Stuzzica Gente!

This past Sunday was a kind of food fair in Modena, called Stuzzica Gente. You paid 13 euros for a ticket and got to try an array of foods from different participating restaurants around the center of town.

I was so distracted by the idea of food that I forgot to take a picture of our first taste: gnocco fritto. Thankfully, Victoria eats slowly enough that I got a picture of her last bite.

I swear Magda is not in pain in this next photo. She's displaying our second stop which included water, naturale o frizzante.

She went with classic naturale. Good choice.

Next, pizza tricolor: a pizza with a pesto crust, tomato sauce and mozzarella.

Then we had some artisanal beers.

At La Mamma Pizzeria, we had pasta with a sausage and cream ragu.

I think this a half smile indicating happiness to be eating, but a little bit of disappointment with serving size...

Next, we headed over to L'Erba del Re, one of the three restaurants in Modena to have at least one Michelin Star.

I was pretty excited, until I saw the so-called "hamburger" they were giving out.

It was so dang small!!!

So small you could eat it in one bite.

That is not a hamburger.

I thought that it was pretty good, but Victoria was not as impressed.

Lambrusco! You chose between two kinds--I got amabile, the sweeter one. I loved it. Mostly because it tasted like cranberry juice.

Gelato was next on the list, but I forgot to take a picture. It wasn't very exciting because we had to get "fior di latte" and "crema"which are basically two kinds of gelato that both taste like frozen cream. I mean, it's good, but I want exciting gelato.

Then, I took the first successful shot of my life. Mostly because I think there may have been two drops of vodka in the whole shot. The rest was juice.

But look at me go! I'll totally be ready to turn 21 by the time I get back in the US...

That was it. Then I continued to make my way through the newest season of Arrested Development!

Good day.

-Meri

Recent Adventures

We've been having lots of fun these past few days! This is mommy and daddy on the infamous red stairs by my residence. They are slanted down and incredibly scary.

In other news, I haven't put up pictures from the calendars in two months!

Okay, now we're all caught up. Happy April and happy May!

Me, my mommy, and my daddy went to Embassy for the best aperitivo in Modena.

And then to Slurp--one of my favorite gelato places.

I got the Slurp (the store's flavor) and Biscottino. With free whipped cream and nutella! Incredibile!

We also got to explore my university a little bit. I got to show them the crazy Harry Potter stairs. Here we are at the fourth floor. We want to go to the fifth floor. But how do we get there?

Here we find the other set of stairs that only go from the fourth to the fifth floor. You have to go through the secret library room to find them.

After our harrowing adventure, we deserved some good foodsies. Gnocco fritto with prosciutto crudo from Bar Tiffany, home of the Gnocco D'Oro--the golden gnocco (they won an award for having the best gnocco fritto).

Look at that happy face.

I found a Phillies hat in the store where we got my shoes! It was hidden away behind the Yankees hats, but it was there!

And we went to Venice!!!

We had a lovely lunch.

And I convinced the waiter to get me a Spritz even though he looked at me funny. You're only supposed to drink it for aperitivo, but I didn't care.

We shared an artichoke pizza to start. Delightful.

And then I got Spaghetti Aglio e Olio Peperoncino. Super simple and deliciously spicy.

I found a sign for a veterinarian. It's hard to see, but there is a cute little outline of a german shepherd on it.

Che bello!

There were too many people this time. Definitely a difference between February and May. It's still my favorite city though.

Next time on the blog, we go to the third best restaurant in the world.

-Meri

Amanda's Here!

YAY!

Amanda's here and we've been running around for the past couple of days, but here's a quick run-down.

First, we started with a cappuccino at a cafe right by Amanda's hostel.

For dinner, we hit up Embassy for aperitivo. It's the best aperitivo I've ever had.

And Amanda experienced warmed gnocco fritto stuffed with prosciutto crudo for the first time. It was a happy moment.

Oh, and the giant shards of parmigiano that appear everywhere here. She was a happy gal.

The next day we discovered an awesome market in town. We bought a bunch of souvenirs for people, and then got some pizza as well.

For dinner, pasta! Amanda had gnocchi with four cheeses.

I had penne with tomatoes, mozzarella, balsamic, and shards of parmigiano.

Next, we went out for a drink. It took a good 5 minutes to get the bar tender to understand that Amanda wanted a grasshopper.

We finally got the message through.

Yesterday, we went to Verona!!!!!!!!

I had to take a picture of this sign. It reminded me of my mommy.

Obligatory picture of horse statue.

Trying to take a self-y with my iPhone.

Looking at the outside of the stadium.

Tower!

We climbed to the top! 368 steps.

Juliet's balcony.

Late lunch time! Classic Margherita Pizza.

Panino with prosciutto crudo, tabasco, and a olive spread.

Hot chocolate.

It started to rain, but we managed to see a couple more sights.

Our bangs are struggling in the precipitation.

I got lots of candy on the way to the train. These cookies are called kisses of Juliet and kisses of Romeo.

Quite delicious.

We are super attractive.

More to come!

-Meri