The Florentine Cuisine

---

Before I came to Florence, I was pretty curious as to what kind of food dishes they were going to have. I was thinking I was going to have issues with the food just because I knew things would be different and I didn’t want to have to eat pasta and pizza for the whole three weeks that we are in Italy. So, when we arrived and began to see more of the city, I was surprised to see as many American restaurants or American food items offered at certain restaurants. I was glad to see the American options just in case I did not prefer the Italian options besides pizza and pasta. The one thing I was really eager to try before coming to Italy was the pizza. Last Saturday, was my first time trying the authentic and Italian way of pizza and it was delicious. It was light and flavorful and not as heavy and greasy as American style pizza. That same day, I tried chocolate and caramel flavored gelato for the first time and it was so good. It was just as good as American ice cream if not better. The days following, I knew I wouldn’t want to eat out everyday so, Breon and I went to the store to get groceries. We were wanting to make our own chicken alfredo at our apartment. We had issues trying to find alfredo sauce in the store because no one seemed to know what we were talking about at first. The third store employee that we talked to knew what we were talking about but didn’t know it by the name of alfredo. In the grocery stores, it’s known as Panna de Cucina. The meal was excellent and the alfredo sauce tasted just like it would in America but it just was bland. Another night we decided to make chicken parmigiana, so we had to go to the store to find flour to bread the chicken. Finding the flour was a lot easier than trying to find the alfredo sauce. I was pleased with the chicken parmigiana meal as well. Those were the only two times I have cooked dinner but I definitely plan to prepare more meals at home for dinner. Some lunches where we haven’t had anything going on after school or even after the museums, I have eaten leftovers instead of eating out.



Eating out in Italy has been interesting and definitely a different experience than what I am used to in America. I finally caved a few days in and ate American food. The first place I had American food was at the Lion’s Fountain Pub. I ordered a to go meal and I got a chicken club sandwich and split an order of cheese fries with Breon. This was a pretty good meal and didn’t have any issues with the service the first time we went. We decided to go to the Lions Pub again to try something else on the menu, so this time I tried their wings and cheese fries and it was good. We went to the Lions Fountain Pub a day or two later to try and order something different but this time we wanted to sit down inside and eat. So, when we first got there we found a table to sit at. We were sitting at the table for a good 10-15 minutes and still, no one had even asked for our drink order. So we decided to get up and leave. It wasn’t that busy at all at the time we went and we were just confused on how we never received any service when everyone else was. So we left there and stumbled upon a sandwich truck right down the street from our apartment. Breon had already ate at this place before, but I had not and still wasn’t sure if I was going to. Breon had a porchetta (pork) sandwich. I like pork but was leery about trying it just because I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it. So, I decided to step out of my comfort zone to try this porchetta sandwich. I got lettuce, tomatoes and mayonnaise on it and it actually wasn’t that bad. The flavor was different to me at first but I began to like it the more I ate it. I’m the type of person that if the food doesn’t look good then I just don’t want to eat it. I know that sounds horrible especially since we should be trying different things but I am not the type to knowingly waste my food either. If I see something and can tell that I am not going to like it then I just won’t eat it. This is my rule even in America as well, not just Italy. Another thing I noticed about the food here is that it has little to no seasoning, which is not what I’m used to in America. Since there is a lack of seasoning on the majority of the food items, I’ve noticed I’ve been drinking more Coke for added flavor. I don’t normally drink Coke back home at all, I normally drink water with my meals.



The Antinori Winery was a cool experience. I have never been to a winery before and to go to one based in Italy was definitely awesome. The entire facility and land was gorgeous, I couldn’t believe how beautiful it truly was. Being able to learn more about the family history was cool too, the fact that they’ve been in the wine business since 1385 was very impressive. At the wine tasting we tried three different Antinori wines. The first one was sweet and the other two were red bitter wines. I thought the first sweet white wine was the best. I am not really a fan of red wine because it’s not sweet enough for me.



We went to the 1950 American Diner this evening which was pretty cool, I was excited to try a big juicy American style cheeseburger and fries in Italy. That’s exactly what I got as well. It was nice to eat something that was more familiar to my taste buds. I am not used to not tipping. I am also not used to paying for water, and not used to it coming in a glass bottle. I actually like the glass bottle of water, I think it makes the meal seem more elegant in a way. But I'd much rather prefer not to pay for water in general. Even at this American diner, we had to wait a little longer than I feel like we would normally in America to be serviced. I’ve also had Subway for lunch one day and I was a little surprised to see the menu items they offered, I was thinking it would be about the same menu options that a Subway would have in America but it wasn’t. They had a smaller sandwich station with less menu items. I have not caved and got McDonald's yet so I am proud of myself for that. I am eager to try more authentic Italian dishes while we are still in Italy.



STEPS:

January 12^th (Friday): 20,506 steps

January 13^th (Saturday): 24,348 steps

January 14^th (Sunday): 11,222 steps



TOTAL: 56,076 steps

---