Firenze Calves>Cougar Calves

Writing in a blog every day is harder than I had assumed it would be. I have never been so exhausted in my life. This trip has kept me on toes the whole time. I feel as if I can’t nap otherwise I’ll miss out on something. It’s not every day that you wake up, walk outside and you’re in Italy . . .

Time has flown by so quickly, I can’t believe that it’s almost been a full month living in Europe. The weather lately has been gorgeous but the humidity makes it a tad bit miserable. The mosquitoes come and go. The first two weeks I got attacked and eaten alive, now I get a few bites here in there, which I’ll take. I walk about two miles every day to get to school and another back; I hate the feeling of being sticky just from walking. I thought walking to class up hill in Pullman was bad, walking everywhere has made my cougar calves been put to shame.

Living here has definitely changed me, not my personality but on my outlook on life. I was talking with a couple people last night about when we return home and realized that coming here wasn’t a culture shock but when we go back to America, that’s when everything is going to really set in. It’s crazy to realize that America is so supersized with everything from roads, stores, and rules. The hours spent worrying and stressing on getting things done and how our meals are rushed and we have to have transportation for every block we go. Americans really don’t walk as much so I wonder how obese we’d really get if we had four course meals every day with pastries in the morning and gelato at night (or for brunch/lunch).

As much as I have enjoyed living in Europe, I’m almost ready to be home. The WSU program that I went through has so many excursions along with my internship. We have been pretty busy every weekend going to factories and wineries and other places in Italy that not every tourist/student would see. I was going to describe my days but in all honesty since my last post, these weeks have really blurred together. I wake up around 6am every day for class and try to go sight-seeing after class or I’m working at Ganzo and get home around 10pm. I’ll give it a shot at what I can remember after my last post so bare with me…

I’ll work my way backwards as I’m sitting in my wine class that we started this week. Our professor’s name is Massimo and he is quite intimidating but really funny. I love professors like this because you can tell that they know what they’re talking about and that they are in the class room wanting us to learn and not here to talk at us. I can tell this is going to be a hard class to learn the process and the Italian grapes in three weeks, especially with my short term memory; it is no gooood. There are so many steps and constraints that you have to know for making wine. For the last three weeks I have Survival of Italian still (learning the language) M-W and then Wine lecture and Wine lab that follows where we sample three wines and analyze them and pair them with a meal. These final weeks are going to be loonnng, especially since I keep falling asleep in class.

Today we only had wine class which was nice got a few extra hours to sleep in, and then after I went and walked around and sat in the sun. It hit 88 degrees today so it was a little unbearable. Tonight we’re going to Ganzo to celebrate one of the girls birthday, she just turned 20 (I feel so old). Don’t plan on going out too much tonight since we have to wake up early to go to Rome (so excited!)

Yesterday my group worked in front of the house, and we served a theme night of “Olive Oil”. John Williams University from Rhode Island and Charlotte cooked in the back of the house as we served for them but also we presented the wine that was selected while tasting and learning about it as well. It was our last night at Ganzo which is nice knowing I don’t have to work here anymore but it’s definitely bittersweet. It was a little chaotic because our main boss was missing so there was a lot of communication that was lacked but overall it went pretty good. After work we went out for a bit and ended the night early.

We worked Wednesday at Appertivo night where it’s unlimited appetizers and a ticket for one drink and if you want more you have to spend some money. We served two sparkling wines from the brand Ferrari we served a white and a Rosè and then of course the famous Prosecco that I have come to love over here. My roommate is obsessed with it and that’s all she drinks but, I don’t blame her. All night we ran around switching appetizers and cleaning up after our guests. It was a crazy long night but it went really good. I’ve enjoyed working with Danielle and the guys because it’s such an easy group to communicate and work with. Before work we had class, Italian and vino (Wine). In our vino lab we tried the king of all wines here: Barolo, it’s only about 300-400€... no big deal, and it is definitely worth every buck; it wasn’t too intense or complex for me and went down smoothly, for others it was the complete opposite.  On Tuesday we had the same classes as well and after classes nine of us went to Pisa. Pisa is only an hour train ride away and then you walk off the train and just walk straight for about 25 minutes and then you’re right in front of it. You walk around take pictures, there’s a mini duomo and you can even go up the leaning tower if you want to pay the extra. After all of that, you turn around and walk back and get on the train. There really isn’t anything else to see in Pisa besides the tower. Walking around the city it looks very similar to Florence just less crowded streets. On Monday we started the Wine classes and afterwards I believe I just took a nap and went out to eat with a few people. That was probably the last night that I will actually go out over here, I’ve decided it’s time to live like a poor college kid and not treat myself to the great food of the Italian culture…. Sammis and cheese it is for the next few weeks besides my meals at Ganzo.

Here's a few pictures from Pisa:

The girls right off the train (Taylor, myself, Danielle, Jenell and Kari)

Mini Duomo

Danielle and I, she has better ones on her camera.

Last weekend Friday-Sunday (June 1^st-June 3^rd):

Friday we had no classes because of our final dinner. Here’s a link to our official menu http://www.youblisher.com/p/345184-WSU-menu/

The first week we separated ourselves into different sections of working on Appetivo, Antipasta, Primi, Secondi and dessert, Wine servers and Front of the house servers. I chose to be a server since that is what I have the most experience in. I went in and helped finish any of the prepping that needed to be done and then we all had a family dinner and prepared for our night. It went really well, had a few mis-communications but overall it was very successful. In fact we got our critique back today from the chefs and said  it was the best they have seen from Washington State University, we worked very well with each other and seemed very happy to be there. “The calamari cones and crostinis were very fresh (Appetivo),  the crepes with asparagus, cheese and tomato were very good (Antipasta), the head chef was very impressed with the texture and season of the gnocchi but the shape was a little off (primi), the Lamb was good but there was an unnecessary amount of olive oil (Secondi) and there was a few problems with the desserts but overall it was a really good dinner for having all of us working in the kitchen for the first time since we’ve been here”- said Chef Andre. Ganzo’s kitchen is probably about the size of a 2 mini vans and to have 30+ people working in it can be chaotic. After the dinner we all went out to the Lions Fountain and did a bit of celebrating. We kept the night short though because in the morning we went on a field trip to the Salcheto L’enoteca winery.

That morning, hopped on a bus and our first stop was a small little town Montepulciano where we walked around for about an hour or two. It was very quiet and subtle with churches and shops all around it with an outstanding view of all the wineries that surrounded it.  The pictures don’t do justice of the view.

Kari, I and Danielle 

The town Montepulciano (Where twilight new moon was filmed)

A piece of ribbon for every wine bottle bought

The winery owner explained to Livia (our guide) so she could translate to us

The domes are tubes for natural light for the wine.

Meat cutter inside the little restaurant they have. 

Steel barrel full of white wine, Chef & I (Chef was clearly caught off guard in this one)

Wooden barrels that contain red wine.

Action shot.

Outside the winery. The plants were planted there for protection from the heat to keep the inside of the winery cool. 

The church Santa Maria 

After that we all went home, rested, and attempted to all go out but we ended up splitting up after the Michelangelo because we all wanted to do different activities.

On Sunday, I roamed around on a different side of Florence with Ben and Chris and went on an adventure to see what we could find. Later that night our group met up with Chef and he took us to a view spot in the small town Fiesole. It had a gorgeous view of Florence:

 Once again, the pictures don't do justice.

After this we went to Gusto's pizza (best pizza everrr) and had a little farewell dinner with Chef because he left us to go work in Switzerland. It's crazy how big he is over here! That's all I'm going to write for now.. I'll finish the other two weeks and try to post some pictures especially the ones from Parma and Medona. I need to get some sleep because we are going to Rome in the morning! Al pesto!

We're far from home, it's for the better.

I really wanted to write every day but the first week has been so chaotic that I have not had any time to just sit and think. The days go by so fast here that’s hard to remember everything that we have done.

We arrived Friday and spent the weekend at Hotel Royal because check-in was not until Sunday. Saturday night we got together with our classmates and ate dinner paid by WSU at Outside Bistrot which was located on the river to the left of the Pointe Vecchio.. After dinner Chef Jamie (the head chef at WSU and who is our program director) led us to a couple of bars around town. This was one of the best nights, especially since Tequila was 3 shots for 5 Euro at the Old Stove, Cougs love their tequila. Sunday we had check-in which we got to move into our apartments. I live on Via Ghellibina which is located down the street from to the restaurant we work at called Ganzo and about twenty minutes (walking) from Apicius (our school), not too shabby.


Monday (the 14^th) –

We started class and had orientation most of the day. We had a tour of Florence of all the architecture and the history behind it. Florence is absolutely gorgeous and the historic architecture is a whole other world. After that a few of the girls and I explored a little bit. At 8pm we had a group dinner at Ganzo. They served us a two course meal, a dessert and tons of wine. It was sooo good. We had pesto gnocchi, a meat platter of pork, chicken and something else with potatoes and a caramelized sauce. The dessert was an apricot mousse; I have never felt so fortunate with food. After dinner we went home and passed out.


Tuesday-

We had our official first day of class. The days switch from 9-10:30 from food and beverage management operations (learning the different types of restaurants in Italy and how they are ran) or Survival of Italian (Italian language) and from 10:45-11:45 we have Italian food gastronomy (learning the basics of the Italy's famous ingredients) which has been my favorite so far. After those classes we have our culinary lab for 2 ½ hours where Chef Fabio and Chef Andrea split us into two groups and teach us how to cook. On this day we made Florentine Crespelle (Crepes with spinach), Duck breast with apple and a celeriac pure and chocolate sauce. All of these recipes are delicious and they get better each day. The best part is we get to eat everything after we cook it. After class we had a tour at Accademia Gallery where we got to see the David and many other sculptures created by Michelangelo and other artists. The David was huge and it took him two or three years to sculpt it. I wish I could have taken a picture but they had men running around yelling “Noo picture” (with an accent) at people. After the tour we had to run to work. The group is split up once again by living arrangements so people can walk home safely at night. Danielle and I live on the same street as the boys so we work with them. Work consists of prepping for the event depending on the day of the week where Monday and Tuesday has a basic menu, Wednesday is an Appetizer night, and Thursday is a themed night. Ganzo’s employees are wonderful; they always are making jokes and just trying to have fun with us along with teaching as well. After work we all decided to go out and celebrate our first day. The Old Stove it was!


Wednesday-

Same thing, school and then culinary lab. We made Canestrello Del Vignaiolo (Bread basket with vegetables and meat on polenta) I am not a fan of polenta, reminds me too much of grits/oatmeal. After class I do not really remember what we did… trying to remember everything is such a blur and hurts my head. Not a blur because of drinking, but the first week was so chaotic. A few of us wandered around and randomly selected a restaurant (Osteria Dei Piezza) that turned out to be extremely good. Our server was a teacher at Apicius for Wine but he does not teach during the summers due to overload of students. He treated us very well and the food was delciouuus! The best I have had so far (I say this every time). We plan on going back there again sometime either this week or next. After dinner a few of us decided to go out. We went to a few new bars, one was the old stove (Florence has two or three bars that are called old stove but different getups) and a place called Uncle Jimmy's where you can write all over the walls, tables and chairs just like at the Coug. It was a laid back night and we met some girls from the East Coast who were traveling for fun.



Thursday- 

In lab we made Involtini Di Vitello Al Tartufo (Veal rolls with truffle, the mushroom not chocolate) and Risotto Al Tartufo (Risotto with truffles). This was another one of my favorites, never had truffle before but I have learned quite a bit about it and when I become rich, I will def. be cooking more with truffle. After class we did not have to work again so Danielle, the boys and I walked around the river and did some sight-seeing. It was intensely hot outside. After our walk, we met up with the group we work with and Chef for the themed dinner at Ganzo. There is Danielle, the five boys who live on the same street as us (Ben, Brian, Chris, Isaiah and Josh) and then Roxann and Brian who is the cutest couple who came back to school in their 40’s to learn about wine and food. The theme of dinner was raw meat so we ate a lot of fish and other meats that you can serve raw. My memory sucks so I do not remember what we had exactly but I do know it was good... like usual. It was a really fun dinner with such a small group of us instead of all 30. The best thing about dinners in the Italian culture is you can sit down and eat for hours on end and converse about anything with not a worry in the world; nothing beats it.    

Friday- 

Everyone was hung over. Our Thursdays are our Fridays due to some of the trips we have planned on the weekends. Class was hard to get through without falling asleep and standing during culinary lab was also brutal. In our Italian gastronomy class our professor brought in three different types of balsamic vinegar ranging from age and prices of $4-$80. This is the reason why it is my favorite class. We try all these various ingredients that would cost a fortune for free.

In lab we made Filetto Di Maiale Con Aceto Basalmico E Salsa Ai Porri (Pork fillet with balsamic vinegar and leek sauce), Salsa All’aceto Basalmico (Balsamic vinegar sauce) Gelato Fiordilatte (Vanilla Gelato) with a strawberry sorbet. The pork fillet was melt in your mouth good. I am telling you every day I have lab I think that the meal is my favorite and then the next day just blows my mind.. On Fridays and weekends we do not have to work. Chef had a dinner planned for us at one of his favorite restaurants called Ciro and Sons. The interior was beautiful with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and everything lit up. The staff is like family to him, you could see the relationship because they treated us very well. After dinner we went out and bought some wine and sat on the Pointe Vecchio and listened to live music. We cut our night short because we had to be at the bus stop at 7AM for a field trip.


Saturday & Sunday, first field trip-

 We left on a bus to go to Carrara, Italy which was about 2 hours away from Florence, we then had a tour up to the Apuan Alps where is known to be the world’s largest Marble quarry. After seeing the marble we went to the Lardo di Colonnata di Giannarelli where they make Lard. They made us a plate of lard on bread; I ate about four of them (of course). It’s actually really good, almost like a butter spread but different.  It’s illegal in America which is probably a good thing because we’d be even more obese than we already are. After the Lard, we took our bus to the Eden hotel that was right on the Mediterranean Sea. We got a few hours to relax and do whatever we wanted. We had another dinner that was a buffet and after that dinner everyone got some bottles and we all headed for the beach. We sat on the sand by the Mediterranean Sea all night. About six of lasted until 2 AM, and then we went back to the hotel. They gave us the first floor which was probably a mistake. I think we fell asleep around 3 and about 40 minutes later an earthquake hit, which we all slept through. Woke up early Sunday and we had a buffet breakfast waiting for us. After that we got back on the bus and went to the train station to go to Cinque Terre. It was really pretty buut the weather was not in our favor. My friend Bryn and I went and did some shopping and then we had a seafood dinner at CIAK with a chef that was the cutest little thing- he was even wearing his sailor hat. The seafood there was so fresh, it was delightful. Of course I ordered oysters and of course, they were delicious. After dinner we were going to go travel some more but we heard that the trains might go on strike so instead we headed back. To end the weekend we had a group meeting discussing details for WSU’s theme night at Ganzo. It is our final project where we create a menu and cook and serve it to our guests

Monday (May 21^st) –


Cheese tasting was this day and in lab we made Fettuccine Con Rucola E Gorgonzola (Fettuccine with rocket and gorgonzola) and Chizze Reggiane (Cheese puffs), this was another one of my favorite dishes which I really want to make at home. After lab it has been lately non-stop pouring rain (making me homesick) so Danielle and I went to a local sports store and bought new winter jackets. I have not taken mine off yet, it is sooo comfy, probably the best purchase I’ve made so far besides the food here. After that I started this blog which I haven’t been able to finish until now but we also went to dinner at our internship Ganzo and ate with Chef. It was nice to have some one on one time with him without everyone in the group. Dinner was delicious; I had pork fillet with an apple sauce and chickory along with an artichoke risotto and a glass of house white wine. For dessert I had a white raspberry mousse. After dinner we just went home and hung out, cleaned up the house a little and relaxed; we don’t get to do that very much.

Tuesday- 

In class we got to test different olive oils. Olive oil is extremely cheap here; I plan on bringing back a really nice one to cook with at home. In lab we made Linguine Al Pesto (Linguine with pesto sauce) and Filetto di maiale confit, mele, cipolla di tropea (Pork fillet confit).. This was another one of my favorites as well, I use to not like pesto but it’s really growing on me. After lab Danielle and I and a few of the boys went up to visit the Michelangelo where you can view all of Florence from up top. It was a little cloudy and had a thunder and lightning storm which was kind of neat. After the Michelangelo we ate and then went to The William (another local bar) for a little and called it a night. 



Wednesday –

Today in class we learned more Italian and got to taste Bresaola which is an Italian air-cured beef, looks like thin sliced lunch meat. In lab we made Risotta con Bresaola E Bitto ( Risotta with Bresaola and Bitto cheese)  and Congilio in Porchetta (Rabbit leg) but instead of Rabbit leg we did chicken. This was kind of hard because we had to cut off the thigh of the chicken and then cut out the bone of the leg, definitely complicated and requires some skill. Here's an ending result to our dish:

Risotta

The Chicken with Tomato spice beans

Getting critiqued by Chef Fabio 

My Partner Josh 

After lab the boys and Danielle and I had to go home, had about a 30 minute break and then went to work at Ganzo. It was our first official 8 hour work shift and I had so much fun! We did the Appetiza night where we made appetizers. I love it over here and can't get enough.  The days are long but well worth the exhaustion. Every day when I wake up and walk to class it's like a dream with the tall historic buildings towering over me, the rude (but hot) Italians who never move out of your way and the cars that never stop for you; I love it. The days that I have off and can just go grab a bottle of wine or a beer for .55 and go walk around and explore  is one of my favorite past times. I hate sitting inside my little apartment, I feel like I'm just wasting my time in Europe. The first week here has gone and flew by so fast and we're almost done with the second. I cannot wait for what the next six weeks will bring and the memories that will be made, we have so many already, it's hard to keep track. I need some sleep I plan on going running in the morning, hopefully that'll happen. As for now I hope you've enjoyed my adventures that I've had so far and I hope that I will be able to share some more soon. We have another field trip this weekend on Saturday to the Parmesan factory! Ciao Ciao! 

Just a taste . .

I started a post on the airplane with the help of an open bar provided by Delta Airlines, let’s just thank them they did not have free Wi-Fi. I forget how much I hate being jet lagged and how it can throw me off mentally. The plane ride to Amsterdam was nine hours long with the twelve hour layover in Amsterdam. I felt like a zombie by the time we got on the plane to fly to Florence. Amsterdam feels like a dream but I had a blast.

The flight was long but they had free movies, free HBO and ShowTime and other TV shows to keep me occupied. Little did I know that Delta gave out an unlimited amount of beer and wine. Danielle (my roommate) and I consumed quite a lot of wine and a good nap in. Not only did they have free booze, but also served us three meals, I have never been so happy on an airplane. Once we landed we received a bottle of wine off the plane courtesy of the Coug flight attendant that was serving us (Go Cougs!).

Lucky for us the airport had baggage storage and downtown was only a 20 minute train ride away. There is plenty to do and see in Amsterdam within a 12 hour window. Danielle and I first visited Anne Frank's huis. It was really cool to be in something that was a huge part of history but also a littlee creepy/depressing. You're not supposed to take pictures inside but I snapped a picture of where the bookcase was that covered the opening of their hide out.

The next place we went to was the I AMSTERDAM sign. 

Walked past Von Gogh's Museum, wish we would have went in, I love his art.

After walking around for a bit, we ate and Danielle’s jet lag started to kick in so we made a meeting spot at the train station where she rested and I went to venture into the Red Light District

Red Light District was not what I expected, it was laid back and full of junkies. I would go back but never alone. After I took this last picture I had this gut feeling that something was not right and realized I was being followed by some creeper. He was a tall extremely thin man looked to be late teens, early twenties, and looked to be Cambodian. He was wearing a gray sweat outfit and holding a bag of fruit and was licking his lips at me. I will never forget that look. First thing that came to mind was the movie Taken. I saw him and turned around and went three different ways and he was still right behind me staring at me. Luckily there was a cop nearby and I asked him to point me in the direction of the train station. Unfortunately he was a tad busy but a local girl overheard me and told me she was on her way and that I could walk with her. She was incredibly nice and we walked and talked until the train station. The creeper followed us until we were about a block away. I definitely learned my lesson. I am never roaming the streets alone in Red Light, even if it is in the day time. Found Danielle and went back to the airport. I could not wait to leave Amsterdam haha. I am now in Florence staying at hotel because we cannot move into our apartments yet. We have our first dinner as a group so I should get going and will write another entry sooner or later, but that is it for now!