Non Siamo Piu in Kansas...

We're not in Kansas anymore...
I can't believe a week has gone by! It's been a good week. Let's start from the beginning....


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Thursday I went and met a friend, Tommaso, for a few drinks. It was wonderful to see him and to have another friend in Florence (Ciao, Tommaso!) There is a very Florentine drink, that I think I mentioned before, called a Negroni, that I order with vodka instead of gin (known as a Negroski).

Negroni
Ice Cubes

2 ounces of gin (or vodka, or prosecco)

2 ounces of Campari (bitter)

2 ounce of Sweet Vermouth

Garnish with an orange slice or burnt orange peel

Friday, Fabio took me to a small little lake outside of Florence for a few hours. (Reminder - Fabio is a friend of Andrea's uncle. Fabio and Luca have a shop on my street where they refurbish and store old furniture. I go see them almost everyday now to go get a cappuccino together in the mornings.) That night, Andrea made this amazing eggplant parmesan for Fabio and I, then they took my for my first gelato at their favorite place in Florence, which happens to be very close to me. Rut roh!

Andrea's eggplant parmesan

Saturday, Andrea took me on a little tour of the Chianti region on the scooter. We visited Colle val D'elsa and stopped in San Gimignano for a little window shopping and for lunch. We happened to wonder into this little place from the main street and walked to the back of the room where we were surprised by the most beautiful open air room with a view.








We feasted on mushroom bruschette, crostini with prociutto, steak salad and an apple torta. And of course some San Gimignano vino - Vernaccia San Gimignano. It's a good one to try to find as well.








On our way back to town, we stopped by Piazzale Michelangelo to take in the view and then I shot a video from scooter of our trip from the hillside to our apartment. It's a little shaky and might be hard to follow, but it's kind of fun if you want to give it a try. In it, you see an overview of Florence, then travel along the "old wall" of the town, then arrive at Ponte Vecchio then pass by the Pitti Palace and Fabio's house.

(I'm working on uploading a video to YouTube. Once it's done, I will post the link here.)

We got home and rested before taking off again and heading to Fabio's house in the country for a pizza party. I didn't know what to expect, but this time I did know there would be at least 20 people, mostly Italians. It took about 40 minutes and we were out in the countryside scaling the mountain on gravel roads on the scooter. I had to close my eyes at points. I told Andrea that I was doing EXACTLY what everyone warned me against doing - riding with an Italian man on a scooter out in the middle of nowhere and not telling anyone where I was going. Oops.

We got there and walked around the back of the house to see about 6 long tables set up throughout the huge backyard - each of them with bottles of wine and beer. When we came around, there was a large group of people all watching the stairway leading from the house and then all of a sudden they started shouting and cheering. All of a sudden there was music and a man - dressed as a woman - dancing down the stairs. Then there was another one, then another one, then another one. Are you kidding me?! (Which Andrea likes to say a lot in English: "Aaare you keeeding meee??!!") Everyone was dying laughing including myself. Let me explain more... First of all, there weren't just 20 Italians, there were 45! The party, which had started at 2 in the afternoon, included all of Fabio and Luca's family and close friends who, each year, get together and have a whole day of games. They split into 4 teams and play tug of war, potato sack races... you name it. And everyone plays - grandma and grandpa and the little kids too. The final competition was the contest of drag, where one man from each team dressed as a woman and then everyone voted on who was prettiest. Amaze. Ing. Luca and Fabio were two of the men. So starting with coffee this morning, I now call them "belle donne", beautiful ladies.

Fabio

Luca

Then the pizza part started. They had made about 80 separate doughs for the crust, and had plates and bowls full of all sorts of toppings. Onions, cheeses, ham, olives, etc. And there was a big wood-fired oven and prep area where three guys were making everything. Plus there was a woman placing orders for everyone. She was taking my order and I got really nervous and said, "Anch'io," (which means "me too") after Andrea placed his order. But Andrea started cracking up and told me she just asked what my name was. Oopsies. The pizza and the night was wonderful. Especially the bomboloni - basically a fried donut with sugar and creme in the middle. The fried them fresh in the backyard. Yum yum.

I have been very anxious for everyone in Florence to get back to town to get the job search started. I've had anxiety about finding a job, but really couldn't do anything about it until this week. So at the pizza party, after I calmed down a bit, I started talking to a group of people and explaining what I'm doing here and looking for a job. Bettina, one of the women there, (Ciao, Bettina!) starting talking about her event-planning company and how I could possibly help her if she ends up getting the contracts on some upcoming jobs in Rome and either Florence or Venice. Fingers crossed, Bettina!


Okay, so Monday was going to be my big day - two interviews for jobs and people to start calling and following up with. And the verdict???? I GOT MY FIRST JOB! Can I get a woop woop!! So yesterday I went and met Lorenzo at ApartmentsFlorence.it. Basically I will be starting on a part-time basis and work on the marketing, social media and maybe a little sales. So if you start getting friend requests on FB and emails from ApartmentsFlorence - accept them please! Also, if you know ANYONE coming to Florence, let me know and I'll get them set up. Also, for those of you wanting to come visit, in November and December, we will be running a promotion and you an rent a really nice apartment for only 20 Euros a day plus the 40 cleaning fee! Can't beat it. Plus flights at that time are well priced too.

So after I left the meeting with Lorenzo, I went to Moyo, a bar, to celebrate. I ended up talking about my job to a guy at the bar who turned out to be a manager and works on promotions. So we've been talking yesterday and today about how I could work on a contract basis with the restaurant group doing PR and helping with some special events. We'll see. THEN on my way home from there, I got a call from Todd, the owner of Tuscan Trails and have an appointment with him tomorrow about being a wine tour guide. THEN after I got home, I had an e-mail from the editor of The Florentine, the English-speaking newspaper, about possibly writing some articles for future issues. Also, either next week or the week after I will start speaking English with Lorenzo, the little angel.

Last night I celebrated a little too much and today have gained back the 5 pounds that I've lost since I've been here. This morning, went for a cappuccino and brioche con crema. After some shopping and a stop by Raffa's studio (Andrea's cousin, the sculptor), I had a panino and some gelato (...death by Strawberry Cheesecake gelato. I really wish I hadn't broken the gelato seal!) Then I went to work for a few hours then requested pasta, truffle cheese and bread from Chef Andrea tonight. I'm so excited for this weekend to be able to see Natalie and Brian during their 3-hour trip to Florence Saturday morning. I've already got tickets to see David - I'm excited for them to see him and that I get to see him again too!

I'm living what we call, "la vita dura." The hard life.


CIAO!!!