First Full Week of Classes

I'm halfway through my first full week of classes! Because I only have one class everyday except on Thursdays, I have a lot of down time now to really relax and settle into my new abroad life. Yesterday in Italian Fashion Design I learned how to spin wool and make a skein, and it's kind of inspiring me to want to make a scarf (once the weather cools down of course). We learned about the first Italian fashion designers and the pioneers of runway shows. Florence was "The New Paris" of the early 1950's, and it's really inspiring to learn about the daring designers who put their creative work and lives on the line to launch Italian fashion into more of the high end styles we know of today.

Last night I attended the first cooking class offered by SACI, but I was really disappointed when I showed up only to learn that we wouldn't be cooking at all. Instead we listened to a lecture on Italian food customs and traditions, and ate what the woman had made and brought from home. The food was delicious, but I was expecting to cook (I need all the help I can get!). We ate Tuscan bread (which I know now is made with no salt, compared to southern Italy where salt IS used), gnocchi with tomato sauce, a Tuscan bean dish called fagioli all'uccelletto with pork sausage, and for dessert, poached peaches with chocolate sauce. Our instructor was passionate and entertaining, and described Tuscan cuisine as "simple but delicious, rustic yet elegant, hearty yet healthy."

 Yesterday Afternoon at Piazza della Repubblica

 My very first wool skein! Great success.

The Arno at sunset... Will never get tired of this view.

Next big event on the agenda: my 21st birthday this Saturday!! My High Renaissance class has a field trip to the nearby town of Vinci where we will be seeing the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci as well as walking around the countryside to see some of the Medici Villas. The field trip will last from 8am to about 7pm, followed by a birthday dinner at Quattro Leone (I made the reservation yesterday because when my mom and I tried to eat there last summer they were booked full), and more celebration after that. I hope I'm not too exhausted to fully enjoy my birthday - you only turn 21 once after all!