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!