Eating With Alexis

My friend Alexis came to visit me this past weekend!

We had a fabulous time, going from food place to food place in Modena and then the same in Bologna (Bologna was supplemented with a few historical sights though).

I didn't get a photo of all the food we ate in Modena, probably because I was distracted by eating, but I swear a lot of food went into our tummies.

First we got various pastries at a fabulous cafe in Modena. In addition to these two lovely treats, we had a chocolate sandwich cookie and a lemon-y ricotta one. And a gnocco fritto. And cappuccino.

We had bread for lunch--Alexis discovered that you can get like four loaves of bread for 2 euros at the market. It's part of what has been encouraging my all-carb diet...

Then, for a mid-afternoon snack, gelato. I didn't get a picture of the gelato, but I did get a picture of those crazy roosters in the park where we ate the gelato.

Also not pictured: a few cocktails and a whole lot of food from aperitivo.

We started our day in Bologna with what other than fancy croissants. For me, a pistachio cream and chocolate chip croissant. Mmmmmmmmm.

For Alexis, a custard-y mini pie and a croissant stuffed with a ricotta filling.

As we walked around Bologna, we came across this guy in the main piazza who was playing "Angie." I still find it funny when I hear American music playing all over the place.

Then we decided to climb one of the two towers of Bologna. There were many many steps.

And there were a bunch of holes in the wall where you could look out as you made the climb. My camera couldn't quite capture the image of the world beyond the brick. Take my word for it, it was pretty cool.

We made it too the top!

Amazing.

I took a thousand pictures.

Your welcome for sparing you the 997 other pictures of the same thing.

The tower belonged to the Asinelli family.

As we had totally burned a billion calories climbing the tower, it was time for hot chocolate. Alexis and I agree that the hot chocolate in Italy might be the greatest thing ever invented.

I got Venezuelan dark hot chocolate.

Alexis got pistachio hot chocolate.

For lunch, we went to a cute little restaurant on a side street.

I got Passatelli in broth. I know it doesn't look appetizing, but it was really good! The pasta is made from bread crumbs, eggs, grated parmigiano cheese, lemon, and nutmeg and is then cooked in chicken broth. A very comforting meal.

Alexis got pasta alla bolognese, as one should in Bologna.

Then I had to drop Alexis at the train station :(

I hope to see her in Rome soon (oh, she's studying in Rome right now, by the way).

[I've actually got a few other things to post about, but my internet is so terrible that it's becoming very difficult to tell you about my many adventures (usually involving food) in Italy. Soon to come though!]

-Meri

Adventures With Ana!

Above is a picture of Ana and me walking through Modena. Or at least our shadows walking through Modena. I've gone through a growth spurt recently--look how long my legs are!

Yes! Ana came to visit me this past weekend and we had a fabulous time. First thing we did? Got some breakfast!

Ana enjoyed her creme-filled croissant and Modena-style bread.

She also encouraged me to buy these thingies (still dunno what they are) because they look like giant cheerios. They are surprisingly delicious. Crackers, but cuter.

Then, I had to introduce Ana to gnocco fritto--one of my favorite Modena classics. We went to Bar Tiffany which won the award for Best Gnocco Fritto in 2011.

It was definitely the best gnocco fritto I've had here.

I think Ana liked it. But I'm not really sure what she's smiling about in the picture seeing as we obviously haven't eaten the stuff yet...

We did do something other than eat. We did lots of walking in order to work up our appetite again. I found this carving with a snake in it. It also had a lion and a raven. So, duh, Harry Potter. It was missing the badger, but I imagined it was there.

Now I'm a little frightened, because the serpent has half of a human sticking out of his mouth (he ate the other half).

I got over my fear and decided to join in.

Okay. Back to food. These are pastries.

We bought 25 euros worth. That's right. Oops.

The guy at the stand kept throwing more into the bag despite us saying "no." I guess you could say he was a good salesman...

For dinner, we went to Jolly Pizzeria down the street. We were very confused by this eatery. They had American 80s music playing, a little clown for a mascot, and very fancy waiters.

Ana got the 4 Stagione (4 seasons) pizza. Sausage, ham, mushrooms, and artichoke hearts.

That's me looking horrifying while I eat my Pugliese pizza--tomato, mozzarella, and onion. The onions were so perfectly caramelized that when I bit into the pizza, I got a perfect combo of sweet, salty, and down right carb-y.

It's amazing how much food I can fit in my tummy.

The next day we continued our eating adventure. I swear we did things not involving food. I think Ana documented that part of our adventure more successfully...

Prosciutto cotto (cooked prosciutto/ham) for Ana.

Prosciutto crudo (regular prosciutto) for me, and proof that I'm eating meat!

Ana left Sunday and seems to have taken the sunshine and nice weather with her.

Hello snowy Modena!

I miss you already Ana!

-Meri

P.S. you should follow Ana's blog too! http://dicrocea.wordpress.com/

All Alone Over Here

Well, Alex has left me. This is sad.

But, before he left, we got to experience a traditional meal at an Italian household. First, we stopped for some pastries.

We ate pasta with mussels.

It was sooooooooooooooooo good.

After lunch, we had our first cheese course. I have to say, I didn't realize how literal a cheese course is. Seriously, you eat hunks of cheese after the main course. It's pretty great.

And guess what! They have Philadelphia cream cheese in Italy. Whenever I say that I live near Philadelphia, I'm questioned about our cream cheese. But, there aren't any bagels here. It's a bit of an oxymoron for me.

And I introduced the family to chocolate chip cookies. It wasn't my best work (they don't appear to have brown sugar here), but I think it turned out well.

I've been seriously craving cookies since being here. Italian sweets are great, but there's definitely a big difference between American dessert and European dessert.

After Alex left, I decided to drown my sorrows by going shopping.

I bought a used bike! I'm constantly worried that it will be stolen. I'll just keep my fingers crossed.

Actually, I might buy a second lock and be that paranoid American that takes 10 minutes just to lock or unlock her bike. I'm cool with that.

And then I got 12 euros worth of fruit. After realizing how much I spent, I realized I should probably make the fruit last. This is difficult, seeing as I could have finished it all in one day.

The market had one of my favorite kinds of apple: stayman. Mmmmmmmm.

And despite being surrounded by all this delicious food, a bowl of rice krispies once in a while can be very comforting.

Finally, I received my first letter. Please feel free to mail me a card. As the title says, I'm all alone and could use some form of company.

-Meri