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| Trisha, Me & Angela at the Ice Club |
My parents left last Friday morning, and I had a free weekend here in Rome, which turned out to be a really busy weekend, but a great one. On Friday, after a great dinner with my roommate Stephanie and her parents, we went to the Ice Club, one of the few ice bars in the world. Before entering the bar, we had to put on gloves and a heavy thermal cloak, which reminded me of something an astronaut might wear. Armed with our heavy protective gear to shield us from the elements, we entered the bar, which was a cool 20 degrees Fahrenheit. The entire club, from the bar to the walls itself, was made out of blocks of ice. We enjoyed sipping our drinks from the ice cube cups and sitting in the little igloo rooms carved into the walls. It was a fun experience and great way to cool off from the warm spring weather!
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| Our homemade apple strudel |
On Saturday, I went with a bunch of my friends from the program to one of our favorite local restaurants for a lesson in Italian cuisine. Chef Andrea took us into the kitchen and taught us step-by-step how to make three delicious classic Italian dishes: fettuccine alla bolognese, Straccetti di Manzo con Pachino, Rughetta e Scaglie di Parmigiano (a thin cut of beef with tomatoes, arugula and shaves of parmesan, and apple strudel Italian style, with raisins and pears). The fettuccine was homemade, and it reminded me of when I used to cook with my grandmother, and we would make homemade gnocchi. The class was long, since we were in the kitchen from 10-2, but it was a lot of fun and I picked up some great tips and recipes to make for my family when I get home and for my roommates next year!
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| Rome Marathon |
I thought Sunday would be a quiet day, but instead, I was awakened by a marching band outside my window! As I left my building to go to church, I saw the band marching up my street. Sunday was the feast day of San Giuseppe, or Saint Joseph, which is Father's Day in Italy, so maybe the parade was for that, but whatever the occasion was, it was a nice way to start the day! As I continued my walk to church, I saw large crowds of people on Via Nazionale. When I turned onto the street, I realized it was the Rome Marathon! Hundreds of men, women, kids, and dogs were zooming by, and in the distance I saw thousands of people marching towards Via Nazionale from the Vittorio Emmanuele monument. Although it was a little chaotic, watching the marathon provided me with a lot of entertainment for my walk to church...there's really never a dull moment in Rome!
can't wait to try the new recipes, they sound so good :)
ReplyDeleteHi Christine,
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're having an amazing time in Roma! I'm going to spend a few days of my spring break there and I can't wait. If we're in any of the same Communications classes in the fall, you'll have to cook up some Italian goodness and bring it PR/Advertising! Those recipes sounds incredible. Hope you enjoy the rest of your time abroad.
-Tori
Christine, what great adventures you have been on. I also went to Ice Bar and I hope to go back. It is insane how it literally is a whole bar out of ice, do we even have these in the United States? While is was definitly a "cool" environment, I had to leave after 30 mins because I was freezing. We should go back one more time because who knows if we will have that oppurtunity again.
ReplyDeleteYour weekend sounds amazing! I wish I got to take a cooking class there, but you'll have to send me some recipes!! I also never got to the ice bar in Rome, how was it? We got so lost and by the time we found it we were so tired that we gave up and went home. That marathon sounds crazy! I'm surprised I didn't see it, but one weekend while I was in Campo, there were randomly people running around with numbers on them in all different directions. I wonder what that was. This especially made me miss Roma! I hope we can all go back there one day!
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