i ricordi

ciao tutti,
i am pleased to report that i am currently writing you all from the comfort of my very own bed. and boy is it nice to be back. since being home i have indulged in numerous delicious foodstuffs, enjoyed the company of friends and spent quality time with the family. tonight, for instance, my mother recreated thanksgiving dinner for me, and then an old friend popped over to decorate a gingerbread house. not a bad night, if i may say so myself.

it has been weird being able to buy beer (312, of course), and go to bars. i cannot say it is terribly exciting, particularly after a semester abroad, but it definitely makes life easier. tonight was funny though when my mother had me try two different kinds of wine to decide what to drink at dinner. ultimately, i ended up deciding that i did not want to drink as my liver is in dire need of una pausa and i still need to reacquire my affinity for wine after italia.

http://www.gooseisland.com/pages/312_urban_wheat/16.php

speaking of, i miss the damn country already. after a nightmare of a time getting home, as excited as i was to be back, i also immediately knew that i was really going to miss italia. if anything, telling people stories about it only makes it worse too.

in the spirit of everyone's obnoxious habit of looking back and reflecting then, (who am i kidding i love reflecting), i give you the following compilation of some of my favorite photos and memories from the semester:

  

outside of a beautiful abbey on our italian field trip. 

this was also the day that i tasted the best cheese in my life.

praha, where i was all too happy to recreate the outdoor sausage from a cart eating experience that we had had in vienna just a week before. 

the cafe that freud used to frequent that we stumbled upon in vienna. the sachertorte that you see pictured to the right was to die for. seriously.

the under the university dorm club that we went to with our friend kenny in budapest on a tuesday night. 

one word: polinka.

the spectacular view from the top of buda looking at pest

also a stunning view, this time of firenze from piazza michelangelo

a night out sitting at the steps of santo spirito drinking wine

and finally, a typical night at jj's, the bar of our little home town just outside of firenze called fiesole

if the past few days have been any indication, this break promises to be one chock full of activities and food, but then again, what more did i expect. no complaints here though, thus far it has been awesome to be stateside again. i must concede, however, that the travel bug got me, and i am already itching to get to switzerland for a few days before the semester in madrid starts. for now though, i have to settle for trips to michigan and florida, aka food and the beach, respectively. hopefully pictures to come from those trips soon. 

in the meantime, the baking/cooking log update stands at:

• pumpkin bread french toast
• white chocolate bark with pistachios, dried cranberries and apricots
• christmas shortbread cut out cookies with a chocolate ganache
• helping prepare a recreation of the family's thanksgiving dinner. yum.

whether or not the daily workouts will continue to fend off the aforementioned culinary activities, we shall see. the goal is not to gain back the weight lost in italia!(?)!

ciao for now!