Un Mondo di Cioccolato!

Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate. If you haven't already guessed what this blog is going to be about, that should be a hint! In an attempt to take my love of chocolate to the next level, I bought a ticket for the EuroChocolate Festival in Perugia, Italy, last weekend. The Eurochocolate Festival is an annual festival that has been held since 1993 and is one of the largest chocolate festivals in Europe. It lasts for nine days and offers many different types of chocolate and chocolate items such as chocolate salami, chocolate pasta, chocolate liquor, chocolate kebabs, and so much more! It was so cool seeing all the chocolate creations and getting to try many of them! The chocolate was OUTSTANDING…there wasn’t one place that had bad chocolate. But then again, could there ever be bad chocolate?? Let me answer that for you...no! I tried so many phenomenal chocolates like chocolate with lavender, chocolate with rose petals, white chocolate, dark chocolate (also called fondente), chocolate with hazelnut, chocolate with chili pepper, and lots more. I had a lot of chocolate to say the least. My favorite was this chocolate with honey and honey pollen that I tried…I bought a bar to bring home so hopefully I can share it with a few of you readers! Besides all the different types of chocolate to try, there are also really cool chocolate art displays at the festival. Apparently there is usually an igloo sculpted out of 3,600 kilograms of chocolate every year, but I didn’t see that there. However, I did see a giant chocolate rock climbing wall and huge “teddy bear” about 10 feet tall made just out of chocolate! What I would have done to get a piece of that….just kidding. Even I have limits!haha But my friends and I had such a wonderful time shopping around and trying all the cool types of chocolate, I really couldn’t have asked for a better day! Now, feast your eyes on some pictures! Buon appetito! :)

Perugia, Italy!

Chocolate Kebab!

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Chocolate pasta!

Tra i due Polmoni!

Impromptu blog: Yesterday I went on a run, and after running by the Arno River, in between streets, and criss- crossing every bridge, I decided to take a breather at a little spot that jets out over the Arno (a very common stopping point for tourists). Fortunately for me, there weren't many people there, so I went up to the ledge, rested my arms and my ipod on top of it, and put on one of my favorite songs, "Between Two Lungs" by one of my favorite bands, Florence and the Machine. Yes, the band's name starts with the word "Florence" (quite the coincidence). When the song came on, I tried to relax every muscle, balance my body evenly on both feet, and close my eyes so that I could release every negative feeling in my body and breath in the fresh air and positivity. It felt so great to release any anxiety I've felt recently from tests and classes, or from traveling. Also, going along with one of the themes from my previous blog, "Where ever you go, there you are," I took this moment of relaxation and "meditation" if you will, to take in everything around me. When I finally opened my eyes, I felt like I looking at Florence with new eyes. Sometimes it's hard for me to believe that what I am looking at is real life. Florence is so beautiful and unique that it almost seems like a dream. But when I opened my eyes, I felt like I was looking at Florence for the first time, establishing that this isn't a dream, it's very real, and I am SO lucky to be here! I stayed at that spot for about 5 minutes just listening to my music and opening up my mind so that I could drink every second in. I felt so rejuvenated after that and was in such a good mood for the rest of the day. I plan on taking that five minute break every time I go on my runs now because its a chance to center myself and release any negativity that I have, so that only positivity can flow in. I advise everyone to take some time out of their day and do the same thing, you will not regret it I promise! I added the song mentioned above to my blog so that you can listen to what I was listening too! I also added another song titled "Postcards from Italy" by Beirut..... just cause :) Happy Wednesday!!!
ps. Florence and the Machine has a great album if any of you need new music!


"Between These Two Lungs"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2Ujua6a82c


"Post cards from Italy" 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X61BVv6pLtw

Split, Croatia!!!!

So I have a couple blogs in the making right now, but of course it was such a busy week I didn’t have much time to make them! However, I’ve had lots to blog about recently so keep your eyes peeled because I will be posting a lot of new stuff!

Last weekend, I traveled to a place a bit unexpected…. I went to Split, Croatia! I have PLENTY to write about my trip to Croatia so bear with me!! My friends and I departed from Florence Thursday night and bussed all night long (12 hrs). We arrived Friday morning around 8 and immediately checked into our hostel called Golly and Bossy. It was such a cool and modern hostel with black lights everywhere, a nice bar, and great food. The rest of Friday we explored the small town of Split seeing things like Diocletian’s Palace, the Cathedral and Bell Tower of St. Dominus, the Baptistery of St. John (also known as Jupiter’s Temple), the fish markets and farmers markets, Marjan Viewpoint, and the Split Zoo! Now to describe a few of these places! The Cathedral and Bell Tower of St. Dominus was absolutely beautiful. We climbed many flights of stairs to get to the top of the Bell Tower which overlooked the whole city of Split and the beautiful Adriatic Sea. The view was truly breathtaking with a view of the clear, blue water, and a view of the numerous houses lining the hills. After visiting the Bell Tower, we walked along the water until we ran into one of the biggest fish markets and farmers markets I have ever seen. It was so cool seeing all the different types of fish because Croatia is well known for its seafood. I saw eels, crabs, anchovy, tuna, mackarel, yellow stripe trevally, and many more! Now I’m not much of a seafood person, but I was very intrigued by the significance of fish in this community. The Adriatic Sea, with is numerous smaller islands, is a unique area for a variety of fish and because of this, Croatia is rich in fishing opportunities. We also went to the other farmers markets where we met tons of Croatian venders who were selling fresh fruits, vegetables, honey, meat, and various other food items! They were all super nice and even one guy gave us a free pomegranate! 

Split, Croatia

Bell Tower!

At the top of the Bell Tower!

Fish Market

After that we were told to walk up to Marjan Viewpoint which overlooks all of Split as well as the Adriatic Sea. Although it was a bit of a hike, the view was definitely worth it! The town is so majestic looking with its orange/red rooftops and its Baroque architecture. This type of architecture was mostly seen in the late sixteenth century and was heavily influenced by the triumph of the Catholic Church. Also, when we walked up past Marjan Viewpoint, we accidently found the Split Zoo! We got to see all types of animals like bears, donkeys, llamas, bores, peacocks, ostriches, chimpanzees, bunnies, and goats! This zoo was definitely unkept which we noticed when half the birds were out of their pens running all over the place haha but it was still fun to see all the animals. Once we got back after that long day of exploring, we got dressed up and went to a nice seafood dinner at restaurant called Jelovnik. I ordered a creamy scampi soup and calamari, and my friends ordered a seafood linguini and a shrimp risotto- all sooooo delicious!!

Marjan's Viewpoint

Shrimp Risotto

Seafood Linguini

The next day we woke up nice and early and traveled to KRKA National Park. Oh. My. Goodness. That is literally what I kept saying to myself every five minutes as we explored the 109 square kilometer park along the Krka River. It is known for its exceptionally rich flora and fauna as well as its beautiful waterfalls and footpaths. We traveled throughout the park for about an hour or so before we arrived at the most beautiful waterfall and lagoon I have ever seen. The best part about this amazing little spot is that people are allowed to swim in it! Naturally we couldn’t let such an awesome opportunity pass us by and boy did we not regret it. Getting to swim out to the waterfall and bask in its glory from the water below was absolutely incredible. Me and my five friends swam through the current (much harder to swim through than we thought) and made it to a rock where we could look up at the waterfall. Words cannot explain how great it was to swim in the beautiful clear water and experience such a cool view. After exploring other parts of the park, we then took a bus to the town of Trogir, which is a historic town and harbor on the Adriatic coast in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia, with a population of 12,995 (thank you Wikipedia). Needless to say, its a very small and quaint town. The best part of Trogir was catching the sunset as it fell behind the Fortress Kamerlengo. It was so beautiful and a great way to end the day!

KRKA National Park!

THe Waterfall!

THATS ME!!!!!!!

On our last morning in Croatia, my friends and I decided to make the most of it and get up for the sunrise. We sleepily dressed ourselves and managed to get out at around 630 in which we walked out to a pier on the water. Once again, we caught such a beautiful sunrise over the hills as we sat by the water. I know I've said the world beautiful too many times in this blog, but that’s because everything truly was beautiful in Croatia. Before I came to Croatia, I knew very little about it or what it would be like. After having been there for a weekend, I am so happy I decided to go there and am so grateful I was given the chance to see what I did! It’s a country like no other and is full of indescribable beauty. It's Baroque-gothic buildings and coastline on the Adriatic Sea make it one of Europe’s hidden gems!! Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Ricordiamo!

So my dad has this book titled “Wherever You Go, There You Are” written by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Sounds like a silly title doesn’t it? I thought so too until I read a few excerpts from it. The book describes various meditation techniques as well as brings attention to a state of "mindfulness" in which you focus on the present rather than the past, the future, or the many distractions of everyday life. It may sound like a silly (or easy) concept, but I often find myself wanting time to go faster so I can go on to the next exciting thing or I find myself feeling anxious about time going slow like that 9 hr bus ride to Munich, Germany.

Now that a month has gone by, I find myself trying to stay in a present state of mind so that I can truly enjoy every second of the 10 weeks I have left in Italy.  Part of the reason it’s so hard for me to do that sometimes is because im having such a great time here that time just literally flies by!! I’ve already experienced and seen so many great things and I’ve been planning a few more trips which include Croatia this weekend (weee!!), the Perugia Eurochocolate festival, Barcelona, England, and maybe a trip to France. So with that said, goal #1 is to jump out of my comfort zone, do and experience everything I possibly can, and most importantly, cherish the time I have left here and not let a moment go by without truly taking it all in. So far, I’ve been pretty successful :) Now for a few recent activities...

I had the wonderful pleasure of going to a Fiorentina vs. Bologna soccer game! It was so cool because the stands were packed with crazy Italian fans (mostly men with their shirts off) yelling and cheering almost the entire game! I definitely got to experience a little Fiorentina pride :) Not to mention, we beat Bologna 2-0! Twas a great day!

I also traveled to the beautiful Cinque Terre on the coast of the Italian Riviera last weekend. Cinque Terre, also known as the “Five Lands” is composed of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. It is such a BEAUTIFUL place with its clear blue water and breathtaking views, I’m so happy I got the chance to travel there with my friends. It’s also known as a central destination for lovers (romantic views and villages) as well as a great spot for swimming and beach going. In terms of food, Cinque Terre is known for its basil and pesto. Naturally, I had to try it so I got a pesto pomodori (tomato) pizza and it was AMAZING! After getting settled in the last village, my friends and I layed on the beach and eventually got asked by some very cute Italian boys to play volleyball. If you know me, that was basically a dream come true…about the volleyball of course :)

Pizza al pesto e pomodori!

Amore!

Beautiful clear water!

Beach at Monterosso

I also went to an Afrojack concert in Rome two nights ago. Afrojack is a very well known DJ of my generation and was playing at a club in Rome so my friends and I bused there and had an awesome time at his concert! So fun!!!

AFROJACK!!!!

Having a great time at the concert!

Lastly, I wanted to show my readers that I am a pretty decent cook (especially to all you non-believers!) haha when I cook for myself, I often times grill up lots of veggies (bell pepper, eggplant, onions, spinach, mushrooms), cook some brown rice, and grill some yummy chicken with spices I bought from the store. Here are a couple dishes I have made! Enjoy, because I know I did :)

Yes, made my own little mexican dish with homemade guacamole!!

Bell peppers, eggplant, onions, brown rice with kidney beans, and grilled chicken!