Florence Day 1: I Ate Cat Food

My feelings toward Italy are no secret. It's not that I don't like it, it's that I think almost every other place for visiting is better. Please pick your jaw up off the floor. In a quick sentence, I don't get excited over Italian food, I prefer French wine and countrysides, and the sound of the language is to me what German is to my peers. The five or so days that I spent in Italy as well as the year and I half I spent living next to Mulberry Street aren't the only things that have formed my opinion. Nevertheless, when Melissa and Randi were planning a trip for Easter Holiday I would have even gone to Ohio (not really) so Florence it was! The trip was about the people I was with and I was looking forward to it.

Melissa and I flew into Bologna and drove to stay in the city of Firenze while Randi and Ali were staying in the Tuscan hills (a 10 minute cab away).

First order of business in Bologna - pick up the car. The guy behind the desk knew he was delivering good news when he told us we had a Fiat Panda. This is a pretty common European car. I've seen plenty myself and whenever someone comes back they usually bring me a picture of a Panda (I love it and please keep it up!). This is the first time I would be behind the wheel of my namesake. Also, this would be the first time I would be behind the wheel of a car in another land! I was the designated and only driver as the only one with manual driving skills. I prefer a manual as the few times I've had to drive an automatic in recent past I forget which one is the gas and brake since there are only two pedals (I know this is a problem). So you understand why I was nervous when we fastened our seatbelts, spit on the TomTom, and I couldn't find the clutch or the stick. Did we somehow get the only automatic in this place? Now I was nervous but if 15 and 90 year olds can drive an auto, I can too. Turned the key…and the car jerked in a way only a manual does. I pulled my seat up another foot, discovered the stick on the dash and we were ready. This trip was off to a hilarious start. Melissa and I were already cracking up and we hadn't pulled out of the lot yet.

The drive down was beautiful and uneventful. I was warned about Italian drivers but I found them to be harmless. Yes, I nearly got clipped anytime a car switched lanes, and no, signals are not used but no big deal. It took a few tries to get comfortable with traffic circles but I never got stuck in one. Some of the drive reminded me of driving through Montana and Idaho with Kat this summer, we were high atop hills with rolling green in all directions. In absence of abandoned coal mines, there were villas and vineyards.

By the time we got to the hotel, we were starving. We checked in and set out for lunch. Quick tangent regarding our hotel: After spending quite some time shopping for one, we picked the NH Firenze because it was a brand we knew and it seemed reliable instead of some of the non-chain iffies. I don't think I've ever encountered a more rude hotel employee than the one at the front desk of the NH Firenze. After yelling at us for using the wrong door (to our knowledge there was no other door) she yelled at us for parking on a side street and said we were only permitted to park at a meter. Now to me, when a hotel advertises "Parking available for an additional fee" I don't think Bring quarters to feed the meter. But that's just me. 

So we checked into our hotel and set out for lunch. We were frail and weak due to hours without snacks. We searched for an open restaurant and finally found one where the cook had just left but the waiter told us that there were a couple of menu items that were available and out of desperation, we both selected the chicken with spinach. We were speechless when it came. It would be one of those meals that I could eat without getting sick but then later get sick thinking about how I ate it. I stuck with the spinach. Also, we had a big dinner coming up…

Melissa had found us a place out in Tuscany where they offered an Italian cooking class, wine, and the ambiance of a villa in one. We had no idea what to expect. When we set out for the location we first had to call because the villa didn't have an address, only a street. After some confused conversation with who we later learned to be the chef, we decided to wing it and hope Tom would get us there. An hour and a half later, we pulled up to the villa to discover it was just us who would be learning tonight! We felt bad for being late but could have used an amateur sketch the your location.

The chef walked us through the menu. We were making gnocchi, something that I thought was bruschetta-like (Crostini Toscani), something else I hadn't heard of (Saltimbocca alla romana), and tiramisu. Our chef lady was so cute, she explain to us what to do and also why. We peeled tomatoes and made a fresh sauce. We mashed the potatoes and made gnocchi (which turns out is super easy). We tooth-picked some prosciutto to veal and tossed it in a pan. Next, the final dish to prepare and also our appetizer.

I'm down to try anything but she lost me when she asked me to debone the sardine. Couldn't do it; I wanted to do everything but it was impossible. I looked away as she deboned the salty fish and held a forced smile as she asked Melissa to blend them together with the liver we had just cooked. I have never seen or smelled anything more like cat food. Once it was all piled up in a bowl I got a second wind. As the chef was showing us to sample things so we would know if it needed salt or seasoning, I decided to give it a try. According to Melissa, it was clear that I was trying to hide my disgust but it was in no way hidden. Next, they had us spread the dish on a nice baguette. I put as little as possible but not so little that she would ask me to revisit. Once we were done, we were given the go-ahead to take to our setting on the balcony and start with dinner.

We sat on their lovely patio overlooking the hills. I pushed the cat food from two of the baguette slices onto the other two so that it would look like I had eaten half. The ladies were so nice and I couldn't bear to have them think I didn't like it (not only didn't I like it but I was AFRAID of it. Minnesota Nice much?) I would have hid it somewhere but there were no good spots and I thought it might draw animals to their patio.

The rest of the dinner was delicious. If I got it at a restaurant I would have thought it was boring but since it came from us it was tasty. They even gave us a cute little Italian cookbook that had little exercises to learn the language along with the recipes. The cooking class was a great trip activity and to anyone who likes Italian food it would be an amazing way to get the fun of cooking+eating+wine all in one stop. The ladies that we worked with were very sweet and patient, even when Melissa threw out the egg instead of putting it in the tiramisu batter. If you're ever in Tuscany check out http://itcooking.com/. I am pretty sure they also taught Tony Danza as can by evidenced by their webpage banner. I would absolutely do something like this again and hopefully next time I can be more adventurous with the sardines.
This concludes our first night in Italy. Much more excitement to come...