$100) and that is just at department stores here! Also it is nearly impossible to find a good dinner for less than 12-15euro ($18-20ish).

Well thats all the random thoughts I had! If I think of any more things about day to day stuff here I'll definitely write about it. Tomorrow I am going to Pisa!

Buona Serata e amo tutti!

Also I added the picture of a little girl preserved in the catacombs in sicily. I talked a little about it in my last entry, so check out the picture if you want.