Day 3: Part 1

Hello!

Today's blog post is a two-parter because I have a short break this afternoon to relax before a hike in the mountains.

This morning I woke up at 8am, got up pretty much right away, ate a banana with peanut butter then headed out with Katia, Zoe, and Emily. We stopped again at Dolce Lab; this time I got an apple cinnamon muffin. It was so good. There were apple slices in the muffin top and the rest was so cinnamon-y. From there we walked over to San Lorenzo to return to the markets for a quick stop before meeting the rest of the group in front of the church. Katia got a really cute pair of leather Mary Jane shoes while Zoe and I went back to the necklaces we fell in love with yesterday. We both happened to pick out the same one, but it doesn't matter because they're so cute. They're clock lockets (or clockets, as I say) with flowers and tendrils on the back and a heart cutout in the front for the clock to peek through. Once we met the group, I realized my second hand had fallen to the bottom of the watch, so Zoe and I ran back to replace it. We met back up with everyone else and made our way through the outdoor market to the indoor food market.

The giant food market is inside an old, but more modern, train station. It was built in the 1860s following French design patterns, meaning there's a lot of iron work and glass. It's painted in green and red and the ceiling soars over you, but no one else noticed but me because the food in the place is so distracting. It's just vendor after vendor with specialty items - fruits and vegetables, meats, fish, cheeses, pastries, etc. Our group headed straight for Conti, a vendor that sells colorful fresh veggies, fruits, and condiments. Dr. Zaho worked there 20 years ago when she lived in Florence. The place has been in the family for 4 generations; Stefano, the man we met, works with his son and was trained by his grandfather. He has an adorable female weimaraner dog who followed him everywhere and continuously wagged her tail. The purpose of our visit for for a sample tasting of their balsamic vinegars, olive oils, and other things. We smelled salts, ate small pieces of bread with pesto, small pieces of sharp cheese with truffle honey on top, as well as pistachio cream and hazelnut cream and a shot of limoncello. The pistachio and hazelnut creams were the consistency of a good smooth peanut butter, but with their own respective flavors. I enjoyed everything that we tasted, and I never though I'd enjoy a spoon full of oil. Directly across from Conti was a cheese vendor, so we tried parmesan and sheep cheese. Both were pretty bitter but still good nonetheless.

After the taste test Brittany and I headed towards the bathroom, only to find a man sitting outside taking 50 cents for entry. Yesterday we all paid 1 euro to use a public restroom near Il Duomo, but we had to go real bad and it was very nice and clean. But today I had a weird feeling and walked away. We got back with the group and Amber walked over, telling us she had just come from the bathroom. Apparently it was disgusting and covered in pee. So I guess I dodged that bullet.

Once we left the market we were on our way to Santa Maria Novella for the first time, but as we approached an intersection, Dr. Zaho stopped, thought for a moment, and turned the opposite way in hopes of getting into an old convent before it closed. On our way there, though, Ana Maria's boot heel started to fall off, so she told Dr. Zaho. We stopped, looked around, and discovered there was a shoe repair place directly to our left. 10 minutes later we were on our way again and Ana Maria's boot was good as new. We got to the convent (called Cenacolo di Fuligno) with about 30 minutes to spend in their 2 rooms full of Renaissance art. The main attraction was a painting of the Last Supper by Perugino. Perugino taught Raphael how to paint, so for a long time after the painting was done and the artist was forgotten, people attributed it to Raphael (but said to be in the style of Perugino). It was done in the 1480s and was probably commissioned by the Medici family. It was beautiful. I took a lot of pictures, a lot of close-ups. You'll see them eventually.

Next we returned to the market to have lunch at a little restaurant inside. Dr. Zaho knows the people who own it (of course), so they cleared a big table for us. Like, they literally told some people to move to another table. So we all sat and it all went to hell from there. The waitress only spoke Italian and there were a lot of us so we didn't want to go through the trouble of ordering a bunch of different things, so Zaho shouted "lasgna!" and a few people raised their hands, and the waitress wrote it down;  then "penne with asparagus sauce!" and a few others raised their hands, and the waitress wrote it down. Then we went through the same thing with drinks and some people ordered different things or their hand wasn't seen and they didn't get an order it. It was confusing and frustrating, but then we got our food and all was well again. I got the penne with asparagus sauce (it was called penne con pente di asparagi) and it was so delicious. I scarfed it down. The lasagna looked good, too. There wasn't much sauce, the layers were thin, and there was a lot of spinach in it.

After lunch we split up to run errands or go back to our apartments or do whatever for 2-3 hours before we have to meet back up to catch a bus outside the city to hike! I don't know the name of the specific place we're hiking to, but I guess I'll be seeing some really great views of the city. I'm excited. And I think I'm going to use the beautiful floral fanny pack that me good friend Krystal so generously made for me!

I'll write part 2 later tonight after pizza. :)

Kristin