First day in Athens

Today's post won't be very exciting because I realized as we started on our tour of Athens this morning that my camera battery was dead :(. We wandered through modern Athens, and stepped briefly into the ancient city. It is beautiful--in a very different way than Florence, but beautiful nonetheless...I can definitely see myself liking it here :)

There were so many great photo opportunities, it hurt. I will definitely go back to the places we visited soon:

• Turtles in a pond in the garden
• The Metro
• Parliament
• Athens Bank
• University of Athens--building modeled after the Parthenon, I think
• Meat and Fish Market--my favorite place...so much meat, fresh fish and fun!
• lots of other markets, churches, and views of the Acropolis and other ancient sites

We had lunch back at school and then I went exploring to find a phone store and get a Greek SIM card before going back to school for evening lecture. My teacher is very nice and class will be a great way to supplement and deepen my experience here in Greece. The entire staff of my school is very focused on making sure we are able to truly enjoy Athens, which is great. I spent some time in the afternoon out on my balcony, absorbing and embracing the sites and sounds. It looked like it was going to rain, otherwise I would've ventured back to the places we visited in the morning to get some photos...there's always tomorrow, though!

After class we went to dinner at a Taverna--SOO good. WOW. Real, Greek feta is incredible. And don't worry, I've been easing my way back into the social-world and was talking to some people today! I am living with 3 other girls, one from Michigan, one from Indiana University and another from UVA (she's living on Wertland!)

Tomorrow morning we have another field trip and then lunch at school, followed by a free afternoon, class in the evening and a free night.

I am still adjusting but am excited for everything Athens has to offer.

Photo of the Day

The only photo from the day, taken on my phone.

Parliament

Quote of the Day

"Did Jim Tressel die? Or did he just retire?"

The Count

Glasses of wine drinken: 77

Number of Starbucks seen: 4

Photos taken: 2458

αντίο Βερολίνο, γειά σου Αθήνα!

Sunday

Berlin Jewish Museum

• Since seeing the Berlin Jewish Museum at an architecture exhibit at the MOMA in New York, I have wanted to go—not only is the building itself architecturally interesting, but I thought it would be important, meaningful and interesting to visit a Jewish museum in Germany
• I really enjoyed this
• Unfortunately, Jon and I started at the end of the permanent exhibit (somehow we entered through the exit and started in the 1930s as opposed to 950...oops)
• We realized this after we had gotten to present day and found that the exhibit extended much beyond where we entered...so we went to the entrance and started from the beginning, although our journey from 950-1930 was a bit rushed because we were aleady exhausted by this point
• Like my visit to the synagogue in Firenze, it was nice to have some Judaism back in my life, and while a lot of the museum was related to the Holocaust, there was also information about the development and history of Jews in Eastern Europe
• At the end of the exhibit (the middle of our time there), there was a room dedicated to life in Eastern Europe after the war that consisted of photographs and stories of individuals living here today
  
  
  
  The closing exhibit
• Before entering the permanent exhibit (journey of E European Jews), we explored the Axis of the Holocaust, Holocaust Tower, Axis of Exile and Garden of Exile
• I liked the description for the Garden of Exile
• Next we went to the "Memory Void," description and photos below:
  "The architect Daniel Libeskind created empty spaces in several parts of the buildling. These so-called voids extend vertically through the entire museum and represent the absence of Jews from German society. The Memory Void contains a work by the Israeli artist Menashe Kadishman, who calls his installation "Shalekhet," or "Fallen Leaves." He has dedicated the over 10,000 faces covering the floor to all innocent victims of war and violence."
  
  
  
  The Memory Void
  

  
• After finally making it through a majority of the museum, we went outside and laid in the sun in the garden

Adventure

• We spent the next hour or so taking various trains, attempting to get to the Brandenburg Gate—one of the lines was closed so it made it a bit confusing
• We stopped for dinner in between and then continued our adventure to the Gate
• After passing the Homosexual Memorial and the Jewish Memorial, we made it to the Brandenburg Gate—which turned out to be covered with ATOMKRAFT signs
• I'm not 100% sure what's going on, but something related to Germany's nuclear power plan is under heated discussion

Photo of the Day

Roll of Jewish stars labeled "Jude," used to identify Jews during World War II

The Count

Glasses of wine drinken: 70

Photos taken: 2454

--

Monday

I have arrived in Athens. The flight was fine: there was an adorable German kid sitting next to me on the plane from Dusseldorf that kept giggling and pretending to steal my nose. I was also able to sleep which was nice.

I am currently at my apartment (I have a single!) and just spent some time with one of my housemates who also goes to Michigan. We had a brief orientation earlier this evening and "class" starts tomorrow--we're touring downtown Athens to get more oriented with the city.

Adventure, part 2, here I come!

Lesson of the Day

Jim Tressel just resigned.

Photos of the Day

The Alps

Halleluyah my apartment is equipped with Harry Potter mugs. And the Academic Center at my school has Harry Potter 7 so I can finally finish re-reading!!!

The Count
Flights taken: 6
Glasses of wine drinken: 74
Photos taken: 2456

Atomkraft? Nein Danke

Today was full of adventures!

Jon and I started off the morning by killing mosquitoes in his apartment by whipping them with towels/scarves--surprisingly successful!

• Walked to get a Doner Kebap for lunch (one of Jon's favorite)
• Happened across an auto show and walked around looking at cool cars, eating kebabs and catching up :)
  
  
  
  Jon in a Rolls Royce
  
  
  
  Funny BMW
  
  
  Mop dog that came out of nowhere
  
  
• Went to the park and on our way saw two guys and a kid dancing on a street corner, then realized there was loud techno music nearby so walked to check it out
• Found another street blocked off with a stage at the end with a DJ and lots of hippies walking around dancing and drinking bier
  
  
  
  Logo of the hippie street party
  
  
• Bought yummy bier and looked at hippies dancing :) then finished walking to the park, sat on a bench, drank bier and people-watched, then took a nap in the park
  
  
  Yummy Bier
• 
  Me and Jon in the park with matching hair!
  
  
  
  Victory Tower, Berlin
  
  
• Picked up "Hallo Pizza!" and wine and had dinner with Xinxin on Jon's balcony :)
  -Umm...I know I just came from Italy, but the pizza was incredible: curry sauce, gouda, chicken breast, pineapple and broccoli. I'm going to dream about it and we may go back and get it again tomorrow
• Just watched Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland for the first time

I like Berlin. It's different then Firenze, that's for sure. It's much more modern and the people are super friendly. It's helpful that Jon can speak some German and that I'm not alone--I feel comfortable in a different way than I did in Italy. It is so great to see Jon and share all of my stories from Italy with him. It's weird not being in Italy anymore...I find myself still saying "si" and "gratzie" to people in stores and on the street :)

Lesson of the Day
I hate Starbucks. I hadn't seen one since I left the U.S.; I much prefer streets decorated with gelateria, gastronomia and cafe bars :(

Question of the Day
How many followers will I lose now that I'm no longer cooking and writing/posting photos about the food I make?

Photo of the Day

There are bear statues all over the city.

Bears modeled after the statue on top of the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin

The Count

Glasses of wine drinken: 69

Beers tasted: 6

Number of Starbucks seen since leaving the U.S.: 3 (all in Germany)

Photos taken: 2357

Tomorrow

• Brandenburg Gate
• Parliament
• Jewish Museum!

Arrivederci! Gutentag!

Today was full of both good and bad surprises, but surprises are always exciting and I guess fun!

Class: Invention

This morning Marcella went to the market and bought some ingredients with a few recipes in mind but what we actually made was based on improvisation and the recipes weren't even in the book. The ingredients she bought were: mussels, scampi, anchovies, salmon, tuna, a cured meat I can't remember the name of and a cheese I can't remember the name of either. Thus, I don't know a lot of the Italian names for the dishes we made. The theme ended up being finger foods, day 2.

• Salmon and Tuna Tartare with Celery, Carrots and Avocado
  -we had leftover salmon and tuna from the other dishes we made, so we chopped them up with celery, carrots and avocado, mixed with some olive oil and some other things I can't remember
  -delicious.
  
  
  
  Salmon and Tuna Tartare
  
  
• Crispy Mussels with Parsley
  -made a broth by steaming mussels in parsley and garlic and mixing it with a roux (water and flour), then poured the broth over the mussles, sprinkled with bread crumbs and parsley and baked in the oven
  -I didn't like the other mussels dish we made earlier in the month, but I enjoyed the mussels prepared this way more
  
  
  
  Crispy Mussels with Parsley
  
  
• Acciughe Fresche e Pomodorini Secchi (Fresh Anchovies and Sun Dried Tomato Bites)
  -so yummy!
  -we had to gut and clean the anchovies again which I enjoy
  -then put them on a slice of bread with a caper and sun dried tomato, then sprinkled with olive oil and baked until crispy
  
  
  
  Acciughe Fresche e Pomodorini Secchi
  
  
• Tuna and Zucchini Rolls with Grapefruit Foam
  -Raw tuna, marinated in salt, wrapped in sliced zucchini and topped with cured fish eggs, I think
  -These were way too salty and next time I wouldn't marinade the tuna first
  
  
  
  Tuna Rolls
  
  
• Marinated Scampi with Carrot and Avocado
  -marinated the scampi in lemon and orange juice, the served them (raw) on a slice of carrot and topped with avocado and grapefruit foam
  
  
  
  Scampi with Carrot and Avocado
  
  
• Salmon in Celery Cups with Garnish of Arugula, Marinated Egg Yolks and Grapefruit Foam
  -If you marinate egg yolks in salt and sugar for 8-9 hours, they become like play dough and you can shape them into decorative garnishes--they don't taste much of anything, but can be pretty
  -In this recipe, the marinated egg yolks actually added a nice saltiness to the dish
  -Originally we were going to make a crostini with smoked salmon but we had nothing to do with the fresh salmon and I don't enjoy smoked salmon, so I suggested we do something with the raw salmon, and wanted to serve it on something, but not bread because we needed more vegetables...so we found celery in the fridge used the stalk of the heart as a boat for the salmon
  
  
  
  Salmon in Celery Cups
  
  
• Dish which I can't remember the name of the ingredients
  -my favorite one today
  -Sliced, cured meat stuffed with a cheese (with a texture similar to cream cheese, but a little more airy) mixed with chives
  
  
  
  Beef and Cheese Rolls tied with Chives

The set table

It was a good last day--eating finger foods is fun! It was one of the longer prep days just because everything had fine aesthetic details that were tedious, such as tying the beef rolls or wrapping the zucchini. These are foods I definitely won't make on my own (or atleast wouldn't present in this way just for myself--more of a nice buffet spread).

I am definitely going to miss Marcella and cooking school, but I have learned so much and had such a wonderful time. The experience truly exceeded my highest expectations. I am interested to see how I adapt what I've learned to my life back home and at school.

After class I went home, said goodbyes to the family and went off to the airport. Saying goodbye was a lot harder and more sad than I had anticipated. I feel such a strong sense of belonging to the family and to Firenze; I am truly going to miss it.

I ran into some extra luggage charges at the airport which was frustrating, but the flights were fine. Actually, the flights were great. They gave us a wet towel to wash our hands and served fresh fruit on the flight from Firenze to Munich and for drinks they had wine free of charge! The flight from Munich to Berlin was only 45 minutes but they also had free wine (or rather the most expensive wine I'd' ever had given the extra baggage charges)! Wine + turbulence = exciting! There was a ~5-yr old kid sitting a row in front of me with his mom and he was giggling and cheering during the 2-3 minutes of bumpiness we went through. The mom was so embarrassed, it was hilarious.

I arrived to Berlin at around 8:45 and met my friends Jon and Xinxin. We came back to their apartment building (first stopping to pick up some German beer! ... I love seeing my last name everywhere!!!) and then went to the club with some other Michigan students here on their program (many of whom it turns out I know!)

All in all, it was a good end to my time in Firenze and I am excited for this weekend in Berlin. I think it will help me transition and get me ready for Greece.

Photo of the Day

Berlin Bier!

Lesson of the Day
My American Passport screwed me over

The Count

Flights taken: 4

Glasses of wine drinken: 67

Beers tasted: 5

Photos taken: 2308

Birds of a Feather

Today
My last full day in Florence!!! :(

Class: Sweet and Sour, Day 2 (Birds)

For starters, I de-caged a pigeon today.

• Petto D'anatra All'Arancia (Duck Breast in Orange Sauce)
  -I don't think I'm the biggest fan of duck, and the sauce was too sweet
  -served with Chipolline in Agrodolce (Sweet and Sour Onions)
  --this reminded me of dad's Thanksgiving shallot recipe and I loved it
  
  
  
  Petto D'anatra All'Arancia
  
  
• Piccione al Miele (Pigeon with Honey)
  -This one takes the prize for today
  -Not only did we chop of the head, hands and feet, but I also got to de-cage the pigeon, remove it's heart and liver, chop it up with some pork sausage and stuff it back in!
  -The honey glaze was incredible
  -Served with Onion Jam
  
  
  
  Piccione al Miele
  
  
• Faraona All'Uva (Guinea Fowl with Grapes)
  -The #2 of the day
  -Flamed with brandy
  -Grapes aren't in season in Italy right now but this dish was still yummy

Faraona All'Uva

Afternoon

Skyped with my mom, packed and met Alyssa for gelato at Grom. Walked around to say goodbye, then sat on the Ponte Santa Trinita (my favorite), overlooking the Ponte Vecchio at sunset.

Ponte Vecchio from Ponte Santa Trinita

Tomorrow

• last day of class
• off to Berlin for the weekend to visit my friend, Jon!

Photo of the Day

Flaming the Guinea Fowl

Lesson of the Day
I may be ready and excited for the next chapter of my adventure, but Firenze is a beautiful place and I sure am going to miss this city :(

The Count

Glasses of wine drinken: 65
Gelatos eaten: 15

-->Flavors tried: 31

Photos taken: 2285

Today

Class: CHOCOLATE!

-We made 3 different kinds of chocolate mousse, as well as a recipe that was on the menu tomorrow so we would have something more than chocolate to eat for lunch

• Sarde in Soar (Sweet and Sour Sardines)
  -YUM! We pan-fried sardines (after scaling and gutting them, of course), then layered with sauteed onions, raisins, vinegar and pine nuts for a wonderful sweet and sour combination
  -unfortunately there were no brussel sprouts to go along with it ;)
  
  
  

  Sarde in Soar
  
  
• Mousse di Ciocollato con Sale (Chocolate Mousse with Salt)
  -made with soy lechitin, this mousse is a bit more thick and dense than a typical mousse
  -the salt and olive oil topping was quite lovely
  
  
  
  Mousse di Cioccolato con Sale
  
  
• Mouse di Cioccolato, decorazioni di Lamponi (Chocolate Mousse, Raspberry Garnish)
  -such a bitter mousse (made with 85% cacao chocolate) but the sweet raspberry contrasted this so nicely, and I love dark chocolate
  -we also garnished it with chocolate covered raspberries. In order to let them harden after dipping them in chocolate, we put the toothpicks in a piece of bread and then put it in the fridge:
  
  
  
  Raspberry Forest!
  
  
  -Served in a lacy sugar cup made from a combo of raspberry juice, flour, brown and white sugar
  
  
  
  Lace Sugar Cups
  
  
• Mousse di Cioccolato (Chocolate Mousse)
  -standard chocolate mousse, served in a wine glass topped with shreds of white chocolate
  -we also made a caramel sauce with a hint of liquorice in it, just for teaching purposes, which we ate with some of this mousse
  
  
  
  Bad plating job

Afternoon

• Mercato Centrale
  -I didn't need to buy or eat anything but I just wanted to go and explore
  -I love that I cook lunch for myself and have dinner with the family at home, but it really does give me such a different experience of Firenze and Italy
  -The food here is incredible, and yes, I am learning to cook it, but otherwise I'm hardly experiencing it
  -I loved looking at all the fresh meat and fruit, in addition to all the beautiful panini, pizzas and dried fruit
  -Such a cool place
  
  
  Pig's head
  
  
  Dried Fruit (and GINGER!)
  
  
  Meat stand at Mercato Centrale
  
  
• Accademia
  -I was told a million times how amazing The David was in real life and I was still unprepared for turning the corner
  -Unbelievable. Marcella was right--if you stare long enough, it moves
  -I could see him breathing, it was absolutely incredible
  -The rest of the gallery, not so exciting, but worth it for The David
  -I did enjoy seeing the unfinished works of Michelangelo--it enables you to see the process which I really enjoyed
• Gelato Festival
  -Can you say anti-climactic?
  -There is nothing free about the Gelato Festival, therefore I don't think it deserves the title "Festival"
  -You have to buy a pass and then you can go to select gelato stores and get gelato there...bOOORING
• Duomo
  -I finally went inside!
  -Definitely not very exciting
  -The one in Siena is much more interesting
  -The dome is nice, though (that's what it's most famous for)
  
  
  
  Brunelleschi's dome
  
  
  Inside The Duomo
• Shopping!
  -Walked through the San Lorenzo market and bought Italian leather sandals and sheep skin mittens
  -I know, it's definitely not mitten season, but they were so cute and warm and given that I live in the winter for 3/4 of the year, I thought it was relatively practical
• Packing :(
  -It's about that time again...

Photo of the Day
I did not make this.

Yum.

Lesson of the Day

This evening, Alyssa and I played this game that's similar to mastermind but with 5-letter words...there are a lot of 5-letter words in the world!!

The Count

Glasses of wine drinken: 62

Plates of pasta eaten: 31
Churches toured: 12 + 1 synagogue

Photos taken: 2253

Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy :)

Today

Lazy day, getting ready to start the next chapter of my adventure.

Class

We talked about the composition of the italian meal: appertivo, primo, secondo and dolce. Appertivo is usually a crostini or bruschetta. Both primo and secondo can either be fish or meat; primo is generally in the form of pasta, while secondo is more of a grilled or roasted dish.

At an Italian wedding, it is customary to have 2 of each: a meat and a fish, two meats or two fish primi and secondi, in addition to appertivo and dolce...it's a huge, never-ending feast.

Today we made only primo, secondo and dolce.

For primi, we did two variations on a theme: pear and gorgonzola.

ravioli shapes

• Ravioli Pere e Fromaggio 1 (Pear and Gorgonzola Ravioli with Asparagus Sauce)
  -These ravioli were filled with a mixture of pear and gorgonzola in an asparagus sauce and served with steamed asparagus.
  -Uncooked, these looked like hamentaschen :)
  
  
  
  Ravioli Pere e Fromaggio 1
  
  
• Ravioli Pere e Fromaggio 2 (Cheese Ravioli with Pear Sauce)
  -These "wonton"s were filled with three different kinds of cheese (including gargonzola), and topped with a pear sauce with olive oil, onion, coriander and truffle butter (my favorite).
  
  
  Ravioli Pere e Fromaggio 2

I liked the ravioli with the pear sauce more than the ones stuffed with pear, but they were both delicious. I want to try them with a walnut sauce and/or filling.

Secondo was awesome:

• Involtini di Ida e Pieslli alla Fiorentina (Ida's Veal Rolls with Florentine Style Peas)
  -Lay out a thin slice of veal, put a slice of cooked prosciutto over top and place slices of fontina (a melting cheese) in the middle along with a few sage leaves
  -Roll up the layers and hold closed with a toothpick
  -Saute in olive oil, flipping when one side is done, then cover with wine and let cook for a bit longer
  -Wow. Textures and flavors were awesome--the meat was tender but the cheese oozed out of the middle...I'm drooling just thinking about it
  -Served with a traditional dish: Florentine Peas--boiled peas with prosciutto, onion and parsley...they were a bit overcooked and too mushy for my taste, but still yummy

Involtini di Ida e Pieslli alla Fiorentina

Dolce

• Frutta Glassata (Glazed Fruit)
  -Yummy fruit salad with anise seed and cognac
  -The anise was a nice surprise that added a depth to the salad
  
  
  
  Frutta Glassata

Afternoon

It is hot. I do not want to be outside.
I went swimming in the afternoon and then took a nap. I'm starting to think about the fact that I'm leaving on Friday. I just came in from the garden where I was starting to read my Greece travel guides and I am very excited about the next part of my journey.

Friday afternoon I fly to Berlin where I will stay with my friend Jon for the weekend. I am looking forward to seeing him, as well as Germany! The one thing I definitely want to do while there (other than have fun, of course) is visit the Berlin Jewish Museum.

Lesson of the Day
My mom may starve at home without me. My dad is making Tuna Noodle Casserole and Spaghetti Tacos (Zeke's favorite)...

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Photo of the Day
Today, the tow truck came for Mildred (my car).

RIP Mildred

The Count

Glasses of wine drinken: 60

Plates of pasta eaten: 30

Photos taken: 2165

Tomorrow

Chocolate!

Mercato Centrale?

Duomo?

Gallerie de l'Accademia!

Gelato Festival, Day 1!

Signora Longari

Today

Class: Sweet and Sour

Today we made less dishes than usually, but they were more multi-faceted and well-rounded.

• Caponata
  -A perfect combination of eggplant, sauteed onions, celery, olives, capers, pine nuts, raisins, sugar and vinegar
  -One of my favorite dishes so far, I think--very easy, and so full of flavor
  
  
  
  Caponata
  
  
• Astice con Salsa di Mirtilli (Maine Lobster with Blueberry Sauce) with Zucchini a Venatglio (Fanned Braised Zucchini)
  -Marcella invented this recipe during her time in Maine--to integrate Maine and Tuscan flavors
  -The first time I've ever eaten lobster
  -We had to kill it first, but I let Marcella go ahead and do this
  -In Italy, it is illegal to kill a lobster by steaming it, so we had to stab it with a knife right in the brain, then split it in half
  -I like lobster more than shrimp
  
  
  
  Astice con Salsa di Mirtilli e Zucchini a Ventaglio
  
  
• Sorbetto di Arancia e Prosecco (Sparkling Wine and Orange Sorbet)
  -This is the gelato we made on Friday and let chill over the weekend
  -It was perfect for cleansing the palate between the seafood and meat dishes--so icy, cool and fresh
  
  
  
  Sorbetto di Arancia e Prosecco
  
  
• Arista alla Liquirizia (Roast Pork Loin with Licorice)
  -I don't really like the flavor of licorice, but this was quite delicious

Arista alla Liquirizia

Afternoon

It was unbelievably hot this afternoon so I spent most of the afternoon at home reading, writing and blogging. Andrea was doing some homework that I helped her with. I'm not really sure why, but she was sitting at her desk doing multiply over a hundred numbers and then summing them using a calculator, paper and pencil. So I showed her how to use Excel and she was completely shocked. I'm not really sure what they teach in Italian engineering programs...she uses AutoCAD daily, so I am confused...but I saved her a ton of time and she was very excited :)

Once it cooled down a bit, I biked into the city center in search of a leather belt. I didn't find one, but I did buy some postcards and sit amongst the cool (temperature-wise) statues of Piazza della Signoria.

This statue has my name carved into it.

Apparently this one is pretty famous, I don't know how many times I've walked by it without realizing...

The Rape of the Sabine Woman

The statue is made from one piece of marble, spirals beautifully upward and is pretty remarkable.

Photos of the Day

Cutting lobster

Flaming Lobster

Lesson of the Day

Florence is hot.

The Count

Glasses of wine drinken: 58

Gelatos eaten: 14

-->Flavors tried: 29

Photos taken: 2150

Things left to do
-Accademia (The David)

-Inside the Duomo
-Gelato Festival!