Amo l'Italia

Throughout my four months of studying abroad in Italy I have traveled to Spain, England, Czech Republic and France. Each country was wonderful, but none of them compared to Italy. Each city I have visited in Italy has been magnificent in their own specific way. Besides Rome, I have traveled to Florence, Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri, Salerno, Sicily and Venice. My main focus in each city was to explore their culture and eat as much of their food as possible. I became obsessed with trying region specific food and writing about it in this food blog. Being encouraged to taste new cuisine in each city turned me from a plain eater into an experienced one. The food only helped me fall more in love with each city - they were all amazing. Venice was a city of pure fascination; Florence was a city full of sophistication, Sorrento and Capri were cities oozing with romance and of course, Rome, which I have become to love as my home. 

all 32 of us in Salerno

Royal Wedding!

Every girl grows up dreaming of her wedding and future family. Or maybe that’s just me, because I can personally tell you what month I will get married, what color dress my bridesmaids will wear and the names of all my future children (all will have extremely Italian names, of course). I am obsessed with weddings, which is why I had to go to the Royal wedding. Ellen & I went to Hyde Park to watch the wedding because I couldn’t have waited on the side of the street for hours just to possibly see a quick glance of Prince William & Kate. Hyde Park was filled with British people and British flags. There were two gigantic television screens set up at the park to broadcast the processional and the ceremony. I was in sappy girl heaven. Every time Prince William smiled at Kate, a little bit of me melted on the inside. 

After the wedding concluded, Ellen & I made our way over to Westminster Abbey. Even though I couldn’t go into the church because they were deconstructing it from the wedding that took place a few hours before, it was an unbelievable sight. 

Ellen & me at Buckingham Palace

 At Big Ben 

Buona Pasqua!

I love Chinino Easter traditions... dyeing easter eggs, eating tortellini soup and being with family. That's why this year as Easter was approaching I was bummed out I wasn't going to be at home with them for my SECOND favorite holiday (nothing beats Christmas). But, fortunately I was able to spend it in Sicily with my other family, my best friends. The apartment we were renting was just outside of Palermo in a small city called Sferracavallo. There are probably 100 people who live in the town, so it was a little funny having everyone stare at us during the Easter mass we attended at the only church in town. After Easter Mass we purchased a Colomba Cake, the traditional Italian Pasqua cake. The cake is in the shape of a dove. Which completely makes sense because the dove is the symbol of peace. The Colomba Cake tasted sweet & eggy. The random chunks of orange peel inside the cake gave the yeasty bread a little soemthing extra. Also, the sugared and sliced almonds sprinkled on top give it that sugar kick we all want from a cake. 

 Some of us at our apartment 

Arancine

I love suppli. I could eat the fried balls of rice, marinara & cheese for breakfast, for lunch and for dinner. After living in Rome for four months, I have become "suppli obsessed". 

Once landing in Palermo, Sicily we dropped off our bags at the apartment we rented and went to the pizzeria across the street. I was starving after all of our traveling. I wasn't sure what I wanted to quench that hunger, there were so many options. After staring at all the delicious goodies behind the glass... I finally saw it. A suppli on steroids. Literally this fried ball was as big as my head. I wanted it right then. After taking a bite, I realized this huge suppli wasn't a suppli - it was an arancine.  An arancine is a fried ball of rice with cheese, butter and ham. It was so cheesy and so good and so rich.. I could only finish half.

best friends in barcelona

The most important thing is to enjoy your life—to be happy—it’s all that matters.

AUDREY HEPBURN


Ellen. Gina. Steph.

Holiday in Spain

Tapas: the name of a wide variety of appetizers that are combined to make a full meal in Spanish Cuisine. 


The only time I have ever ate tapas before was at Radio Maria's in Champaign and I loved it! But, let's be honest.. Champaign probably isn't world renown for having the best tapas. However, Spain IS world renown for having the best tapas, so I knew I was in for a treat. Plus my best friend Stephanie is studying abroad in Spain, so she took us to the best tapas restaurant, La Flaunta.

I didn't know what to order, so Stephanie ordered for me. She ordered me Pan con Tomate. Which could be equivalent to Bruschetta. It used the same four ingredients - bread, tomatoes, olive oil and cheese. However with Pan Con Tomate, the texture was different. The bread is crunchier - it tasted like pizza crust from America. Also, instead of using chunks of tomatoes like Bruschetta, Pan Con Tomate has a tomato paste which makes it so much easier to eat. 

Perfect Bun.. why are you so perfect?

In a small back alley of Rome hides the cutest food boutique, ever. It's called the Perfect Bun and it is Perfect. Their menu consists of: cookies, bagels, cupcakes, brownies and American coffee. So, pretty much everything in the junk food category of the food pyramid.. my favorite category. 

When we traveled to Cilento, Italy - we went to the 'Museum of the Mediterranean Diet'. I learned that in order to follow this diet you must eat a lot of fresh fruits/vegetables, fish and olive oil. Hmm, Perfect...I think cookies might have a little olive oil in them? 

The Perfect Bun is Perfect distance away from my school, (La Scula Leonardo DiVini) which means I'm able to walk there for breaks and grab a quick snack. After ordering a cupcake, they actually go to the kitchen and make me one. Their onsite baker makes sure each pastry is fresh and gooey. Perfect!