Sunday, March 25, 2012

Five Things

The five things I heart about Italy this week are:

1. Fiorentina Soccer Games:  Fiorentina, also known as Forza Viola is the official soccer team here in Florence. I had the pleasure of going to a Fiorentina soccer match last week. Sadly, my team didn't win but I still had a lovely experience. I was lucky enough to go twice this season. If I ever come back to Florence you bet I'll go to another match! (post about this coming soon)

2. Palestra Ricciardi: This is the new gym I go to. To be honest I had a rocky start with gym because a. it's farther from my apartment (10 min walk) b. the equipment is much older c. i havent warmed up to the people. Still, the more I go the more I like it. I'm starting to get comfortable. Soon I will have a routine like I did at Klab. What I like about Palestra Ricciardi is that they offer more classes. Some are really fun, like the hip hop class they have. I also like that the people who go to Palestra Ricciardi are younger. They are around the same age group as me as opposed to Klab that had much older members.

3. Amazon.it: I love this website. It is like the one back home but of course it offers all the Italian dvds/books/cds I could ever want at a lower price than the bookstores. Even though I had a rough time getting my package the first time around, I will be ordering again from them soon. Here is what I bought the first time. :)

4. Antica Gelateria Fiorentina: This is slowly becoming my favorite gelateria here in Florence. Although the I still prefer the gelato from La Carraia, L'Antica Gelateria Fiorentina is significantly closer to my apartment. How close? About one minute. This is dangerous because not only is their gelato delicious but it's also cheap! I typically get the 2 euro cup with Stracciatella and Bacio.

5. Italian Lessons with Adriana: Even though Adriana hasn't been learning Italian for too long (and I have been learning it for years) we are around the same level. Recently we have started practicing together the stuff we need to work on. Last night was the conditional, like would or could, and tonight we will probably go over it again and move on. I am glad we are doing this because it will better our Italian for sure. We are using this book by Claudio Manetta. 

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

February Night Life

I typically don't take out my camera on a night out. My friends smartly do the same, however, we lose the opportunity to take some pictures of our fun times. Every once in awhile someone does manage to take a few snaps here and there which makes me forever thankful. :)
 A night out with my favorite German Girls at Babylon.



The thing I like about Babylon is that there aren't as many annoying American girls. You know, the kind that get wasted and are completely obnoxious? Trust me, there is never a shortage of those kind of girls running around Florence. I also like that you get a drink included with the cover charge. The best part about Babylon? The music. They mainly play electronic stuff. Music I can just dance all night too. I don't go there as often as I'd like and writing this makes me want to go now! 
 The night ended with a stop at the photo booth. Sadly, I don't know what happened to those photos but I cherish the memory, and this pic. 
 Here, is a night at twice with Lucy, my ex roomie Kiki and Silja. Twice is a club that I love to hate. I hate it because of those American girls I mentioned before. Well, Twice is full of them. Even worse it is filled with desperate guys trying to dance with you no matter how many times you say no. I love it because it's free, the  music is pretty decent and because it closes late. Meaning, even when the plan isn't to go to Twice we go there after leaving another club for an hour or two. 
This is me and Vicky right before a night out of madness. We went to a few places around town and had ourselves quite the adventure. :) 
 Lastly, this is me at Salamanca. I was here with the lovely people of FACE and Adriana. Salamanca is my typical Thursday stop. Here you will find me chugging sangria and dancing on table tops. That's just what you do in Salamanca. The music here could do with some improvement. The songs are good but the DJ always repeats them. I can listen to a song three times in one night. Not cool.  The guys here usually know how to keep their distance here which is good. Although my roomie always finds someone to run off and have a conversation with. No really, she just spends the whole night talking. Where are the people I can do that with? lol.
Mia♡ 

Monday, March 19, 2012

Thank You Klab

Sadly, my time at Klab has come to an end. Boy, did this gym do a lot for me. Who would believe that instead of losing weight in Italy with all the extra walking I actually gained weight? I gained about 5 pounds but I got so bloated it was crazy! That all changed when I joined Klab back in December. When I first got there I didn't know how to work most of the machines except the treadmill, elliptical and bike. The trainers took me through all the machines and told me what specific body part they toned. In those 3 months I lost about 20 pounds and a few pant sizes. I'm nowhere near my health goals but I'm sure I'll eventually get there. Either way I am very thankful to everyone at Klab who helped me with my fitness goals. :)
The bottom jeans are a size 16 from Old Navy. The top jeans are a size 10 from Zara. Sadly, the bottom ones didn't even fit me when I got to Italy even though 14/16 was my size. It's all good though since I don't have to worry about that anymore. :)   
Mia♡ 

Monday, March 12, 2012

5 Things

1. Karaoke Nights at Old Stove: I have been going to these since October but most recently I have been joining my FACE friends there too. It took awhile for me to get the courage to sing on stage but I haven't looked back since. (Karaoke pics are never flattering)


2. Mondo Marcio - Non Dimenticare: This song is legit. Love it. His voice, his style, his appearance isn't so bad either. (; Watch out Fedez you have competition for my Italian hubby. This should really just say Marcio cuz he is so good looking!! Just my type. But it's the song I love this week.



3. Velvet: This magazine helps me practice my Italian. Plus, you know how much I LOVE magazines so why would it be any different in Italy? It is also the perfect eye candy. European fashion is like....oh dear, it's expensive but so worth it. At first I'm not impressed oh whatevs. Then I go on a US store website and I'm like Oh yeah, thats how the clothes is back home. If only I could afford it all. But it really comes down to Travel Money or Clothes Money. Can't have both. And I REALLY wanna see Paris!

4. Live Music in Piazza della Repubblica: No matter what time of day it is there is always a music act playing in this popular square. They can range anywhere from flute bands to opera singers and believe me, it does not stop there. I always enjoy sitting on one of the benches and listening to the musical acts. It's very calming and sometimes it puts me in the mood to dance. :) What is better than free entertainment?


5. The Diner: I have mentioned this place before but I really have to add it to the list. It's funny because I am in Italy and I should be going to Italian restaurants. But I have Italian food every single day at home. I always cook pasta, ravioli, salads, soups, and all that good Italian food that I just need a break when I go out to eat. My favorite place to go is the Diner because they sell American food. Mind you it is very expensive but soooo worth it. My favorite thing to get is the bacon cheeseburger although I die for their chocolate milkshake.
Mia♡

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Carnevale a Venezia

A few weeks ago I took a trip to Venice for the Carnevale there. It's pretty much a religious holiday bringing in the start of Lent. Everyone is dressed in elaborate costumes and out showing off their beauty. It's a holiday for people of all ages. 

This trip almost didn't happen for me. I had actually declined going because I have already been to Venice but I had that gut feeling you know that I was making a mistake. So, the day before the trip I searched for a reasonable priced hostel and got a train ticket. I am so glad I made that decision because I would have regretted not going for sure. 

I stayed at a hostel in the city center that was anything but glamorous. Finding it took two maps and two hours. It was an adventure that I experience with my roomie Adriana. Then hunting down a meal at a reasonable price was almost impossible. Shortly after we went site seeing all over Venice. I got to experience different streets from my previous trips and of course saw many people dressed in costumes.  At night there was a show on the big stage. It was dance and music from the 20's,30's and 40's. It was brilliant! We had a few drinks, pizza, took pics and just experienced the Carnevale to the fullest. The next day was pretty much the same. Of course we took plenty of pictures. Some of these are my favorite pictures of me in Italy period. I loved everything about this trip! 
 Beautiful Venice. :)
 These are the lovely ladies I went with Adriana, Lucy and Silja. Missing is Kiki who is taking the picture. 
Venice in a popular destination always but on the week of Carnevale there are ridiculous amounts of tourists everywhere. 
 Venice is known for their masks and on the week of Carnevale it is almost mandatory to be sporting one of these. 
 Venice never disappoints me. 
 This was my third visit to Venezia and I still have not been on a gondola. Maybe I would go on one if the gondoliers actually sang like in the movies. One day I will give in and pay the ridiculous amount required to have a ride on a gondola but not this year!
 Some of the streets are so narrow I almost don't fit through them. 

 Venezia bliss. 


 For me Carnevale was the Italian equivalent to Halloween. Sure most people were in full traditional costume but then you ran into characters like this. We didn't even know what this was!
Adriana and I went around asking "Man or Woman?" Because really, you couldn't tell behind those masks and some of those women were suspiciously tall. 
Loved spotting families in full costume. 
Black Angel
This woman had a live bird in her hair. True Story.
Me among the crowd.  
The had a gondola show with everyone dressed in elaborate costumes. There was music and tons of people crowded on the Realto Bridge desperately trying to get a glimpse of all the beauty.
Non vedo l'ora per ritornare a Venezia.

Mia♡

Saturday, March 3, 2012

My 5 Things I Heart About Italy This Week.

1. Radio Italia: is a station on TV that only plays Italian music. They play all the top hits and have a mixture of artists who have been around for decades to those who are just coming out. We have this  on every time we are cooking in the kitchen or just hanging out. 


2. Conad: Is the supermarket I get all my groceries from. I literally go here at least three times a week for groceries. Since I walk to the supermarket I can only buy what I can carry/fit into my reusable bags.  



3. Dee Jay TV: Although there is MTV Italia, Dee Jay TV is like Italian's own version of MTV. They target a younger demographic. They show videos in both English and Italian and I love that they show old episodes of Popular in Italian.

4. Distratto by Francesca: This song plays at every store I go to, every restaurant. It's such a good song from such a young girl.



5. Salamanca: It's a restaurant by day that at night is filled with many young people, a DJ and sangria pitchers.
 

                                                                     Mia♡