Love Me Some Italy: 11/04/08

Well, Ciao from Italy! I finally made it. it was a long journey, but now I am so glad to be here! I stopped over in Colorado for a few days where I aw some dear old friends, and attended a wedding for Dave and Megan. I met Dave in the dorms my freshman year of college. I was so proud to see him and Megan get merried. She is a doll and I am so happy for them.

From Denver, I flew to Washington to Frankfurt to Zurich to, finally, Florence. Even though there were many stops, they all went smoothly and my luggage was not lost along the way either. The only thing that was a little scary on the journey was when we were halfway between the US and Europe. It was dark and quiet. As we all slept peacefully, the captain suddenly came on the speaker. With complete fear in his voice (it sounded fearful to me) he said, "Fasten your seatbelts!" Not much longer after that, he warned the flight attendants to be seated. I have never been so frightened in my life. The plane started shaking annd we went through about 30 minutes of turbulence. I will admit, I started crying and my heart was beating so fast. I have never been a nervous flyer, but this was different. Obviously everything turned out alright. I told the story to Carlo, Alex's uncle, and he assured me it would never be a problem anyway: "Planes, they a never crash in the middle. Close to New York and close to Europe, but never int he middle." Well, where was he when I needed him?

Anywho, I landed in Florence at 7PM and there was Alex. It is so strange to see some one you love after not seeing him for a long time. We were not sure what to do. It was like, "I know this person well and we are very close, but who are you?" It took a while to ease into it and remember how special we are to eachother. We went to the house where I changed out of my clothes (my sweater fell into the toilet in Frankfurt). Then we went to dinner. For those of you who have read my blog the past two years, you know where I went and what I had. For the newbies, we went to Acqua al'Due and had Insalata Greca and Petto di Pollo al Porto. I think we are one step closer to figuring out the recipe for the port sauce. Alex has suggested honey and I think he is right. Thank God my mother is coming, as I am sure she will figure it out! How many times must we eat it to figure it out! It is the best thing in the world.

So, this trip is very exciting. My mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law and niece are all making the journey to finally meet Alessandro. I am excited beyond belief. Alex found them a great apartment and we are both so excited to show them our Florence. But, unitl they come, Alex and I are just going to relax and get ready. Today was VERY relaxing. Alex went into work for a while and I "did not lay in bed until 5PM." OK, I did and it was magnifico! I finally got up and Alex and I took a long walk in the center and brought some kebab home to eat. Even though we are in Italy, there are other amazing things to eat. Florence is such a melting pot, and alot of people from other countries who settle here choose to open food shops and restaurants specializing in their country's food. There are amazing kebab places, mostly run by the Turkish. We came home with our spoils and sat with Alex's roomate, Fabio. We ate, talked, and drank our tea. It was the perfect day!

Well, almost perfect. We shall see if we go for gelato. I think we will. So, we went to this place last night for post pollo gelato. There were so many flavors and it occured to me that I always get the same. I told the man behind the counter that I have decided to come every night on my trip (45 days) and try a different flavor every night. He said, "Abbiamo quaranta due diversi tipi, allora ha tre notte libera!" This means, I hae time to try all 42 flavors, with three nights off! So, I decided to start with one called Cookies and Cream. I take back everything I said. My new goal is to eat only this flavor every night for 45 days. It is AAA.....wait for it.....MAZING.

This is not like oreo cookies and cream. It is like everything you want in gelato and more. Creamy vaniglia, con un po di cioccolato, e biscotti! The cookies are soft and crunchy. It is the cheesy gordita crunch of gelato. I also swear there is some coconut in it too. Cannot get better.

OK. Sorry, have to go. They will be closing soon and writing about it has sealed the deal. Hey, at least I am getting some exercise on the way!

Ciao for now and buona fortuna.