June 13, 14, and 15, 2008

On Friday, Shawn, Sara, Amanda and I went to a water park near Lake Garda. It was so much fun, we went on all of the rides and then it started to rain. We decided to look for food then check out the other part of the park, the movie part. I got fries and a pepsi, I was in the mood for American food. We went to the movieland part of the park then we went home. Amanda and I made soup and tuna melts for dinner. They were really good, but we think that we may have gotten food poisoning from the tuna because we were sick for the rest of the weekend so I did not eat much other than toast and soup.

June 11 and 12, 2008

June 11
We went to Florence so before we left I ate a chocolate chip muffin. I did not get a chance to eat lunch because we only had an hour before our tour and I wanted to check out the market that was near our hotel. For dinner we went to a small restaurant and I got spaghetti with meat sauce. It was pretty good even thought it reminded me of Chef Boyardee. Later on, after we climbed up a big hill to watch the sunset we found an American bar called House of Sizzle. Emma and I split french fries and Genna got a cheeseburger. After we ate, we danced and then Genna, Rachel and I did kareoke, we sang a song by Britney Spears.

June 12
I had breakfast at the hotel this morning, I had some fruit and a brioche with butter and jelly. It reminded me of the breakfasts that I ate in France, except in France I had a croissant every morning instead of a brioche. We went on the tour and our tour guide pointed out a restaurant that had really good authentic tuscan food. Shawn, Amanda, Sara and I went there for lunch. Amanda and I got fettucini with white sauce. It was pretty good, it reminded me of the spaghetti that we had at the first cooking lesson. Sara got spaghetti with meat sauce that looked pretty good. Shawn got spaghetti with clams and it smelled really good. I wish that I had gotten that instead of the fettucini.

June 10, 2008

We went to the last cooking class tonight. I did not like it as much as the first night. We had trout with leaks for the first course but since I do not like fish ( I had a bad experience with fish in London) I did not eat the first course. For the second course we had risotto with mixed veggies. I enjoyed this dish even though I do not really like most veggies. The third course was my favorite, we had pork stuffed with pork mouse with a red wine, shallots and onion reduction sauce. It was delicious! The dessert was not as good as last time, but it was still pretty good. We had a lemon tart. The filling was pretty sour, especially if you ate a chunk of lemon, which I did. The crust was my favorite part. Over all the food was pretty good, but I liked the food from the first night better.

June 7 and 8, 2008

June 7th
Today I went to Milan with Genna, Emma and Paul. When we walked out of the trainstation we saw a McDonalds and we decided that we wanted to try it. I got chicken nuggets and curly fries. They were really good especially for McDonalds. It was a lot better than the McDonalds at home. We walked around and went to a castle that had 12 museums in it. We made it through two or three of the museums then we went to the duomo. It was amazing, but by the time we were done we were really hungry. We walked around and found a nice resturant near Prada and Gucci. I ordered a hawaiian pizza because when I am home I love ordering hawaiian pizza from Dominos. The pizza that I got was pretty good, it was not the same as the hawaiian pizza at home. This one had a layer of ham underneath the cheese and a layer of fresh pinapple on top of the cheese. The pinapple was my favorite part.

June 8th
I went to Lake Garda today with Genna and Shawn. We were hungry when we got there so we decided to get paninis before we went swimming. I got one called a K2. It was roast beef with tomatoes and mayo. It was really good. It reminded me of the sandwiches that my mom makes me when I am home during the summer. The sandwiches that my mom makes have cheese on them, but the panini was pretty close to the ones I have at home I think that is why I liked it so much.

June 6, 2008

Today in class we learned about coffee, tea and wine. The group that was presenting taught us about the history of each drink, wine was very popular until it was condemmed by the church, then coffee took its place as the most popular drink. We were told to go out and try one of the drinks, but since I do not like coffee or wine I decided to try hot chocolate instead. I went to a bar called Art and Chocolate and I got a strawberry hot chocolate. It was amazing! It was not like the hot chocolate back home in the U.S, it was very thick, almost like pudding. I think it is going to be one of the things I miss the most when I leave.

June 4, 2008

Tonight it was group 2's turn to go to the cooking class with the chef. I was a little nervous about going because my roommates told me that it was intense. They said the food was really good, but the chef was not very nice. I really enjoyed the cooking class, the food was AMAZING and the chef was very nice to our group. For the first course we made a tomato stuffed with eggplant, zucchini and red peppers that sat on a layer of zucchini pesto. I had never had eggplant before, so I did not know if I would like this dish, but I loved it. The second course was homemade spaghetti with white wine and vegetable (carrot, onion and celery) and chicken and turkey sauce which was also extremely delicious. I did not really like the third course which was veal, but that is just because I do not really care for veal. My favorite course was dessert, which was pannacotta with strawberry sauce and fresh berries. I liked it so much that I shared another piece with Matt and Rachel.

June 2, 2008

Tonight my roommate, Amanda, and I decided to make dinner. We made some pasta and sauce and some garlic bread. I made the sauce with some garlic that I roasted before pouring in the tomato paste and water mixture and oregano. I chopped up some garlic and melted some butter to put on bread that we bought to make the garlic bread. It was very simple and quick, but it was very good. After dinner we went out for some gelato. I tried the chocolate chip and it was pretty tasty.

May 31, 2008

Today a group of us went back to Venice so we could do all of the tourist-y things that we did not do the first time. Since we go there around lunchtime our first order of business was to find something to eat. We crossed the bridge and walked for about 20 minutes until we found a nice restaurant with tables outside. We sat down and looked over the menu. I decided that I would try something new instead of getting pizza like just about everyone else at the table. I decided to try Spaghetti alla Carbonara which was pasta with eggs, panchetta and cheese. It was very tasty but it was very heavy so I could not finish it. It seemed like it was full of fat, the panchetta was primarily fat and the eggs and cheese made the dish very rich. It was not a good idea to get something so heavy before walking around because I felt sick after we ate.

May 30, 2008

I made dinner again tonight. This time a made a chicken in red wine sauce and roasted potatoes. One of my roommates, Amanda, made green beans. I was really surprised at how good everything came out. Here are the recipes for the chicken and the potatoes:

Chicken in red wine sauce

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
4 chicken breast halves
1 tablespoon paprika
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup red wine
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook garlic in oil until tender. Place chicken in the skillet, and cook about 10 minutes on each side
Drain oil from skillet. Sprinkle chicken with paprika and 1 cup sugar. Pour red wine around chicken. Cover, and simmer about 10 minutes; Uncover and continue to let simmer for 10 minutes, lightly baste chicken with wine sauce while cooking. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Roasted Potatoes

INGREDIENTS
Serves 4
5 medium sized potatoes quartered Salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Put the potatoes, olive oil and salt and pepper in to a bowl. Toss the potatoes to coat them. Pour the potatoes onto a baking sheet. Roast in the oven, until golden and crispy on the outside, tender and cooked through on the inside, about 30 minutes.

May 29, 2008

Today I ate at the University for the first time. I got pasta and bread, but it was really good considering it was from a cafeteria. For dinner a big group of us went to a café in the square near the whale bone. I got roasted chicken, potatoes and zucchini. Everything was very delicious. The chicken and the zucchini were very tender and they were seasoned with many different things; I could only name the rosemary and the garlic, but there were a lot of other spices in there. For dessert, I tried tiramisu for the first time. I do not really like espresso, but it was very good in the tiramisu. It was not an overwhelming flavor, and it worked well with the cake and the filling parts.

May 28, 2008

I noticed that since I have been here I have been eating a lot more fruit than I do at home. I think it is because it is so much fresher here than it is at home. I had fruit for breakfast and for a snack after my classes. Tonight my roommates and I had dinner with Professor Diakite. She made us two kinds of fresh ravioli, one had artichokes and the other had mushrooms. I have never had artichokes and I do not really like mushrooms, but I tried both of them and the artichoke ravioli was pretty good. The mushroom one was a little strong and I did not really like it. We also had some fresh spaghetti which was very good. After dinner we went out for gelato and watched the fashion show.

May 27, 2008

While I was in Venice I stopped at a nice restaurant in a little square. I decided to get a real panini, since the only other ones I have had were from Dunkin Donuts when they were selling them. I got mine with ham and cheese and it was very delicious. I went across the street and tried some lemon gelato. It was pretty good, it reminded me of the Italian ice that I buy at home.

May 25, 2008

We went to the Pam again today and we actually got things so we could make dinner. Amanda and I made dinner for everyone. We made chicken parmesan and pasta. I was a little afraid to cook for people outside of my family, but I did it. I made the sauce and the pasta and Amanda made the chicken parmesan. It came out a lot better than I expected it to. We also went to the Verra Fruita and I got some strawberries, peaches and kiwi. The strawberries were amazing.

May 23, 2008

Today was pretty interesting. It was our first day in Verona and we went on a tour of the city that ended with going to the Pam; which is the supermarket here. It was a little overwhelming at first because I was really tired and it was pretty busy. It was a lot smaller than the supermarkets I am used to back in the United States. There are about 7 aisles compared to the 12 or more aisles in the stores back home. I did not really know what to buy because my roommates and I did not know what we wanted to make for dinner. I just got wafer crackers and water. For dinner a bunch of us went to the Trattoria near the school and got pizza. The pizza was really good.