Compleanno di Titti e Cioccolato!!

This weekend proves why it's worth it to sometimes just stay home and enjoy Florence.  It was a good week, although somewhat rainy, with the usual to keep me busy.  Wednesday was my roommate Titti's 29th birthday - and we celebrated and ate for three days!  She made three tiramisu's (she makes the best ever) - one for just me and my roommates.  It's a good things these birthdays don't come around more often..

Friday night was the big birthday party.  Meaghan and I made the most amazing hand apple pies ever (really, they were wonderful).



Me and Titti

My other roommate, Lita - made her amazing Peruvian food (the green rice and sauce are my favorite)
There was Happy Birthday singing in
4 different languages (Italian, English, Albanesi e Spanish), dancing, lots of food and good company..

Saturday Meaghan and I continued the eating trend.  There was a great local artiginale market in Piazza della Republicca.  Then we went to the Palazzo Vecchio to tour the old Medici palace and take a look at the secret passageways.  

The ceilings were my favorite - they were all covered with frescoes and paintings so beautiful and still so vibrant. We also got to see the paintings that are really doors and hiding spots, secret stairways and the wooden trellises that hold the ceiling up.  It was freezing though, inside and outside. 

Our next stop - Piazza Santa Croce (the church in the background) for the Chocolate Festival!!

We had some amazing chocolates and my favorite, cioccolata calda (literally hot, melted chocolate), to warm me up.

The chocolatiers were very creative (those are chocolate salamis and mushrooms).  All sorts of amazing things to try - just stay clear of the cherries, they look amazing but I guess we should have known they were filled with alcohol..

We finished off the day by watching some sort of interesting political protest blocking our street on the way home..

The communists against the nationalists??

Then we made some amazing pizza and some sugar cookies for our friend Angela, who is going home to Peru this week.  Good thing Sunday was fast Sunday..  Now I'm waiting for the men to fix our water heater (one hour has already turned into 3) so I can go running and get on with my day..