eat dessert first.

DAY THIRTEEN
Lazy day in Firenze after a long two days in Venice this weekend.  I had the chance to organize my photos into a folder and edit them for when I do one massive album in about... uhhh three months or so?

We had been planning to go for a run practically all weekend because we needed it... but we also were CRAVING salad, so before we went on our run, we went to "Tutto e 99 Cent" store and the market called Conad for groceries.  It takes too much starch in different forms to make me crave a salad... now I know the trick!  I am telling you... the fact that everything is 99 cents is golden.  A loaf a bread, a toothbrush, laundry detergent, a pet giraffe, cookies, you name it; 99 cents.  I bought some loaves a bread since we have been going through that stuff like crazy and then we went to Conad.  That grocery store just keeps on going.  Everything in Italy looks like a hole in the wall, but they all trick you out because they are huge!  Remember, the first night we were here we had a welcome dinner where over two hundred of us ate in one restaurant!  That's a big place they got hiding there.

Anyway, Conad was apparently the place to be on a Sunday (just like in the United States) because everyone and their mom was in there.  We shopped around trying to find the best bargains since we continue to be poor college students even in Firenze.  Kinda.  Anyway, after doing a MAJOR pat-down and cleanup of our super dirty apartment.  Oh boy did it need it.  Eight girls, two bedrooms, two bathroom, A LOT of hair.  It was rough.

We finally went on our run... remind me next time to NOT run on a weekend because the whole world is out on Sundays.  Working out, going to church, and touring the city.  We were dodging people left and right and getting the strangest glances.  It was as if groups of five college girl students don't ever run around the Arno together.  People just don't get the concept of group fitness or fitness really in general.  We see some older men running and people always walking about, but that is pretty much the extent of Italians' work outs.  I don't know how they are all so skinny!!  The run was fun though... we went about three miles along the river and it felt nice to get out and about.  As I mentioned before, running is the best way to explore and get to know a new city.

Me and my TOMs love exploring Firenze together.  Tonight we took a trek after we cleaned up and ate lunch over to the other side of the Arno.  We were looking for a specific gelateria called La Carraia, which is supposedly (heard from some locals) the best gelateria in Firenze.  We walked around aimlessly for about thirty minutes looking for it.  Strangely enough, right around the corner from our apartment is La Carraia 2, and as we searched for the first, it began to feel like a prank.  I don't know if you have heard about that "senior prank" where you put three farm animals in the school and label them 1, 2, and 4?  Well... if you haven't picked up on the kicker yet... there is no 3, but the administration doesn't know that!!  So, back to reality... does La Carraia 1 truly exist?  It does.  After walking over the Arno three separate times, we finally ended up three bridges down from the Ponte Vecchio, oltrarno, in a line of over twenty people.  I think it might be good?

Not my gelato, but pretty much my night....

Yes, yes it was.  The choices were almost unbearable... chocolate orange, hazelnut, lemon, raspberry, cookies, everything and anything you wanted in a gelato, right there in front of you.  How can you decide under that kind of pressure.  Not only that... there were about thirty other people in the same dilemma as you, standing and staring at the cases of deliciously colorful gelato as if hoping it would speak to them saying, "Pick me!  I'm the best one here."  The lady behind the counter finally looked at me and it was time to make a decision.  I gave in to my greatest weakness, nocciola (hazelnut) and put limone (lemon) with it.  It turned out to be a good decision, and we ate it right by the Arno.  It was gone all too fast.

So... I know you're thinking, have they eaten dinner yet?  No, no we hadn't.  We live life saying, "life is short, eat dessert first."  I think that is a good way to live by.  I am not sure if you have seen the movie, "Remember Me," it is a sad(ish) movie with Robert Pattinson and he dates this girl that orders dessert first every day...

Girl-I have my dessert first.
Rob-Is that a political statement? A medical condition, perhaps?
Girl-I just don't see the point in waiting. I mean, what if I die while eating my entree?
Rob-Is that probable?
Girl-It's possible. What if I choke? What if an asteroid comes hurling down onto the restaurant?... I'll tell you what, if you swear on your eternal soul that I'll make it through my entree, then I'll wait. But before you answer, consider that if something does happen, you'll have to live the rest of your life knowing that not only did you lie to me, but you denied of my one last indulgence. Are you prepared to shoulder that kind of responsibility?

Why not just indulge?  I think people are just happier when they indulge in dessert.  A little sweet then a little savory.  Therefore, when we got back, we cooked up something pretty special!  We made balsamic chicken, penne pasta with Parmesan cheese, and a great salad with apples, yellow peppers, carrots, and some more Parmesan cheese of course!  Everything simply topped with balsamic.  Such a perfect meal!  Left us all satisfied and smiling.  Just as this sign here made me smile.  I hope it makes you smile too.  The weird thing was I looked down right after seeing this sign and I saw this stamp on the ledge that read, "weird."  Was it trying to tell me something?                   

The only thing left for us to do in Firenze besides the Uffizi is to climb up to the Piazzo Michelangelo and watch the sunset over the Arno.  We packed up some wine for our little picnic up there and grabbed towels to sit on, but we had a problem.  It was sixty degrees out and ALL our jeans and "blue jean" (that one's for you Christina) jackets were still hanging on the drying racks, still wet from Venice.  Dilemma.  We stepped outside and it was a bit chilly.  Me and Tarah in shorts and cardigans, Christina and Savannah in a mismatched long sleeves to stay warm.  We were trekking along and chickened out.  We settled for the bridge two away from the Ponte Vecchio, and camped out on the ledge.  It wasn't a beautiful sunset, but it was just a nice way to close the evening.  We are planning to bring a picnic dinner up to the Piazzo Michelangelo soon and watch the sunset when we actually have warm layers.  Firenze weather... why you no warm?  It doesn't matter!  It is what you make it and we made it fun.  We choose happy!

The smell of cake wafted toward me while sitting in the kitchen writing this blog post.  Of course it was Chef Danielle whipping something together; cherry bread cake hot and ready to go!  It was delicious... I don't know how she did it, but I was a happy camper.  And why not just add some Nutella on the side to dip it in?  Perfection.

Arrivederci! 

So Zen