Beach, Cherries and Gelato!

Sun!!  Finally!  Beautiful summer weather has arrived (we kind of skipped the Spring) and I have been loving the sun.  I took the opportunity to go to the beach and enjoy the day.  My roommate convinced me to try the beach in Pisa..but I think we have a pretty different idea of what a beach is supposed to be.  When I first got there it was just lots of rocky piers jutting out..

So I kept walking along and finally we got more of a beach..just of rocks

And then finally - SAND!  It was small but there.  I just don't know how a beach is a beach without sand.  I guess the water is supposedly cleaner with the rocks..but it's just not the same.  It was nice to get some sun..but it really just made me miss the Pacific Ocean and the sound of the waves and the sea breeze...

This past week my favorite pizzaiolo student invited me to his orchard to pick cherries.  It was awesome - he has hundreds of cherry, apple, peach, apricot and pear trees that he planted all himself.  In the beautiful Tuscan countryside.  We picked in the afternoon and then went to his house for an amazing Tuscan meal - with freshly made pecorino cheese from his neighbour's sheep.  We ended the evening by taking a trip to the local gelateria for my new favorite flavor of the week - arancia-limone.  I love my students and their wives.

This weekend was the Gelato Festival in Florence.  And I ate WAY too much gelato but it was good.  They had a demonstration where they showed how it is made and it was really cool to watch and then eat.  There was also a demonstration of the old hand-cranked machines and some amazing custard gelato.  It was fun..but I'm glad it doesn't happen more than once a year or I would not be able to stop myself.  I did find a summer goal though:  to try all of these ice creams on the signs that are out in front of all the shops.  I think I've had 3 kinds already..so it's a good start.

About a month left of classes and then I'm looking forward to the summer!  For my family to come and visit and the chance to get to see more of Italy! 

Why I love Spring..

{I have to preface this by saying that I started this post Before it proceeded to rain every day for the past week..but here's to hoping that it will stop some day soon.}

Just some thoughts about why I've been enjoying Spring so much so far:
  1.  It's not 100 degrees and humid yet (I have to admit I'm terrified - I am not quite sure how I'll handle actually having a hot, humid summer after 6 years in cold, foggy SF)
  2.  No mosquitos yet (I've only killed two so far..although there is one hiding somewhere in my room that I can't seem to find..)
  3. The beautiful flowers covering the grass and newly green trees in the parks.
  4.  Jacket weather (a little nostalgia for San Francisco)
  5.  My clothes can actually dry in one day - outside! 
  6. Flip flops!
  7. Biancanotte (white night) in Florence.  The night before May 1st (Labor day here) the entire center of Florence was open all night with concerts and events in every piazza and at midnight there were more people than I've ever seen in the city walking around  - about 150,000 people roaming the streets. It was pretty impressive - and the weather was absolutely perfect.  Gelato and pizza at midnight should happen more often..
  8.  Summer vacation and travelling!

I have been wanting to go visit the Iris Garden by Piazzale Michelangelo but have been holding off because of the rain.  However, we had a brief respite on Saturday  - so I took advantage and visited the gardens and finally the San Miniato cathedral.  If someone had told me there was a cemetary there, I wouldn't have put it off for so long!  It ended up being a beautiful day (if this were winter and it were supposed to be so cold and rainy, that is)..


Some pictures of San Miniato and the serene graveyard.

Wouldn't you like to be buried here?  I sure would!

The one on the left was my favorite ever..I don't know why the man is lying down with a torch..Did he collapse during the Olympics or is that symbolic of his light being put out or was that just his wish to be shown lying on the ground instead of under??

It turned out to be a nice weekend..and one of these days, when the rain stops, I will be able to go to the beach!

The BEST Pizza Ever...truly

A couple of weeks ago my favorite students in the whole world invited me to one of their houses' for dinner.  And it was absolutely amazing - Fiorentino is a true pizzaiolo! 
I teach Fiorentino and Giovanni for an hour once a week at the school where they are both engineering professors.  They are beginners, although Fiorentino worked selling tickets at the Duomo for a few years so he knows lots of useful phrases like - how much?  where is the bathroom?  how many steps to the top?  Giovanni wants to learn English to help collaborate with other schools in Europe and both of them have plans to travel to the US next year - but mostly, it's just a fun new hobby for them. 
Really, we just end up talking about whatever random topic of the week comes up - weather, Berlusconi (always highly entertaining since they are on opposite sides of the political spectrum), Fiorentino's flying hobby or his orchard, the best places to visit in Italy, my weekend travels, their weekend plans, their wives, my family, etc.  I get to practice my Italian and they are improving their English slowly...it's always one of my favorite hours of the week!..

  Fiorentino has been wanting me to come out and see his house and orchard and his wood-burning oven for a while - and we finally found a time to make it happen.  Giovanni's wife, Laura, is from Finland and she had a friend and her daughter from Sweden visiting - so we all went out to Fiorentino's house in Montespirito.
A bellisima casa!!  It was built in the 1500s and is very large by Italian standards.  Two stories and a basement and an old wine cellar.  It was a beautiful Spring day and we enjoyed sitting outside and talking - English, Finlandese, Swedish, Italian - I always love the mix of languages.  Added to that, their friend and his Brazilian girlfriend stopped by so we had plenty of nationalities covered..

This is the wood stove that Fiorentino built in the basement.  He is amazing!  He had made the crust earlier in the day, since true pizza crust needs a whole day to rise.  Then we sat and watched while he rolled out the crust, added the sauce and the cheese and the toppings and put it in the oven.  We ate enough pizza for 20 people between the ten of us!  They just kept on coming.. First, foccaccia, then pizza margherita, pizza alla cipolla, pizza con proscuitto e funghi, and pizza napolitano (without the sardines for me)...amazing, every single one of them (and I had them all).  Although we were all stuffed, we also managed to finish off the night with nutella and marscapone pizza for dessert. 

The whole group..and Giovanni trying to get me to eat another piece..which I'm sure I managed to do..

I love these students of mine!!  They are by far the kindest and most entertaining Italian men I have met so far!