Chef's Kiss and Capri

Sep 10 - Sep 23

Welcome back to the blog!

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Ravioli Cooking Activity

Lorenzo de' Medici offers a variety of weekly activities that you can sign up for through SignUpGenius. These activities range from cooking classes and vintage markets to museum tours and food and wine tastings. For my first cooking activity, we made ricotta and spinach ravioli entirely from scratch. My favorite part was portioning and shaping the ravioli.

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Trip to Pompeii

Much like the Cinque Terre tour from the previous weekend, our tuition also covered a trip to Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri. The journey from Florence to Pompeii took around four hours by train and coach. We were guided by an LdM professor/advisor who walked us through the historical site. Pompeii was an ancient Roman city near modern-day Naples that was destroyed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. It was quite surreal to see the remnants of the city and the casts of the fallen civilians.

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Trip to Sorrento and Capri

After Pompeii, we continued to Sorrento, where we stayed the night at the Hilton. Sorrento is a charming coastal town with beautiful views of the water. The following morning, we took a thirty-minute boat ride to Capri. Although Capri is a world-famous destination known for its luxury and fashion, I wasn't able to enjoy the island fully, as I became quite seasick from the rocky boat ride.

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Parmigiana Cooking in Class

In my food and wine pairing class, we made parmigiana di melanzane or eggplant parmesan. It was my first time trying this dish, and I absolutely loved it. Making it felt similar to preparing lasagna, where you stacked layers of sauce, meat, and cheese together. The final result was incredible and easily the best thing I had eaten in Florence by far.

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Trip to Budapest

Budapest was my first trip in Europe outside of Italy. It was quite a scenic change from Florence as the city felt more developed and the architecture was more modern. I arrived knowing little about Budapest, but I quickly discovered that it has an incredible nightlife and a large vintage and streetwear culture. I also discovered that Hungary had a quite unique cuisine where they focused heavily on rich, hearty, and meaty meals. Pictured is one of Hungary's national dishes called chicken paprikash, which was served with a side of dumpling balls.