Weekend Update: 9/24-9/29

This post is a quick study break for me just to get caught up on everything. I last posted on Friday afternoon before going to run some errands…

Jeff Koons in Piazza della Signoria: there is one piece out in the Piazza, and one piece inside Palazzo Vecchio (that requires paid admission). The outdoor piece, titled Pluto and Proserpina, is very shiny and seems a bit out of place, but it looks super cool. It totally juxtaposes itself in between the classical statues surrounding it, with the backdrop of the Palazzo Vecchio.

Friday afternoon we went back to Piazza SS Annunziata for the French pop-up market. We would later return both Saturday and Sunday… Needless to say, we’ve had plenty of delicious pastries and some delicious baguettes (finally bread with salt!). We definitely spoiled ourselves and now the piazza is empty and sad looking. This time they had eclairs! I got a chocolate one and even though it wasn’t super fresh, it was absolutely delicious and definitely the best (first too?) eclair I’ve ever had.

As we were leaving, some of my friends called and said they were at the top of the Duomo. I knew they were going up that afternoon so I brought my camera and was able to get some really cool pictures of them at the top — from the ground! I didn’t even have to go up the bell tower (though that would’ve made for a bit cooler pictures). I’ll post one below.

Friday night we tried to go out for aperitivo but the place that was recommended to us was too far, and by the time we got there (which was almost 40 minutes!) we couldn’t even get a table. We ended up at a pizza place nearby that was pretty good. We were pretty far East on the other side of the river, so not a tourist or other American in sight.

Saturday morning I went with a few friends to the grand opening of the Apple Store in Piazza della Repubblica. There were probably 300-400 people in line by 9:55am when we arrived. We had no real need to go inside, so after seeing the applause and camera flashes, we headed over to the French market for some breakfast pastries.

Saturday night we tried out a Chinese place that came straight from our beloved Girl in Florence’s blog (not sure if I mentioned it before, but we’ve started to befriend her/see her around town, so we need to take advantage of having her “celebrity” connection — I’m also meeting another blogger next week who I’m trying to do some photo work for. More on that when it happens). Rosticceria Cinese Xing Wang (Chinese Restaurant Xing Wang) is a very short walk from our apartment and even closer to Piazza SS Annunziata (hellooooo French market!) The prices are insanely cheap and they deliver for 2,50-Euros! This will for sure be our go-to for lazy nights in. We averaged about 4,50-Euros per person for an entree and a rice dish! The portions weren’t huge, but big enough to share, and cheap enough that you can’t order too many dishes. Let’s be real here, nobody ever complains about having leftover Chinese food in the fridge.

Sunday morning was Corri La Vita, the local breast cancer walk. According to the internet later, there were 30,000 of us who participated. It started at the Duomo and was pretty chaotic, with masses of people unsure where to go — some were running 13k, and others (myself included) were only walking 5k. When it finally began, the crowd moved so painfully slow that it was difficult to enjoy. It was a brisky morning and we all had our matching pink shirts on. We heard almost no English the whole time, which is always cool, meaning that it was a mostly local Italian crowd. We did see a few NYU students at one point — their program gives them nice baseball hats.

The walk took us down to the river, at which point it became a free for all. Some people crossed the Ponte Vecchio. Others crossed the next bridge over — Santa Trinita — and the official route was to cross even farther at one more bridge west. We crossed Ponte Santa Trinita. Instead of getting sucked back into the slow masses, we just decided to do our own thing, which wasn’t really a problem. All over Oltrarno (the neighborhood on the other side of the river) were groups of people clad in pink. We walked South a bit before reconnecting with the official route at the entrance to the Pitti Palace.

The Palace was open for free on Sunday, as were any gardens, villas, and museums along the route. At this point, it was no longer an organized 5k and more of a “stop and look around, explore the city” type of vibe, which was super awesome. We got to explore the outside of the Pitti Palace, the Boboli Gardens, and Fort Belvedere (where Kim Kardashian and Kanye West got married.) Eventually we made it back to the route, which led us down to the river and across Ponte alle Grazie (right by our apartment.) We finished the route, through the Uffizi entranceway and into Piazza della Signoria, where we got some free water, tea, lemonade, bananas, and oranges. It was really neat to be a part of and we got some cool shirts for only 10-Euros.

Sunday afternoon found us once again at the French market, this time buying all three remaining baguettes. They had just come out fresh and we managed to snag them before the crowd could get their hands on them — in reality we were incredibly lucky, the service was horribly slow and we managed to overhear “tre minuti per baguettes” and it worked out perfectly. We later made fantastic garlic bread and a delicious pasta salad.

Monday morning was my group’s oral presentation in class. The first group to go was very funny. The second group’s wasn’t bad. And then we finished up strong. I played the David statue (wearing a David apron — yes, featuring the penis), and had to show the other two girls around Florence. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and it went surprisingly well considering we only rehearsed twice on Monday morning; both of my partners had been out of town all weekend.

Last night I had some friends over to make dinner. My housemate David used to run a few restaurants at home in Tijuana (he took a few years off before going to UC Santa Cruz, he’s 25) and is a very talented chef. We make dinners together probably 3-5 times a week and they’re always delicious. Last night our friends Annie and Lara came over for meatballs and green beans.

In Italy, meatballs don’t go with pasta. They go with sauce and that’s it. Meat does not go on pasta here in large amounts — only in small chunks (a la Bolognese sauce.) At this point, I’ve gotten pretty perfect at making fresh tomato sauces (chop fresh tomatoes, saute garlic and and then add the tomatoes, add some tomato pasta, salt, pepper, a bit of sugar, a little Oregano and a bit of basil at the end if we have any.) Last night’s was absolutely incredible, probably due to the delicious meatballs cooking in it for nearly an hour. It was absolutely delicious and the green beans were fantastic too (I’ve recently gotten really into green beans.)

Oh, also today we went back to the Chinese place for lunch. 4,50 per person and we got about 6 dishes (including pot stickers and fried rice!) and split it all. Absolutely delicious and worth it.