Ciao amici :)
Today was an interesting kind of day. Most people from my program left today yet I still had the whole day here in Rome. I walked all over my favorite places, completing the near 15 items that were on my to-do list for today. It has been quite busy, but it's been a good day.
And I must say it ended wonderfully. I went to the delicious bakery right next to our apartment and I wanted to get a "ciambella," Italian for donut. I am so glad that I didn't discover these ciambelle before last week, because I would have been eating far too many of them. For just discovering them last week, I have already eaten three. I like donuts in the States, but there is something different about these Italian donuts!
They're larger than American-size donuts and they are just plain with sugar covering them. They are so simple and delicious, I really don't even know how to describe it. But fortunate for me, when I went to the bakery for the last time tonight, wanting to get a ciambella for tomorrow morning when I leave for the airport, I got scared because I didn't see them at first! Yet to my happiness, there was one single ciambella left for the day, and I told the barista how happy I was that I got the last one. "Che fortunata!" :) Such a great end to a bitter-sweet last day in Rome.
Too, I've been meaning to mention and was reminded today on my walk home, something interesting about Italy that I have found is that the Smurfs are incredibly popular here! They sell special jars of Nutella with Smurf characters on them and today walking home, I saw Smurf stickers and other merchandise for sale. Just about everywhere you go you can find something about the Smurfs and I think it's fascinating. :) However, here in Italy, they are not called the Smurfs, they are called "Puffi!" So everywhere you go, you see Puffi, and it still fascinates me to this day. :)
Off to Norway tomorrow!! I am so very excited, I cannot wait! I just want to leave right now; I don't want to wait until my flight tomorrow morning. :)
A presto!
Love and Style,
L.M.
Showing posts with label Italian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Italian. Show all posts
Friday, December 16, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
I want to take a moment..
to re-emphasize the deliciousness of Italian yogurt. I know I've said this before but it just is so true. That's one of the things about the food that stood out to me last time I was here, as weird as that may seem and I was so excited to come and eat it again. It's truly been wonderful. Yogurt is such a healthy snack for you yet I'm so picky with my yogurt in America. For me, Yoplait is too sweet.
I have really gotten into the Greek yogurt craze, where the yogurt is thick and plain and kind of even sour, but then you mix in the fruit or what not in it and it's so delicious. However, this yogurt is just normal yogurt that I buy at our local supermarket for €0,22!
It's 1:36 in the morning and I'm studying for my art history final later this morning and I literally craved a yogurt. So odd. But so healthy, so I'm definitely not complaining. Well, only about having to leave Italian yogurt yet again in just 11 days now. Oh well. Maybe Italian yogurt will become the next new big yogurt craze. I would like that.
Love and Style (and yogurt yumminess),
L.M.
I have really gotten into the Greek yogurt craze, where the yogurt is thick and plain and kind of even sour, but then you mix in the fruit or what not in it and it's so delicious. However, this yogurt is just normal yogurt that I buy at our local supermarket for €0,22!
It's 1:36 in the morning and I'm studying for my art history final later this morning and I literally craved a yogurt. So odd. But so healthy, so I'm definitely not complaining. Well, only about having to leave Italian yogurt yet again in just 11 days now. Oh well. Maybe Italian yogurt will become the next new big yogurt craze. I would like that.
Love and Style (and yogurt yumminess),
L.M.
Friday, November 25, 2011
An Italian Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving yesterday was a lot of fun. It was incredibly sad being away from family for the first time on a major holiday, but it was really great to be amidst the company of friends. And while Thanksgiving isn't a big holiday here in Italy, our program took us to an exquisite restaurant where we had turkey dinner with an Italian twist and it was so posh and wonderful. A really great evening indeed.
Today, however, would normally be a monumental day for me, as it is Black Friday in the States!! Being that Thanksgiving isn't a big holiday here, definitely neither is Black Friday. This makes me sad, as it is a true experience and such a fun thing to go shopping on Black Friday, in my opinion.
But oh well, there is always next year! It's crazy to think that now it's past Thanksgiving and one step closer to Christmas. Time really does fly.
Love and Style,
L.M.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
This past weekend.
It was amazing. I could go on and on about it but, in short, it was phenomenal. It was my second time going to both Verona and Milan and I felt basically the same way about both as I did last time. Verona melted my heart, yet again. There's just something about that town, it's so romantic and adorable. The way the street lights light up orange at night makes the setting so cute and makes it look like it's straight out of a love story. I don't fully know how to describe it but it is just fantastic.
Milan was awesome - so cool to be in such a renowned city, but I got the same vibe I did last time. It truly is a city and, in my opinion, it kinda makes New York look clean. There are beautiful sites like the Duomo and, of course, all of the shopping, but all in all the city was very dirty and I really didn't fall in love. But that's ok because Sunday made up for it!
Sunday I went to Cuggiono, and my article this Thursday will tell all about my trip there. It was, however, an experience that is impossible to ever forget. The family friends I met were so kind to me and basically adopted me into their family for the day and meeting my distant aunt was so much fun. Truly amazing indeed.
One funny experience was after we all had lunch and the mom of our family friends offered me Italian coffee, which is basically espresso. I said yes and then she asked if I wanted milk - I said no and she asked if I wanted sugar - I said no again, to which she said to the others "Che strano, che strano! Che le piace il caffe come questo," meaning how strange that she likes her coffee like this! I thought it was funny because that's how I always drink my coffee, yet to them who usually have either milk or sugar or both, I suppose it's a bit of an odd notion. :) It was really cute.
And Cuggiono is so adorable!!! Oh my gosh, such a cute, tiny Italian town!! Just like something straight out of a movie, both the city and the whole fantastic situation as a whole. It's such a rewarding feeling getting to know the town of your ancestors. They say you can't know where you're going until you know where you've been and now I know where my familial history began.
Love and Style,
L.M.
Milan was awesome - so cool to be in such a renowned city, but I got the same vibe I did last time. It truly is a city and, in my opinion, it kinda makes New York look clean. There are beautiful sites like the Duomo and, of course, all of the shopping, but all in all the city was very dirty and I really didn't fall in love. But that's ok because Sunday made up for it!
Sunday I went to Cuggiono, and my article this Thursday will tell all about my trip there. It was, however, an experience that is impossible to ever forget. The family friends I met were so kind to me and basically adopted me into their family for the day and meeting my distant aunt was so much fun. Truly amazing indeed.
One funny experience was after we all had lunch and the mom of our family friends offered me Italian coffee, which is basically espresso. I said yes and then she asked if I wanted milk - I said no and she asked if I wanted sugar - I said no again, to which she said to the others "Che strano, che strano! Che le piace il caffe come questo," meaning how strange that she likes her coffee like this! I thought it was funny because that's how I always drink my coffee, yet to them who usually have either milk or sugar or both, I suppose it's a bit of an odd notion. :) It was really cute.
And Cuggiono is so adorable!!! Oh my gosh, such a cute, tiny Italian town!! Just like something straight out of a movie, both the city and the whole fantastic situation as a whole. It's such a rewarding feeling getting to know the town of your ancestors. They say you can't know where you're going until you know where you've been and now I know where my familial history began.
Love and Style,
L.M.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
C'è il weekend!
I am sooo happy! Three out of four of my midterms are done (I'm just just going to be happy about that for now and not think about research papers that are due soon...) and tonight we leave for our weekend trip!
Two of my friends and I are taking an overnight train tonight to Verona and are going to spend tomorrow in Verona, then Saturday in Milan and Sunday the two of them are going to Torino while I venture off and go to Cuggiono!! If you're from the Southern Illinois area, maybe you know this town!
My ancestors on my mom's side immigrated from there and I'm so excited to go and see the town of my heritage! :) I associate completely with my mom's side of the family since my father left Mom and I when I was 10 and I've never met his side. I love my Italian heritage and I'm so excited to see the home town and maybe I'll even get to meet some distant relatives!!! :D
Love and Style,
L.M.
Two of my friends and I are taking an overnight train tonight to Verona and are going to spend tomorrow in Verona, then Saturday in Milan and Sunday the two of them are going to Torino while I venture off and go to Cuggiono!! If you're from the Southern Illinois area, maybe you know this town!
My ancestors on my mom's side immigrated from there and I'm so excited to go and see the town of my heritage! :) I associate completely with my mom's side of the family since my father left Mom and I when I was 10 and I've never met his side. I love my Italian heritage and I'm so excited to see the home town and maybe I'll even get to meet some distant relatives!!! :D
Love and Style,
L.M.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Caffè Americano.
One thing that I miss most about the food in America is the coffee. Here in Italy, if you order "un caffè" it's a shot of espresso. Which I must admit, is actually awesome because you can get them for around 80 Euro cents and they're the perfect start to a morning or pick-me-up in the afternoon.
On a side note, did you know that tiramisù is actually Italian for "pick-me-up?" The word tiramisù is the opposite of an Italian saying "sono proprio giu," meaning "I'm so down." :) Funny, huh?
But back to coffee. So you only get an espresso shot when you order a plain coffee here which is awesome in its own way and is a super popular thing to do. If you go into any little cafe or coffee bar at around 2 p.m. there will be somewhere around 20 espresso cups sitting near the sink needing to be washed from the rush hour.
However, as awesome as espresso is, I really miss American coffee; an actual cup of coffee. This is something that us coffee lovers on the trip have been talking about and my roommate and I have finally found a solution. There's this little cafe near our apartment and it's absolutely adorable. The decorations are red and black and super trendy and eclectic and they even play awesome music. Last time we were there they played "Hey Jude" by the Beatles and then today they played Nirvana's "Teen Spirit."
But why we have gone back twice now: caffè Americano. It's one Euro and fifty cents and you get an actual cup of coffee! Plus they even give you a little chocolate biscuit on the side. It's so wonderful and it's actually very delicious coffee. So now we have found the solution: just order caffè Americano. And this coffee shop we found is so adorable. It's the perfect place to sit on a Sunday afternoon with friends, chill on the couch with a cup of coffee and talk. Life is good.
Love and Style,
L.M.
On a side note, did you know that tiramisù is actually Italian for "pick-me-up?" The word tiramisù is the opposite of an Italian saying "sono proprio giu," meaning "I'm so down." :) Funny, huh?
But back to coffee. So you only get an espresso shot when you order a plain coffee here which is awesome in its own way and is a super popular thing to do. If you go into any little cafe or coffee bar at around 2 p.m. there will be somewhere around 20 espresso cups sitting near the sink needing to be washed from the rush hour.
However, as awesome as espresso is, I really miss American coffee; an actual cup of coffee. This is something that us coffee lovers on the trip have been talking about and my roommate and I have finally found a solution. There's this little cafe near our apartment and it's absolutely adorable. The decorations are red and black and super trendy and eclectic and they even play awesome music. Last time we were there they played "Hey Jude" by the Beatles and then today they played Nirvana's "Teen Spirit."
But why we have gone back twice now: caffè Americano. It's one Euro and fifty cents and you get an actual cup of coffee! Plus they even give you a little chocolate biscuit on the side. It's so wonderful and it's actually very delicious coffee. So now we have found the solution: just order caffè Americano. And this coffee shop we found is so adorable. It's the perfect place to sit on a Sunday afternoon with friends, chill on the couch with a cup of coffee and talk. Life is good.
Love and Style,
L.M.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Red carpets and wonderful films.
Buona sera!
Oooh my gosh we had such a fun time last night at the Rome Film Festival. I've never been to a film festival before, but the atmosphere was so cool and the film we saw was phenomenal. It's coming to the States eventually, so keep an eye out! It's called Too Big to Fail and it was absolutely fantastic!
The festival was on the other side of the city, a side I hadn't been to yet, so we got to venture out to a new area, which was awesome, and then when we got there it was such an amazing experience. Everywhere you looked there were all kinds of trendy people and it was night-time so the big lights were shining on the red carpet.
Rai, one of the largest broadcasting companies in Italy who is in charge of holdings in both radio and TV, had a stand up where they were broadcasting live from the festival and the musicians were performing on the stage right there in front of us. The radio-show host was interviewing them from a chair to their left and they would perform live songs. The one guy even played the electric cello! They were so phenomenal - both groups we saw. It was good, chill Italian music and it was made all the better by the ambiance surrounding us.
There were heat lamps with the flames setting the mood and there was a resting/seating/relaxing area set up by one of the sponsors, a coffee company, and they were giving out free espresso shots in adorable little disposable cups.
Then, the red carpet. When we first went in we had to just walk on the side of the carpet because the main carpet was blocked off, however, after the show they opened up the main, center carpet and we got to walk on it! I'm posting a picture below.
All in all, it was one of the most exciting nights yet. We got to see a movie, something we haven't had a real opportunity to do since we've been here, we got to see an American movie at that, so it was extra fun to see an American film, all in English with Italian subtitles (I tried to follow along during the movie by hearing the English and then reading the Italian) and we got to attend the Rome Film Festival. That's not something you get to do everyday! Che fantastico! :)
Love and Style,
L.M.
Oooh my gosh we had such a fun time last night at the Rome Film Festival. I've never been to a film festival before, but the atmosphere was so cool and the film we saw was phenomenal. It's coming to the States eventually, so keep an eye out! It's called Too Big to Fail and it was absolutely fantastic!
The festival was on the other side of the city, a side I hadn't been to yet, so we got to venture out to a new area, which was awesome, and then when we got there it was such an amazing experience. Everywhere you looked there were all kinds of trendy people and it was night-time so the big lights were shining on the red carpet.
Rai, one of the largest broadcasting companies in Italy who is in charge of holdings in both radio and TV, had a stand up where they were broadcasting live from the festival and the musicians were performing on the stage right there in front of us. The radio-show host was interviewing them from a chair to their left and they would perform live songs. The one guy even played the electric cello! They were so phenomenal - both groups we saw. It was good, chill Italian music and it was made all the better by the ambiance surrounding us.
There were heat lamps with the flames setting the mood and there was a resting/seating/relaxing area set up by one of the sponsors, a coffee company, and they were giving out free espresso shots in adorable little disposable cups.
Then, the red carpet. When we first went in we had to just walk on the side of the carpet because the main carpet was blocked off, however, after the show they opened up the main, center carpet and we got to walk on it! I'm posting a picture below.
All in all, it was one of the most exciting nights yet. We got to see a movie, something we haven't had a real opportunity to do since we've been here, we got to see an American movie at that, so it was extra fun to see an American film, all in English with Italian subtitles (I tried to follow along during the movie by hearing the English and then reading the Italian) and we got to attend the Rome Film Festival. That's not something you get to do everyday! Che fantastico! :)
Love and Style,
L.M.
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