Pastries

Taking a pastry class in Italy has probably been the best decision I have ever made. I have been learning so much about all different types of pastries. I have always known that I wanted to own a bakery one day but I have never really known which kind. Most of my baking knowledge is of your typical American cakes and icings, but I wanted to take this class in order to learn more about all that you can make in the pastry world. I have a bit to catch you up on when it comes to what we have made in my class.

Friday June 29th

Torta di Mele (Apple Cake)

 Caprese Hazelnut Cake

Monday July 2nd

Our teacher took us to different bakeries around town showing us the difference between traditional pastries and modern pastries. We first stopped at Cafe Serafini which is the most traditional bakery in Florence. They serve many of what you would see in an Italian bakery. 

The second bakery we went to was the bakery where our teacher works. It is called Andrea Bianchini named after the owner who was voted the best chocolatier in all of Europe in 2009. This bakery is more of a modern bakery serving small mignone cakes, chocolates, and jellies. 

My preference between the two types of bakeries would be a traditional bakery mainly because of the wider variety of fattening foods ha! The modern bakery had a very limited options for sweets. 

Over Two Weeks Late For The Final Night

Over two weeks late after getting home from Italy, I'm finally gonna do a recap of my final day and night in Firenze. I just looked at my blog and was thinking, why have I not done a recap?

After having dressed in my chef pants, coat, and hat and walking to class for the last time, it was time for Kim and I (and our other partner) to show our class what was up when it came to baking. We made a 100 on our final product which was a layered dessert with dark chocolate mousse, passionfruit gelatin, white chocolate mouse, caramelized hazelnuts, and then a hazelnut bavarese cream. We had to make eight individual servings, one for each of our classmates and our teacher. I've watched plenty of food network in my day and I felt like I was on Chopped or Sweet Genius having to make beautiful presentations and delicious desserts in an allotted amount of time. Our project turned out wonderfully and we could tell that our teacher liked ours better than the other group in our class, which I can't remember which all of their flavors were. Maybe that's just bias, but who knows.

Our beautiful final project

Left: ours, Right: theirs

Our class and our professor on the far right

After class, we went to turn in our Italian Nokia phones and went back to the apartment to sadly and slowly pack up our apartment. After six weeks, we were finally putting everything back in it's rightful place in our suitcases while we stressed about not making our bags over 50 pounds. We washed our sheets and cleaned our rooms because we were not going to sleep that night since we had to head to the airport at 4:30 the next morning.

After packing up everything and getting ready, Joanna, Bryn, Kimberly, and I went out to a restaurant across the river called Dante's. Our appeal to this restaurant was that they gave free wine to students :) so we went there where we happened to run into everyone else that had been in our small pastry class. Great minds think alike I suppose. I am pretty sure I ordered a truffle dish again because I adore truffles and had never had them before going to Italy. After dinner, we grabbed a bottle of wine and went to sit on the bridge to look over the Ponte Vecchio for the final time. After having been home for two weeks, I love to think back on the fact that I got to look at this beautiful sight whenever I wanted to for six weeks. Being our last night, it was imperative to keep up the tradition of this act.

Last night overlooking the Ponte Vecchio

My wonderful, beautiful roommates

Sweet Joanna

I brought two locks to Italy to lock my luggage when traveling but I ended up only using one of them. When I was packing up, I found the other lock and told Bryn that I had it and we both immediately had the same idea: we had to lock it in Florence. So after our time on the bridge, we walked by the Ponte Vecchio where we found a group of locks. Bryn, Kim and I got together and decided to lock our lock together right here on the Ponte Vecchio. Those of you who don't know, there are locks all over different countries in Europe and the locks symbolize the locking of people's love for each other. Bryn, Kim, and I decided to do a friendship lock (corny, I know, but that's just me). So here was the perfect opportunity and we had all had the most amazing experience in Italy and we wanted to keep a part of us there, all of us. If I ever make it back to Florence, it would be incredible to go back to that place and find our lock.

Our lock 

Strawberry Mojitos

After a interesting walk back from dinner that may or may not have included me falling on my face while trying to hurdle a chain (not the best idea when you are wearing a long skirt, come to find out), we went to a bar called Naima to get a few drinks and soak up our final hours with each other. We talked and drank strawberry mojitos and enjoyed the swanky atmosphere of the bar. We then decided that we had to find this place called the "Secret Bakery" that is only open from midnight to four or five in the morning. We knew the general location but you can only find it by the smell of it. It was hysterical to listen to us say "I THINK I SMELL IT!" "Oh, wait, nope." "OH, YES I DID." We finally found a group of people standing in front of sketchy door that read "Be Quiet Please!" in both English and Italian. Suddenly an Italian man cracked the door and asked the people at the front of the line what they wanted and then closed the door and then came back with their order. You could get a fresh, warm pastry for only one euro. Even though the chocolate croissants we all got were delicious, the best part was the entire experience of the so-called "secret bakery."

People waiting outside Secret Bakery

Pumped

Nomz

Secret bakery's street

After wandering around Florence some more, we made our last stop at the Duomo where we sat on it's large steps and just marveled at it's beauty like we had done so many times before. How was it that my six weeks had gone by so quickly? I had met so many amazing people and got to experience so many fantastic, eye-opening things. I am blessed beyond belief for being able to experience a summer like I did in a beautiful place like Florence, Italy.

Doing what we do best

Saying bye to the Duomo

It was sad to go back to our apartment for the last time to change and get ready for 28 hours or travel time. We called a taxi, said ciao to our roommates and were headed to the airport, praying that no bad travels would happen and luckily, we were fine. I cannot tell you how happy I was to see my family and dog and to give them all their gifts and to tell them all about Italy. But they should have already known if they had been reading the blog...

Finally home with this sweet boy

Overall, I had the best summer ever in the most beautiful place I have ever been and thinking back, I would not have changed it for a second. I hope that you all have enjoyed reading my blog and I hope that if you have not already, that you can one day go abroad to see all that the World has to offer. For the final time: ARRIVEDERCI!

Just Call Me VIP

It hasn't quite hit me yet that I only have one more full day left in Florence. The first week I was here I felt like time was going by so slowly. But 42 days later, this trip has gone by faster than I ever could have imagined. There are so many things that I am looking forward to when I get home like actually seeing the faces of the ones I care about in person and getting back to a familiar territory. That was something I longed for my first weeks in Florence, but now the hustle of Florence living is my new familiar. As I'm writing this, I'm truthfully getting sad about leaving. I'm going to miss the sound of Vespas driving down the street or walking twenty minutes to and from class or passing by something as beautiful and historic as the Duomo everyday. I have been immersed in a city full of history and beauty for six weeks and I pray that I took advantage of every second that I had here.

Last night, after a day of shopping for friends, family, and myself,  I had Gusta Pizza for the last time until I come back again. We went out with our two roommates Darcy and Joanna and their group of friends. Each of us had our own bottle of wine and ate, drank and laughed for a the entire night. We went to our friend Mallorie's apartment to hang out before going to the disco (I feel corny for calling it that). And I sure am glad that I waited until one of my last night's in Florence to see her apartment because jealousy flushed over me at the sight of how large and spacious her apartment is. The main rooms in my apartment are a miniature sized kitchen and a "living room" that only has a love seat in it. But Mallorie's apartment has all sorts of spacious rooms and kitchens and get this, a backyard with orange trees that is three times the size of our apartment alone. That apartment does not have A/C either which makes me feel a little bit better about our small apartment. Bryn and I were hopping bars like it was our job last night. We started off with everyone at Twice, the classy club around the corner from our apartment where we got good priced drinks because their happy hour is from 10-12. Then we hopped on over to Red Garter which was so packed that we literally walked in and said "nope" and walked right back out. Then we went with one of our roommate's friends to Club 21, where she knew some people that let us in for free and let us into the VIP section of the dance floor. HAHA. If you know me, you know that clubbin' is not my scene but last night, clubbin' was everything I had every wanted. I felt like a rockstar being a VIP. Bryn and I danced for what seemed like hours to all the classic club faves. After one too many dance songs, Bryn and I headed home around three, which was three hours after Bryn had said she needed to be home to get rested for her presentation she had this morning. Oops. It was overall one of the most fun nights I have had here.

Love you B!

Our friend who got us into VIP

The view from our VIP perch

It's so insane to think that a little over 48 hours, Mississippi time, I will be back in the states. I have been more than blessed to have the opportunity to come to Italy for six weeks to take classes on things that I love and to have the time of my life. I have loved every single person I have met here and will miss Florence very much. This has been a bit of a sappy post but it may be my last post for my time here. Tomorrow I have my exam, then I have to do a bit more shopping, pack up everything (ugh), and then stay up all night so that I can sleep on that 9 hour flight. I haven't blogged about what I have been making in my classes but I have all my info and can't wait to make everything when I am home. I already told my mom that she could have a tasting party for all of her friends of everything I have learned to make and I'll even provide the wine. It's off to studying for me now but thanks for reading!

Arrivederci!

I've Got Brains AND Smarts

Back for round two: the Amalfi Coast! This past weekend was the best weekend to end my trip on. Bryn, Kim and I went to Capri, Positano, Sorrento, and Pompei with our new roommates Joanna and Darcy. It was about time for us to get to know our new roommates and this was the perfect opportunity.  We left on a six hour bus ride on Thursday night and arrived in Sorrento around one oclock. The hotel we were staying at was not too bad but was definitely not the best. We didn't care because it was just somewhere to lay our heads.

Friday, we woke up to a breakfast of a croissant and a roll that was as hard as a rock, which we later found out would be our breakfast every morning. We then walked down to a ferry that took us to the Isle of Capri. Capri is literally a tall, large rock stuck in the middle of the sea. It was absolutely gorgeous. We took a boat trip around the island where they took us to the incredible blue grotto and showed us many famous people's houses like Georgio Armani. The blue grotto was inside a small cave that we went into by boat. We had to lay down in the boat just to get inside the cave. But inside it was absolutely gorgeous. The water was such a beautiful blue and it was very cool inside. You aren't supposed to jump in the blue grotto but if you coax your boat driver a bit, he will let you. That truthfully means if you tip your boat driver he will let you jump in. I was "girl-on-a-budget" again this weekend so I was content staying in the boat. During the rest of the tour around the island, we made friends with our tour guides who are also from America but northern or western America. This is where the taunting of our southern accents began. The entire rest of the trip we heard "I reckon y'all can do that" or "what are y'all'ss doing?" By the end of it, I was sick of the taunting but we let them have their fun because they are just unaware of how great we have it in the south. :) The rest of the day in Capri we went to the beach where the water was crystal clear and the beach was rocky which took some getting used to. The water was so salty that we could literally float on top, which made for great tanning ha. When we made it back to the hotel, we had dinner, took some showers and decided that we were too exhausted to do anything else. Our other friends came into our room and we just sat and got to know each other better.

Sorrento in the morning

Kim, Myself,  Joanna, Meriwether, and Bryn on the boat

Capri

Capri

Boats around the Blue Grotto 

Inside the Blue Grotto

Capri

Boats anchored in the bay of Capri

Capri beach

Saturday was our chill day. They drove us to Positano which is a cute beach town on the Amalfi coast. The sand here was a grayish-black color and our tour guide warned us that the sand was so hot that it would literally take off the soles of your feet. Sounds fun right? The ground made it so hot that we had to take many breaks from laying out to jump into the water. After a bit of sun, we grabbed some lunch and bought your average "mini-keg" of Heineken beer. I've decided that I straight-up do not like Heineken but because all of us were drinking, it was the most logical drink to get. If you could have seen us, you would have laughed. We were just sitting in a circle around the keg, taking drinks and singing angry girl 90's music to ourselves. As the day went on, I ran into my friend Isabelle and her parents who were vacationing on the Amalfi coast for the weekend. It is always great to see them. After having laid out for a while and getting lots of sun, we headed back to Sorrento to repeat the activities of the night before, except this time we were upstairs with the rest of the group. We bought a few bottles of wine from the restaurant in the hotel and played a card game called "King's Cup" which I call "Captiain...", for those of you who know what I'm talking about.

Positano, Italia

Bride and Groom taking pictures on the beach

Bryn and Joanna with our baby

Good Times

On Sunday, we woke up to our final breakfast of strictly carbs and headed to Pompei. The ruins of Pompei were incredible to see. We had a tour guide that took us through the old Roman town, showing us where the ancient shops and homes of Pompei had been before the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius so many years ago. The saddest part of the tour was him taking us through a room that they just discovered in the last couple hundred years. It was a prostitution house where there were paintings on the walls which was technically an "erotic menu." We were told that going to this brothel for a man was the same price as buying a glass of wine. It was very sad to see and think about. We then went to see the plaster casts of people that were killed by the lava. Pompei was very interesting to see.

Pompei 

Brothel Bed

The Whole Crew 

Plaster cast of someone crouching and crying

While we were at Pompei, we saw a few stray dogs running around the ruins. Our tour guide told us that because of the falling economy in Italy, people have begun leaving their dogs because they can't afford them. This hurt my heart so much to see. It was the first effect I had seen of Italy's falling economy and it hurt me that I couldn't help them.

After we left Pompei, the bus took us half way up Mount Vesuvius where we then hiked to the top. There had been another bus with us and it broke down on the way up, which was quite unfortunate. It put everyone on edge a bit. One of my roommates friend's, Meriwether, had come on the trip with us and on our walk up the volcano, we discovered that we both are involved with Young Life. I didn't even notice how hard the hike was because Meriwether and I were in deep conversation about Young Life the whole way. I always love meeting someone else who has as much of a passion for Young Life as I do. When we got to the top of the volcano, I was surprised to see that the hole was strictly rock. Maybe that was stupid to say but when you walk to the top of a volcano, that wasn't the site I was expecting. We were able to see steam coming from the volcano though which was a bit eery. The view from the top of the mountain over the coast was absolutely gorgeous. It's scenes like that that immediately remind me of how great God is.

the hike up

the inside of the volcano

Kim, Myself, Meriwether, and Darcy withe the coast line in the background

We finally got back onto our buses and were headed home. Every time I return to Florence, I am so happy to be back. It is really strange that this was my last weekend in Florence, seeing as I leave this coming Saturday. The more I think about coming home, the more excited I get.

P.S. I forgot to mention in my last post that I finally helped the pastry chef for my school with that cake. Truthfully, what I had been expecting from him was for me to kind of be the apprentice but what really happened was he pretty much just gave the cake and said go. The cake had to be a book, which first of all is my least favorite thing to draw at Emileigh's. My boss can tell you that's true. I made fresh buttercream and worked with what I had to work with. It was not my favorite cake that I had done but I was happy to do it for the chef.

I'm luckily in Italy at the perfect time because the second week in July is the biggest time of the year for sales. Therefore, tomorrow this girl is going shopping. I have not shopped since I have been here so that means I deserve some good shopping time, right? Well, for now, I hope all is well with everyone at home. Ciao!