Settling into Firenze

We made it! After a short (one hour, 40 minutes) train ride, a broken suitcase handle, and a long trek through the pouring rain hauling three [heavy!] bags through the city, we arrived at our little studio apartment in Florence. We are staying at Vitolo del Barbi, 6 in the northern region of the city. The apartment is a very modern and simplistic artist's studio - Bohemian living at its finest. It's very cute and very basic. But it has pretty much everything we need. Except in the kitchen, but I'll explain that later. There are paintings, sketches, and pictures hung on nearly every wall. They are beautiful pieces of art; we're trying to determine if they were created by the woman who owns this apartment. Our rental agency wasn't sure. But they are fun to look at either way! We have our own little art gallery, and best of all: it's free!



We created a short video to showcase our home-away-from-home for the next two months. Check it out:



We like the place. It suits our needs.

Luckily, we are just a few blocks from a supermarket called EsseLunga. For Italian standards (as far as I've seen), it's pretty big. However, I'm beginning to realize how limited our food options are here. Italian markets sell Italian food. Lot's of pasta, tomato sauce, cheese, and meat, and a limited choice of fruits and veggies. Some of the vegetables I've never before seen, so we'll have to experiment. Could be fun! EsseLunga has one tiny shelf at the end of one aisle devoted to "exotic" food - Chinese and Japanese. Sadly, there is no Mexican food in Italy. Duh, as Ian said. But, I am already craving Chipotle. I am a product of my dad: I love Mexican and TexMex. I'm sure I can make it three months without tortilla chips and guacamole...I hope. Sigh.

So far, we've been to the grocery store everyday. At first, we were just buying enough food for one day. Then, as we discovered what the kitchen had...or more so didn't have...we've been going back to stock up on basics like sugar, pepper, butter, etc. Ian has been frustrated with the lack of utensils and herbs and spices in the kitchen. Apparently, the woman who lives here either doesn't cook much or cooks very basic foods. We have plates, bowls, cups, silverware, and a few basic pots and pans, but there are not supplies for cooking anything beyond a simple pasta. Ian has been using a butter knife and a bread knife for slicing and dicing, not really his cup of tea. Thus, tomorrow we'll be searching for a "real" chef's knife for my frustrated little chef. I'm also hoping we can avoid going to the grocery store for a few days. I think our little fridge is feeling overwhelmed. I can hear it chugging along during the night. But, I must say, it is nice to have home-cooked meals abroad. Eating out every meal gets old fast. Well, for us anyway.

As for now, we're getting settled into our new city and new home. Both take getting used to and a bit of adjustment. Neither of us has been sleeping well. The first few nights in the apt. we had our mattresses on the floor (real Bohemian living!). Then, Ian discovered that the trundle under the couch popped up, so we could sleep on the couch and trundle in a sort of makeshift bed. The "pullout" bed is far more comfortable than the mattresses on the floor. European mattresses are so much smaller than American mattresses. They are individual, meaning made for a single person, mattresses that are about four inches thick. Not super comfortable, but not too bad either. I told Ian that the Italians look so tired to me. Many have dark circles and bags under their eyes (though I would never, ever say that to an Italian woman!). Ian says that's just how Italians look; I think it's because they sleep on sad little mattresses with no padding and flat pillows.

One great thing we discovered about Italians is that they live a pretty environmentally friendly life. Mostly because they have to. Utilities here are SO expensive. Italians cannot use more than 3kw an hour (I'm not sure what the conversion to US measurement is...). I have no idea what happens if you use more than the allotted amount. Maybe they just turn off the power. Maybe there is a huge fine. Or maybe the Italian mafia shows up at your front door. None of the options seem good. So, we're learning to be even more conservative with our energy/gas/water. Turn off the juice when not in use. If it's yellow, let it mellow (you know the rest..). We're practicing all the different methods of conservation. I even vowed to shower less often - I brought hats for a reason, right?! It will be quite an experience!

Now that we've finally [finally!] established a connection to the Internet in the apartment, paid our first month's rent, and determined where exactly we are in relation to the rest of the city, we can begin exploring Florence. Tomorrow, we're playing tourists! I want to climb the 463 steps to the top of the Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore and the 414 steep and narrow steps leading up to the Duomo's bell tower. There are so many museums to see, so many ristorantes and cafes to try, and so many fabulous leather products to buy! (Italian leather purse, here I come!). We'll post pictures soon.

Hope all is well back home!

Ciao,
Amber


Rest assured, I feel right at home. Firenze, from what we've seen so far, suits me well. I love the pace and love the culture. The streets here are narrow. Just walking through them feels heavy, or enclosing - not solely because of their width, but because of the history the buildings surrounding them holds. Firenze may have been the birth of the Renaissance, but it was built as a Medieval city. There is art everywhere. Amber has done some research on the city, and apparently there are multiple art universities here. Every few people we pass on the streets, one is holding a portfolio or art tube. We have so much to see here and so many museums to visit. There is literally a museum on every street. We even passed by a museum for serial killers. There was a life-sized model of Hannibal Lecter outside the front door. Creepy I'm sure! I am excited to visit the countryside as well. Hopefully we can find some winetasting tours or farm tours in Montepulciano or somewhere in the rolling hills of Tuscany.
Now that we have settled in to our apartment, my only goal this week is to find a chef's knife. It has been quite a chore to prepare meals with the lack of tools in the kitchen. To each her own I suppose. The owner of our apartment has an emulsion blender, spice grinder, and a pressure cooker, but she has no slicer, parer, or chef's knife. Another adjustment I've had to make in the kitchen is the cooking temperatures. Everything here is in Celsius. Our stove and oven get very, very hot. But there is no warm setting. I think the lowest setting I have is equal to about 240 degrees Fahrenheit, both oven and gas burner. For those of you who know your way around the kitchen, that means 'no simmering without scorching', especially with cheaply bottomed pans. Tonight's risotto proved difficult on too many levels. On the bright side, the asparagus was perfect. The extra virgin olive oil here is so golden and thick, you would think you were pouring warmed honey. The balsamic vinegar from none other than Italy's Modena black and fruitful. You could reduce it without adding brown sugar. On the other hand, the chicken broth here is twice as thick - a good thing if you expect it, but otherwise turns to a gummy paste when not thinned with water. You can only buy shrimp at the supermercato that are precooked. Some have their heads removed if you want, but they all leave the shells and tails on. Not a problem if raw, but when shrimp are cooked, they firm up and make their shells twice as tough to cut and remove so as to clean their "veins" out. Even more difficult with a butter knife or dull, serrated bread knife. The mushrooms are fresh at least. So fresh, the roots and dirt clumps are still attached. So, needless to say, the risotto's consistency and appearance was dense with slight "braising". Wonderful still with a perfectly paired white Tuscan wine. We have planned the rest of this week's menu to include one of Amber's favorite Indonesian dishes, homemade (of course) Gnocchi Pomodoro, hamburgers and roasted potatoes with a spinach salad, and some improvisation.
I fall in and out of love with food every single day... ian