Florentine Weekend of FREE Food

     This weekend has to be one of the best since I got here in Italy! A weekend full of Tuscan food at the best possible price :) Saturday Lizzy and I mapped out four different places we had found in the Florentine newspaper that would be giving away free treats to those who came in a certain time period. So we circled the streets and added the names and times to my map and we set off! Our first stop was a local grocery store called Conad right by the Ponte Vecchio. They had a small stand set up inside offering little bits of biscotti made on the island of Giglio, which is right near where the cruise ship the Costa Concordia sunk. Each was a little different from the next, either with texture or ingredients, different nuts, with out without honey, and different dried fruits. After trying as many variations as we thought acceptable without buying any, and having a little chat with the salesman, we made our exit. The next place on the list was a small vintage store that we'd gone to once before but never purchased anything because the prices are very high. We got small cups of wine and a little piece of dark chocolate that was made without eggs, four, butter or sugar and it was delicious and creamy! Went very well with the wine. We perused the lines of colorful and funky clothes but gave up shortly after. The third stop was by far my favorite for the entire weekend. It seems we got into a food tasting competition of some sort where many bakeries that make and sell their own sweet Easter bread had them on display and cut into sample strips for us, the judges, to try. Right as we arrived we were given beer in a fancy glass, one of the nicest beers I've had. But we had to chug it unfortunately, we didn't have enough hands to carry the glass, the plates we'd been given, and the gelato we were drooling over at the next stand. After we got our mini cups of cream and orange gelato, we turn to the right, and see a long line of tables. And what's on those tables? Samples! Tables and tables of samples and we tried them all! I can not even tell you how many there were, but I can tell you the best one. Many of these breads were either plain or had raisins, Sicilian fruit, orange, or apricots inside. But one, one was a wonderfully blue purple color and had olives! The bread was still sweet but you could taste the olive distinctly whenever you bit one. It was the most unique and beautiful bread. Almost like taking a bite of Tuscany and what it truly stands for. I would give the runner up to the orange, chocolate, cinnamon bread but perhaps my love of cinnamon makes me biased. We were giddy with excitement over all this incredible free food! We were the kids in the candy shop, laughing and excited at our luck while all the posh Italian adults were taking the competition much more seriously. The last X on the map for the day was a bit harder to find, but make it there we did! It was held in a home decor store with very modern furniture and light fixtures. I probably wouldn't have purchased anything in that store ever, but we got our wine and pretended to be interested. There were also a few funky cheeses to try. I enjoy cheese, but mostly mellower cheeses; like fresh mozzarella or ricotta or even parmesan. Not chunky salty cow cheese, or moldy cheese. The goat cheese wasn't bad though, very creamy but I'd prefer to stick with my boring cheeses. The best thing to go with wine and cheese is chocolate and they had individually wrapped chocolates that even the posh Italians present were taking handfuls of. Thus concluded day one of the foody treasure hunt.
     Sunday the 10th I started my morning at ICF church located right near the duomo. Much later in the afternoon Jess and I went to the first of just two free food events of the day. It took place in another wonderful but overpriced vintage clothing shop. The odd thing was that they had actresses dressed up very old fashioned and they were sitting around a table pretending to have a tea party. Sometimes they would laugh and sing and do little dances and then they would all stand up with plates of bread or chocolate and wander silently around the room offering the treats to all the spectators inside. There were also small tables set up with more free beer and wine. One of the chocolates being offered by the actresses was dark on the outside with pistachio inside and it was really nice! We stayed awhile, watching the show and helping ourselves to the sweets. We then went back to my house and made Gnocchi with vegetables for dinner. Soon it was time to go to Il Re Gelato (the king of ice cream) to sample olive oil gelato. We thought it sounded odd, but olive oil and gelato are two things Tuscany is so well known for we had to see what it would be like if they put them together. As the woman was putting some in a bowl for me, a boy behind us started whispering, "Don't do it. Don't do it." I started wondering if this was a good idea or if the taste would ruin my love for the frosty treat. She put three different savory toppings on each of ours and we sat down to draw our own conclusions about the gelato. I never would have thought I would eat savory gelato but actually, it's pretty good! The bit with the toasted sesame seeds was the best so we added some more of those. The worst bit was with these big black crystals of sea salt that were so overpoweringly salty we couldn't eat them. Luckily the black color came off so we could see just which parts to steer clear of! Olive oil gelato= a success! Just like my whole weekend was. Whether or not we had gotten so much delicious free food wouldn't really have mattered as it was a pretty fun scavenger hunt.. Oh who am I kidding? It wouldn't have been nearly as great! All the goodies along the way made for an excellently scrumptious two days.

Pompei, Mt. Vesuvius and Napoli

         I started Wednesday the 20th off early with a 7am train. Three hours later I arrived in Napoli, bought a ticket to Pompei (the wrong Pompei) and ended up riding the train all the way to Salerno waiting for my stop that never arrived. I had to wait about an hour until I could take a train back to Napoli and figure out what went wrong. In the Napoli station, you must go downstairs to the Circumvesuviana station and buy a different kind of ticket to a different Pompei. At this point I was wary and doubting my skills at traveling independently. But I made it to the waiting area and about another half hour later I got on the right train and thirty minutes after that I FINALLY make it to Pompei Villa Dei Misteri (The right Pompei)! I decided not to worry about the problems that I had had and just to be happy that I made it. I find my hostel easily, Easy Bed Hostel by name and I highly recommend it. I meet the owner and get settled. By now its a quarter to three and I decide to walk to the ruins that are only five minutes away. 

     Pompei is the one place in Italy that before I came, I knew I had to visit. I can now check it off my bucket list! If I could only remember where I'd put the darn thing.. Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD destroying the cities of Pompei and Herculaneum. It is just simply incredible to see what is left of the city after thousands of years. Many of the ruins looked similar to each other, long rows of crumbling houses but mixed in there are large amphitheaters, rooms that are still full of color, and random statues that couldn't help but make me wonder what life would have been like. I was most fascinated by some of the walls that still had paint and pictures on them. They were beautiful to look at and I enjoyed walking around to find painted spots, writing on walls, and stone pictures in the floor. I felt like an explorer, searching through the rock and rubble to find the magnificent. I stayed until it closed. The only thing that was disappointing was that I thought I would see the plaster people and animals as they were when the volcano erupted but unfortunately, I saw none. They must be too fragile and are in some sort of museum or lab. Too many people had the map that told them the main buildings to see, and in between one to the next they walked quickly, without taking the time to see that although the map may have the biggest things, there were still many amazing things to see on the way! And sadly they went unnoticed by most. I watched the sunset from just outside my hostel and then went in to meet another girl in my room named Constanza. Dinner was some cold pasta I had put in a ziploc bag that morning! And the rest of my evening was spent talking and then reading until I drifted off to sleep.

Amphitheater

Snake Painting

      The next morning at breakfast, which was yogurt with a doughnut and pizza, I invited Constanza along with me to Mt. Vesuvius, so we set off just before nine. I thought the bus service to Vesuvius was running but apparently it stops during the winter. The taxi drivers said they would take us but wanted to charge a hefty fee. We decided to go back and ask the hostel owner. He told us to take the train to Ercolano and then take the bus from there. We did as he said and shortly after receiving his advice we were in a van with an older english couple headed to the mountain! I couldn't contain my excitement. The closer we got, the more bouncy and bubbly I became. When we reached the drop off point, we put on all our layers as there was snow outside, got our tickets, and finished the hike up to the crater. Wow, even on a bit of a foggy day the view was wonderful, I could see all the cities below, some that I knew including Pompei (new and old), Napoli, and many others as well as the coast. The crater itself was magnificent, smoke rising in a few different spots, and plants growing on the floor. We spent lots of time looking into its grand mesmerizing vastness and wondering just how far down it went. I decided that we should walk all the way back to town instead of going with the bus, so off we went! The next couple hours were spent walking and learning about each other and the culture we grew up in, as she is from Argentina. During that time we found a trail and decided to follow it, eventually making it to a different small town and started walking in the direction we thought we should be going, using the mountain in the distance as our guide. After asking a few people for directions, and one short bus ride, we were back at the station and made it back to Pompei. I'm told that Mt. Vesuvius is the most dangerous volcano in the world and I'm very thankful that it proved safe for me and my friend.

Friday I tried to sleep in a little but that proved impossible so I got up and packed my things to leave. Again we had pizza with breakfast, and I know it's Italy but that's just not normal! Very glad that I brought my rain coat, it was coming down pretty good outside. After check out I caught a train to Napoli and when I arrived, I went straight to the information office and asked the guy what I should see since I have to be back to the station for an evening train. He was very helpful and drew me a route on a map. Off I went! Straight out of the station I could already sense the enormity of this busy dirty city. I'd only been walking for a few minutes when I had my first experience with pickpockets. As I was walking, an older man on a moped pulled over and started honking and yelling at someone who was trying to get into my backpack. I felt a little pressure on my bag but hardly noticeable, when I turned around there was nobody there. The culprit fled, thankfully without any of my possessions. I am so grateful for the man on the bike. From then on, I felt a little silly but I turned my bag around and wore it on my front instead of my back. I walked with confidence and with a face that, I hope, said don't mess with me! I went into the first church that I saw and just sat for awhile. I prayed for courage and protection to conquer this city on my own. I decided the best thing for me to do to was find the popular churches and spend time looking around inside and also find the archaeological museum. So that is just what I did. Napoli does have some really beautiful and extravagant churches just as many cities in Italy do. With life size paintings, numerous candles, and dozens of statues. The museum was very interesting also, it was full of statues and pictures too delicate to remain in Pompei so they were all brought here. They even had a "secret room" that was full of all the sexual paintings and sculptures created in that period. After looking at all the museums pieces, I went back out into the rain with my front-pack. Through the maze of city streets I followed my map trying to find where all the streets stop and the sea begins. One of my biggest moments of relief happened then, as I was walking and getting slightly frustrated with the crowds and the noise, I see in front of me an endless blue. My face burst into a huge grin. I spent quite awhile walking down and then back up the coast. Wind in my hair, no sound of cars, only the sea and me. Along the way I walked past a couple of really amazing old castles, one out in the water and the other just a street inland. The last few days I had been reading the book Eat Pray Love (which is a really wonderful book) and in the story she tells of the best pizza in Napoli, so the last thing on my list was to find this place and order the extra cheese margherita pizza. Thankfully finding this place wasn't very difficult so I bought my pizza and walked with it back to the station. I then spent the next couple hours reading and writing and eating my pizza with a crust like clouds! Pizzeria Da Michele has been in business since 1870 and their crust is better than any I have ever had. I got the last train back to Florence and arrived just after 10pm. 

Sea with the Castle in the Background

     I proved to myself over these last few days that I really can make it on my own. I can be independent and rely on myself although I very much enjoy having company. Many times this trip brought me an incredible sense of relief, especially in Napoli and I know it is important to forget those moments of frustration and focus on the easing of those situations. I thank the Lord for this incredible opportunity to be here in Italy and to get to have this small little trip as well as for keeping me safe. I know I made mistakes and got frustrated a few times but life is always a learning experience. 

Ciao Ciao! :)

Eat Pray Love book: http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/books/eat-pray-love/

Pizzeria Da Michele: http://www.damichele.net/

Easy Bed Hostel: http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Easy-Bed-Hostel/Pompei/60567?sc_sau=sfab&sc_pos=3