ABCs of ME

I’ve seen some bloggers play the ABC game so I wanted to join in on the fun.

A. Age: 26 but I’ll be 27 in 40 days!

B. Bed size: The Brits call it a king but I’d say it’s more of a queen.

C. Chore you hate: Cleaning the bathroom.

D. Dogs: Dogs.  Jon wants a fat bulldog and I want a cute yorkie. Hopefully one day.

E. Essential start to your day: Iced Dunkin Donuts black coffee with 1 splenda

F. Favorite color: Green

G. Gold or silver: both

H. Height: 5’5.

I. Instruments you play: zero

J. Job title: Intern & Student

K. Kids: Eventually

L. Live: From NJ, currently live in London

M. Mom’s name: Rosanna

N. Nicknames: Ash and Ash T

O. Overnight hospital stays: N/A

P. Pet peeve: When I say I’m a vegetarian and then they ask me if I eat chicken.  Since when isn’t chicken meat?

Q. Quote from a movie: ‘AMERICA’ – Name that movie.

R. Right or left handed: Right.

S. Siblings: Younger Brother, Alex

T. Time you wake up: Early – I like to relax before I start my day.

U. Underwear: They are called pants here in London.

V. Vegetables you dislike: Peas, Carrots & Zucchini

W. What makes you run late: There isn’t a clock in my living room or kitchen…it drives me crazy!

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth & fingers

Y. Yummy food you make: Cupcakes & Eggplant parm….that’s about it!

Z. Zoo- favorite animal: Koala’s – I held some in Australia and they were just the softest animal ever.

Rallies In Pisa

On Feb 13th women all over Italy (200 towns and cities) held a march calling against the prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, to resign over a sex scandal.  We were lucky enough to see (and film) the march in Pisa.

 

You can read more articles about it here and here.

Pasta Machines

I know it’s hard to believe but there were pasta vending machines in Florence.

Lots of variety, cheap and fast.  I really wanted to try it but I was too grossed out.

Would you have tried it?

New Additions In Florence

So much has changed in Florence since I was there 6 years ago.  Here are a few:

This is te lobby of my old apt.  It never looked so nice!

My old school is now a beautiful hotel.  The school was so run down and rickety that we kept our jackets on in class because the heat did not work. They completely renovated the building and it’s gorgeous!!

Ben & Jerry’s across from the Duomo just seems weird.  The city is so old and historical I don’t think common day eateries like this work there but clearly I’m wrong.

They cleared the locks from years ago and started over.  This was completely full 6 years ago.

The Oil Shoppe is closed?!?!  Turns out its closed on the weekends so I missed out on eating for my sandwich shop in the world. 

H&M was a treat for us when we traveled but now it’s in Florence.

The Coca-Cola cans are tall and thin.

There are multiply tour companies now.  They don’t go into the center of the city but they hit major spots.

We walked by several sushi restaurants which were non existent 6 years ago.

The one company that is still missing from this is Starbucks. They are still not in Florence or anywhere in Italy for that matter.  STAY STRONG FLORENCE!!!

 

Florence, Italy: 6 Years Later – Day 3 in Pisa

In case you missed it:

Day 1

Day 2

We flew out of Pisa airport so we hopped on a train from Santa Maria Novella to Pisa for the day so we could explore the city.

Here’s a video of the view from the train going from Florence to Pisa.

It was raining in Pisa for the first 2 hours we were there so we headed to a restaurant to eat lunch and hoped the rain would stop by the time we were finished.

It stopped raining and we made sure to see all the important sights.

The Cathedral.

The Baptistry

We walked through a flea market as we were on our way back to the airport.

Then it was off to the airport to head back to London.

Florence, Italy: 6 Years Later – Day 2

If you missed my day 1 post you can read it here.

On Saturday we woke up and had a plan for the day so we wouldn’t miss any of the important stops (did you think I didn’t have a plan…c’mon you know me by now).

The Plan.

1. San Lorenzo Market

Inside the market there are fresh fruit/veggie stands, butchers, fish shops, and that sort of thing.  Outside the market are leather stands and little souvenirs.

2. Accademia Gallery to see The David

We snuck a video of the statue but obviously I’m not putting it up here.  The David was so beautiful and very cool to see in person.

3. Lunch for Jon

Pizza of course.  Fun/sickening Fact: We had pizza with every meal over the weekend.

4. Santa Croce

There was a chocolate market in front of the church so we walked around and tasted everything.

5. Lunch for Ashley

Vegetarian sandwich which was heaven.  Funny story: I was waiting for my sandwich to be made and 5 American girls walk in and start chatting it up with the guy behind the counter.  I was intrigued so I had to talk to the girls.  Turns out they were studying abroad in Florence and eat lunch there everyday.  I was so jealous that they were studying abroad and still in college but it was good to see that Americans still take over Florence every spring and go to the same places.

6. Pitti Palace

7. Piazzale Michelangelo

The most gorgeous view of Florence.

8. Glass of wine outside

9. Nap time

10. Dinner at Il Ghibellini

 

We licked our plates clean!

Our last day in Italy was spent in Pisa so you’ll hear about that next.

 

Naked Tube

London tubes are filled with advertising.  All of the walkways to the actual train tracks and even on the trains are flooded with any type of ad you could think of.  I walked into my tube station and had to do a double take because it was bare!  It just looks a little odd to me compared to the rest of the tube stations.

Florence, Italy: 6 Years Later

I have been putting off this post because there is so much to say I’m not sure how to say it all and not bore my readers. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that this weekend will have to be broken up into several posts.  Hope you enjoy them!

I studied abroad in Florence in 2005 (wow 6 years ago!) so I was very excited to go back to Florence since living there.  I wondered if I would remember the streets, if restaurants would still be there and how much the city had changed over the years.  The minute I stepped off our Ryanair flight (side note: baggage was a perfect carry-on size) it all came back to me (except the Italian unfortunately).

We started our weekend by getting lunch at Osteria dell’Agnolo which was a spot you could find us at all the time 6 years ago. I even ordered the same dish I always did, Ribolitta.

After lunch we wandered around the city. First we walked to the Duomo.

The Uffizi.

The Ponte Vecchio which was full of jewelry shops.

Along the Ponte Vecchio there are padlocks that symbolize the unbreakable bonds of true love. This tradition started many years ago and it actually didn’t have anything to do with love at first.  Men leaving for the service would put the lock there with a promise of coming home. There are so many and each have initials and dates on them.  To be honest, I wanted to put a lock on there but we didn’t know where to find one.  Cheesy or not, I wanted to do it. 

Wandered around a little more.

For dinner we went to one of the best restaurants in the world, Ristorante la Giostra. I didn’t take any photos of the meal but I’m still thinking about the delicious ravioli stuffed with pear and pecorino.  You can tell the pasta was fresh and it melted in your mouth.  For the second dish we shared sea bass cooked in tomatos.  I don’t think this is on the menu but the owner offered it to us after we couldn’t decide (or read b/c the menu is in complete Italian) what to get.  The tomatoes were roasted to perfection and blended with the sea bass perfectly.  Now I want to go back…  If you go to Florence and do not eat at La Giostra then you wasted a trip because you missed out on the best part….for real.

 

That was day 1.  On to day 2…

100

Let’s celebrate 100 posts!  Wooo Hooo

 

And Happy Valentine’s Day!

55cm x 40cm x 20cm (22in x 16in x 8in)

Those dimensions represent the strict carryon baggage allowance rules for Ryanair. I don’t remember these rules 5 years ago when I flew them but I know they are strict about them now so I had a little anxiety finding a bag and making sure it wasn’t bigger than the allotted size. We are only going away for 3 days so I luckily didn’t have to pack too much.

STEP 1: Find a bag.

Step 2: Layout everything that needs to be packed.

CLICK PHOTO TO READ CAPTIONS

Step 3. Pray it fits in the bag. (Sorry no photo)

Step 4: Smile because said bag is packed with room to spare!

Fingers crossed I don’t get stopped when I get to the airport!

Guess where we are going……