goodbye things, hello minneapolis

It was the first time ever that both of our checked bags weighed exactly 50 lbs each!! We didn't even use a scale since Italy. Simply amazing.

We landed in Minneapolis on Friday morning. So many people were already wearing flip flops and shorts--something you'd never see in Italy this time of year.
We got on the light rail (Hiawatha Line), got off at Government Plaza Station and ventured our way to the hotel. First impression, nice skyscrapers, clean streets, and the head of dead bird on the sidewalk. It was seriously gross. There was no body, just the head...

Anyway, we had three appointments to view apartments on Saturday and I was so stressed about not being able to find one and having to lengthen our stay at the hotel but the third one was the one! The landlord is really nice and they live next door.
It's on the 2nd floor, with hard wood floors, high ceilings, a brick wall, and claw-foot bathtub.  Overall, really cute, excellent location, and internet was included in rent! There's actually a little too much room for what we need and it looks especially empty since we don't have any furniture yet. In time, it will look perfect.

I miss Italy. The trams, the weather, the grocery stores.. The closest "grocery store" is Target. There is a Lund's but that's 30+ minutes walking and a Whole Foods which I'd have to take a bus for. We did see another little store called Oak Grove Groceries..not so sure about that. I miss Shaw's and Price Chopper. Oh, but every Wednesday at Lund's there is 4.99$ sushi!! We'll probably go every week.

It's so hard moving with practically nothing. It gets expensive, too. I had everything we needed at home but since my dad rented out the house and all of my belongings got thrown away/donated without my approval, I didn't bring as much as I thought I would.

It's actually really depressing and get angry every time I think about it. Half of my clothes are gone. Some of them were brand new. All of my plates and favorite cup were gone! My shelving units are still there but they're being used by the tenants. I had a locked safe with Char's ashes and my dad told me that they opened it and threw everything away! Why would anyone throw away a locked safe??? Especially when I was coming home a month and a half later. It seems like I'm getting upset over something trivial, but those things meant something to me and it's just unfair how they had to be thrown away instead of put into storage for 2 months or even outside. I organized everything before I left for Italy so I don't really understand how it was difficult to keep it all together...
I try not to think about all the stuff I don't have anymore but it's hard when you see something and think it would go so well with this and that and remember that it's gone forever.

i ❤ goats

We did a day trip to Taccarelli on Saturday. It's in the mountains between two small towns and with nothing for young people to do (just like where I'm from). My favorite things about going to the mountain house are the goats (pictured below) and the two dogs, Donut and &Donut. I named them after my own childhood dog. I met their owner once and think they're used to hunt tartufo. They're so friendly and always happy to see me! Probably because I always bring them bread...

@ Monte Amandola. It was so quiet with only the wind for sound. We hiked up this two summers ago. Far, far away a little to the right is Gran Sasso, the tallest mountain in this region. We didn't hike up there but did go to Monte Sibillia. So pretty!
We hiked a couple of other mountains in the area-- I just can't remember the names.

 Soo cute! We drove past three times so I could get this.

I love these goats. There are eleven in total. The two bumping heads are both mothers and the one on the right is my favorite! She lost her voice and makes a raspy 'baaaa' sound that's just adorable. They both have two cute babies. We think that big black and white one could be the father. o_O

 The cute and tiny streets of Sarnano. This is the stuff tourists go crazy for.

@ our favorite pizza ristorante in the country= ai cerchi.
They don't make only pizza but that's what we always get. 5€ for all take away pizza is just amazing. And look at how big they are when you eat in! This was the reason for our trip to Sarnano (well, I didn't really want to go but went to see my cute goats).

his last prosciutto ever!!!!! 

Me with my rosso, patate, cipolle e carciofi piccante.

We made gnocchi today. Only potatoes and flour! They were delicious and I hope when I make them in America they taste just as good.

❤ 

a lazy week in ancona

We're leaving on Tuesday. :( I don't want to go!

Last Monday we had some time to walk around one last time before P's dad came to pick us up. It was a beautiful day and finally we could see the alps through the fog aka the perfect day to go up the Mole! We'd planed on going, it was just never a priority. Alas, it's closed on Mondays. It would've been amazing to go up and see the view. Oh, well. Off to Ancona we went. Arrivederci Torono!

mia merenda tutti giorni

Ancona and Torino are two completely different places. Of course I'd been to Ancona before (even lived here for three months) but I realized I don't really know where anything is or what any of the street names are. I would totally get lost if I was here by myself.

Actually, I could get to Auchan by myself which is where these little colomba live. They're so cute and mini!
My favorite part of Easter is the agnello torta. It has an edible chocolate eye.

I like being in Ancona but only for short periods of time. I always eat too much and get lazy. I did get a tan, though, after about 5 minutes of sitting out on the terrace. The beach is only 15 minutes away but it was too windy and cold so the terrace it was!
I'm ready for summer.

last full day in torino

it's gorgeous outside. sunny, warm & inviting.

the apartment is basically packed and ready to go and i'll deal with the rest later tonight.

these are random pictures from 2 days ago..

on maria vittoria. never even noticed this before.

 @ piazza carlo alberto. i'll miss these little trash collectors. they're so cute!

 along via po. so pretty.

& my favorite snack bar (where i found 1euro in the change collector!).

i want to open one in america. it'd be awesome!












it makes me sad that we're leaving tomorrow! at least we have another week in ancona where i'll probably spending most of my time at porto novo hopefully getting my tan on.

today is also the last day of cioccolatò but i'm not getting a free panna today. way too heavy and i've recently been having stomach aches after eating. :/ we'll just go get a caffe macchiato con ginseng (or two) at my favorite snack bar. maybe it's because i rarely went out for coffee in america but i never heard of ginseng in coffee before. it's amazing!!! please tell me this exists in america, too!


i need to buy one of those magnets that says something about torino.


& we saw a guy holding this bag. it's a sign!! {shudder-i don't want to go!}

next stop Mole Antonelliana

I finally booked our tickets today. In 12 days, we'll be back in America.

We're moving out of our apartment on Monday. I'm not so concerned about leaving this little apartment behind (because I actually hated it), but about leaving Torino, it feels weird. I've been everywhere I've wanted to go and occasionally felt bored but I'll still miss calling it home.

Look at my plant here. We've had it since the beginning and while it was kind of dying 2 months ago, it's back to living again and sprouting new leaves! It'll be adopted by P's parents so we'll meet again in December. :)

No more caffè from the snack bars, walking along the Po, aperitivo!!! :( My favorite place for aperitivo is Café Accorsi Palace. It has so many choices and it all tasted amazing. This is also where I discovered the wonders of Moscato d'Asti❤. 

Other things I'll miss:

My favorite stores - Undercolors of Benetton, La Dea, Tally Weijl, Intimissimi, Pam

La Giunca - the best Chinese restaurant in Torino

L'Antico Borgo - for pizza

Falafel - for, um, falafel

Piazza Castello, Carlo Alberto, Carlo Emanuele II, Vittorio Veneto, Parco Valentino where I spent most of my time.

All the streets I know so well - Po, Roma, Maria Vittoria, Carlo Alberto, Vittorio Emanuele, Garibaldi, Lagrange

Quadrilatero - even though I'd get lost sometimes

Walking from the apartment to Politecnico

All the streets on this side of the Po like near Cappuccini & Lanza.

And from before we lived in this apartment - Lingotto, Eataly, the metro

I'll even miss taking the bus. My favorites being the small, cute ones: Linea 53, 7 and Stella 1 & 2. Of course 13, linea piu!

And the market at Porto Palazzo will be missed. Where bunches of vendors come together in one area to sell their fresh produce for awesome prices. So fun to just walk around but watch out 'cause that's the area where we saw 2 dead pigeons. :/

Anyway, I could go on and on but my main point is: I'll miss Torino and the lifestyle.

yours truly

PETAs Sexiest Vegetarian Next Door 2012

there's no place like home

I've been in Italy for 6 months now, and while it hasn't all been fantastic and romantic and fun, I'm undecided about going back to America. There are so many things that make America amazing: the abundance of vegan/veggie alternatives, 24-hour grocery stores, less expensive clothes, hummus... but Italy has it's advantages, too. Like how you have to pay for grocery bags if you didn't bring your own (& they're all biodegradable), having a sales associate help you try on a jacket (even though it's completely unnecessary, I kind of like it), how the waitstaff simply takes your order and leaves you alone, aperitivo!, trams and electric buses...
I should just make a spreadsheet of pros/cons for both America and Italy.

Anyway, I feel like Italy is my home. Kinda of, at least. My boyfriend is Italian and I wouldn't mind living in Firenze when we're older--we'd only be 2.5 hours away from his family and it's my favorite place in Italy. Yes, my plan is to work at the U.S. Consulate General's office in Florence and live somewhere gorgeous. Or else work somewhere else if that doesn't work out. :)

Obviously, having grown up in New England, I'm terrified of living in the Mid-West even if it is for 8 months. It's like another world out there! I don't know. On the plus side, there is the Mall of America...

Still, we're moving out of the apartment in less than a week!, will go to my boyfriend's house for a few days, and then it's off to America!!! My boyfriend's coming back in the summer for a little bit but I won't be back 'til December. So sad! We still have to find an apartment and then a job for me. Oh, happy times up ahead.

cioccolatò ancora, molte photo

free panna

'spalm beach'

on a rainy day

so, my pictures aren't as good as a professional photographer's but i like them anyway!
my digital camera is actually pretty old so once we're back in the states, we plan on getting one of those big intense looking ones. :)

ciocco-kebab!

there was a constant stream of chocolate flowing from the machine. pretty interesting and it smelled so good!

sunny days

okay, here's that crema di pistacchio i was talking about.
piazza vittorio veneto was way crowded today despite the clouds threatening rain. it's nice to see old and young people milling about the square checking out the different chocolates and people watching.
now, if only i could score one of those beach chairs with the sun shining down on my face and an endless cup of cappuccino with ginseng (my new favorite!), i'd be content.

cioccolatò 2012!

panna

cioccolatò has arrived! it's a 9-day long festival in piazza vittorio veneto specially for the promotion of chocolate! i'm one of the few women who doesn't go crazy for chocolate but i still like going around and tasting the free samples.

yesterday, we got this panna (whipped cream). it was the heaviest thing i've eaten in 6 months. seriously.
today, we tasted crema di pistacchio and a crema di cioccolato fondente.

there's 'spalm beach' area where they set up about 50 beach chairs for passerbys to sit/lay and enjoy the warm weather we've been having. it's nice but when we wanted to eat our merenda/lunch, there weren't any chairs available! oh well, we ended up on a nearby bench. not as cosy but less crowded.

here's the link to cioccolatò. check it out!

'the next best thing'

i finished 'the next best thing' by kristan higgins last night. isn't it weird how one of her other books took place in vt, where i'm from, and this one took place in a fictional island off of newport, ri, where i went to university?! just a strange coincidence, i guess.


anyway, i thought this book was just so sweet! literally, the protagonist is a baker so it was difficult reading this and not craving a thick, warm slice of dark chocolate cake with vanilla frosting! aaah, heaven.


back to the book, i loved how the in-laws were italian since mine will be, too (❤) and there was a lot of family love. it basically had me tearing up every 10 pages or so. it was a simple read and perfect for before bedtime!


and now, on to 'my one and only.'