“If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food, it’s a plus for everybody. Open your mind, get up off the couch, move.” – Anthony Bourdain
One of the many things I love about traveling is experiencing everything for the first time. All the senses get an explosion of stimuli. It’s fantastic (most of the time). Not only do things look different but they feel, sound and taste different. The people have different customs and rituals to learn from. The food has different spices and textures. Even the weather and seasons can be different…Florence is very humid, even in the Fall – my hair is not happy. The air even feels a little different blowing across my skin. I remember celebrating Christmas in Australia in 2010 and not only was it summer but all the customs and food were totally different than what I am use to for this particular holiday.
The great thing about my relationship with Luca is we both have a thirst for knowledge and an openness to different types of people and cultures. He is very curious about America (he has never been) and I love getting to experience the Italian culture through his eyes. We’ve had many conversations about our upbringings and the stereotypes from our homelands. In an effort to understand each other better, we’ve agreed to share our traditions with each other…cue the Halloween music and pumpkin carving (he has never carved a pumpkin)! 🎃 Even Sybil commented how nice it is to live with a local because the experience is entirely different than being a tourist.
So in an effort to bring a tiny piece of home with me to share with Luca (these items may seem bizarre but it’s only because something between us prompted each one) I brought microwave popcorn, Christopher Elbow & Andres chocolates, Trader Joe’s “Everything But The Bagel” seasoning & pretzel nuggets with peanut butter inside, Men’s Centrum gummy multivitamins (Luca’s mind was blown when he heard about these – their vitamins are either in pill form or dissolve in water) and pancake mix from the Louisburg Cider Mill in my hometown.
I love popcorn. I love to eat it at night while watching a sporting event or just hanging out. I also love to eat a chocolate square or two with it. Anybody else with me on this guilty pleasure? Anyhoo, I had three bags of Orville Redenbacher buttered popcorn left in the cabinet that I didn’t want to throw away so I tossed it in my carryon bag and brought it to Florence. Weird, I know but security didn’t stop me. Unfortunately, I blocked out the reality that Luca doesn’t own a microwave. But Luca being Luca, he wouldn’t let this little inconvenience stop me from having some popcorn. So in the middle of the night (while I slept from the jet lag) he tested popping a few kernels in a pan on the stove for me. We obviously know you can pop popcorn in a pan but we weren’t sure how it was going to turn out since it had premade buttery gobbledy goo on it already…but it worked! 🍿 Of course he has had popcorn before but said he really enjoyed the taste – which is apparently different because they don’t add all the extra seasonings (and chemicals).
The Trader Joe’s pretzel nuggets with peanut butter was very high on Luca’s list to try. He loves peanut butter (which makes him weird in the Italian rule book) so he wanted to see how the Americans “engineered” this food combination. It was a hit! I’m going to need to check if I can order these online.
This morning we made pancakes together. He had NEVER eaten a pancake. Say what? Can you believe it? He wanted to participate in the process which is another thing I like about him. He is always eager to try something new and will even get a little messy in the process. It took us until yesterday to find maple syrup. That’s another thing he had not eaten. It’s been like a treasure hunt looking for this stuff. We finally found it in a huge grocery store in Siena. He enjoyed the pancakes (and making them) and we discussed all the different ways you can flavor them. Fruit, cinnamon, pumpkin, chocolate chips, whipped cream, ricotta cheese, and even Nutella which is what he tried this time since there was some in the house. We made hazelnut coffee in the Italian Moka so it was a lovely blend of both cultures during breakfast.
On Sunday, Luca, Sybil and I took the train to Siena for a day trip. It’s about an hour and twenty minutes by train and an hour by bus. We took the bus back because the time worked better with our schedule. The view of Tuscany from the front of a double decker bus was spectacular. I highly recommend traveling this way when possible. It was a cool, gray overcast day in Siena but perfect for walking around a new city, seeing the sites, and eating a delicious lunch and gelato. Luca had wild boar (yum!) with polenta and Sybil and I both ordered pasta with mushrooms, sausage and truffle sauce. It was…Out. Of. This. World. ❤️ We toured the Duomo to see the tomb of Hermis (Merlin) and to view a few statues carved by Michelangelo. The church was very interesting looking with the striped columns and bust carvings that lined the main aisle to the alter. In one of the rooms there were huge books from the 15th Century. Luca pointed out that the music sheet’s staff are only made of four lines instead of five. You can read more about the Duomo in the link above.
One of the interesting things to note about Siena is that there are 17 Contrade or “neighborhoods” (like Brooklyn, Manhattan, Bronx, etc.) and each of them are named after some sort of an animal, reptile or other icon. They are made up of a Dragon, Eagle, She-Wolf, Panther, Ram, Unicorn, Owl, Porcupine, Giraffe, Goose, Tortoise, Snail, Caterpillar, Forest, Shell, Tower or Wave. The sections are marked by a little plaque above the street signs. It’s kind of fun to walk around and see all the different signs. Plus, each Contrade has their own colors, insignias, patron saints, and even museums dedicated to its own history. When the semi-annual horse races happen in the town square, you support your own neighborhood.
Not much has been happening since I arrived a week ago. Just getting acclimated mostly. I’ve spent a good portion of my time catching up with Luca and Sybil. It’s also been nice to see Luca & Sybil get to know each other…they seem to have hit it off. Which is always nice when your friends and your boyfriend get along. Luca gave her a ride on the scooter the other day and I think she loved it.
Goodnight and much love from Florence. 🇮🇹
