Living in Florence: Sweet Treats

For as long as I can remember I've never been a dessert person, but ever since I moved to Italy I just can't seem to shake the need to have something sweet after every meal. Whether it's a quick trip to Il Pane di Via Romana for a freshly baked croissant or Gelateria della Passera for pomegranate gelato, I can't get enough sweets. Has anyone else experienced this after moving to Italy?

florence, italy: the gelato festival

Yesterday we made our first trip to the Gelato Festival. It was as amazing as its sounds. It's kind of ridiculous that we can leave our apartment, be at Palazzo Pitti in 5 minutes and start tasting gelato from all around Italy. If you're in Florence between today and Sunday, you should stop by Piazza della Repubblica or Piazza Pitti to purchase a gelato card.

The gelato card entitles you to 5 samples -- the sample sizes are about the same as a small or medium at a gelato shop, so we're talking a serious amount of gelato with those five samples! Rob and I managed to eat two each yesterday, leaving us both with 3 to go. There is a special stand just for doggie gelato and I'm dying to take Winston there today or tomorrow!

The break to Gelato Festival was well-dserved. We spent six hours at the questura yesterday! Nothing bad, just waiting for our turn to get a ticket so we could wait for our turn at the window (bananas, right?!). Rob said it reminded him of a South Park episode and something about a "Line Ride." I watched the clip and it's a pretty good description of what life is like at the questura:

Cow Days
Tags: SOUTH
PARKmore...

I know the Italian dual citizenship stuff if really interesting to a bunch of our readers, so I'm going to do a separate update post on where we are in the process, how we got there and what's left.

quick, easy and delicious dessert

This weekend was fantastic. In addtion to lovely weather, we also treated ourselves to some "homemade" dessert. It's amazing what an individually-sized tort, sliced strawberries and powdered sugar can do when combined. A delicious and restaurant-worthy dessert!

heaven is a homemade oreo

You know what Charlie Sheen would call making Oreos at home? Winning.

 Last week I got inspired to bake. This is a big deal considering I hate baking. Yes, I just underlined and italicized that statement. As much as I love to cook and experiment with new recipes, something about baking makes me miserable. Maybe it's the mess? All of the measuring? Who knows.

So, imagine my surprise when I was inspired by Olivia, who made an original recipe by the ridiciously talented Deb over at Smitten Kitchen. I fought the urge to make these homemade oreos for a few days after seeing Olivia's post. But, after a while I just couldn't fight it. And, boy, am I so happy about that.

The recipe had a lot of butter (without Crisco, we just added more butter...hence why they were so delectable) and a bit of egg in it. I ate so many cookies that I broke out in hives (too much dairy) on my right hand and had to make my first visit to the farmacia for some anti-itch cream. Totally worth it.

Seriously, how did I not know about Smitten Kitchen until now? You can find the original recipe here.

winston and chocolate

Confession: We may have gone back to the chocolate festival late last week while on a walk with Winston. I spotted these delicious white chocolate with cocoa rice krispies candies our first time there and insisted that we go back to get some. It was sooo good.

Winston was in top form. He romances (as Rob and I call it) just about everyone he comes in contact with. They don't have puggles in this neck of the woods, so everyone is always asking what type of dog he is. We still haven't figured out how to say pug in Italian. Anyone know? Anyway, everyone comments on how sweet and silly looking he is.

Here's a photo completely unrelated to Italy, but that is so cute I can barely stand it. Winston is petrified of baths and simply couldn't hide his dissatisfaction with getting one this past weekend. God help you all when we have children.

P.S. As of 7pm today we finally have DSL. Feels like we're back in the 21st century!