Cialdafesta!!!

Just try to not be excited...

That's right. Wafflefest is ON! This recently surfaced from previous Wafflefest extravaganzas. The hype is building, especially as the celebrity guest lists begin to fill up. Among the noted guests of honor are Aunt Jemima, The Pilsbury Doughboy, and famed waffle regurgitator Paris Hilton. While we have yet to confirm rumors, we did find pictures that suggest we can expect an appearance from President Obama. Apparently he's a huge fan of the waffle.

We hear there might be video coverage from previous Wafflefests, and are dedicating all our current efforts into procuring it to share. We'll let you know as soon as it's posted!

Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Wafflemeister" Yazge

Le cose nuove

Milan, watch out.

So the past 24 hours have been full of new things, and by full I mean I have two new things to share. I'll number them so it's easier for you to follow:

1. I bought a new leather jacket. I feel very Top Gun in it, especially when I wear my sunglasses. I knew that I wanted to get a leather jacket while I was here, but I didn't expect to find it so early, or in a normal store (as opposed to the street market). But it's great that I did, because I can't haggle to save my life. The only bargaining skills I have are when it comes to bumming money out of my parents, and that's taken quite some time for me to refine into the art form it is today. Not to mention my fear of rejection; even if I get my parents to fork over whatever sum of money I've been preordained to have that week, I know they still love me. Street vendors? Not so much.

2. MOKA! We finally bought coffee to make back at the apartment, because this weekend we discovered that we have a Moka coffee pot. You put the water in the bottom part, then put in the metal filter with the grounds and screw on the top. You place the whole thing over the stove, and the water steams through the filter into the top piece. It's kind of like a percolator. Only better. And delicious. My memories of percolators involve lots of old people and really crappy coffee that tastes like someone tried to brew charred dirt. Non bene. My Moka coffee came out pretty well this morning, and now I just have to get down how to make the sugar/froth that goes on top. It involves taking the first shot of espresso that brews and mixing it with sugar. You can learn how to do it here.

Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Maverick" Yazge

P.S. - Further reporting on Wafflefest '09 to come soon!

Caccia di foto

This photo, for instance, would net gain you roughly 6 points, 8 if you were in a different country. 16 if it happened in a museum where pictures are not allowed.

After a rather hectic night out, we decided to go to brunch. Church wasn't in the picture this morning. I think I'm going to go to Catholic mass at the Duomo tonight. 6pm in a language I partially understand is much more appealing than 9am in tongues. But back to our brunch. I wasn't horribly hungry, and decided to get coffee with a fruit salad (a small fruit salad, mind you) which ended up costing me 10 Euro total. I paid $14 for a coffee and fruit cup. Lame. This is why we decided that from now on, Sunday brunch will be held in our apartment, alla Chef Matteo. I can whip together something far more appetizing for 6 people using less than $14. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, gouging Italian bastards.

But something wonderful did come out of our brunch time: the photo scavanger hunt list! We've decided that over the course of the semester, we'll be having a scavenger hunt for random and ridiculous things all over Europe. For instance, if you can get a picture with a nun, 3 points. If you get a picture on a Vespa with the owner, 4 points. If you get a picture on a boat, 3 - wearing a sailor hat, 5 - with a sailor, 7. Of course there are some bigger ones, such as getting a picture with a member of a royal family, the pope, or in the process of crashing a wedding (all worth 10 points). But if you can get the picture in a foreign country? 2 bonus points. Double the points if you take the picture inside a museum that doesn't allow pictures. (Should participants be caught in the act, we are not responsible for any subsequent legal action taken against said guilty parties). We do encourage suggestions for other items on the list. The more outrageous, the better.


Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Photo Fantastic" Yazge

Nella cucina

We had family dinner last night, and what goes better with familydinner than family dessert? And what's a better family dessert than crepes? Nothing. That's what.

I have some wonderful pictures of our epic success at dessert (photo credit goes to Acacia, our resident photographer). We made two types of batter, plain and chocolate. We also made our own syrup using Nutella as a base, and adding - among other things - butter and Amaretto. I find dessert is best when it has lots of liquor and fat in it.

And because we thoroughly enjoyed our familial bonding time, we booked our first family vacation. To where, you ask? Belgium of course! For Waffle-fest '09!!! OK, so it's not an actual thing, but we're going to make it a thing. It's going to be the biggest thing to his Brussels since the sprout. Prep yourself. We leave in 2 weeks, and it's going to be fanTASTIC. More to follow soon - as we figure out what the hell there is to do in Brussels besides eating waffles.

Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Waffle Wantin'" Yazge

Orfeo e li Medici

Marie di Medici, aka - Stone Cold Fox.

So you thought Opera was boring? WRONG! We were discussing in class today how people paid for the huge endeavor of putting on an opera, and essentially it boiled down to the Medici family. They were like the Carnegies of their day... but like, also the Kennedys, the Clintons, the Vanderbilts, and the cast of Golden Girls all rolled into one. They ruled Florence, had all the money, and were insane about funding the arts. Essentially if you had some crazy idea that you thought would make good art, they'd give you money for it. I really feel that I was born in the wrong century, because I've been looking for someone to fund my extravagant "art" for a LOOOONG time now. And by art I mean propensity for expensive food and clothing.

ANYWAY! The very very first opera ever performed was a WEDDING GIFT! Like, from one person. He paid for an entire opera to be written, performed, everything. Just for one night. The best part? The groom wasn't there. [emphasis mine] - I realize that these are my words, and so inherently it would be my emphasis, but I feel those two words give me credibility as a writer. Or something. But back to the Medici! Marie di Medici (above) was to be wed to Henry IV of France, but he didn't go to the wedding. He sent a proxy, and then had her processed (as in there was a procession, not as in he sent her to the federal pen) to France. Mainly because he was afraid if he left Paris, the people wouldn't let him back in. Must have been a great guy. Maybe he should have commissioned a few operas for someone's birthday. Just saying.


Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Opera Studying" Yazge

Gioca di birra.

Last night Jamie and I were considering going on a pub crawl that one of the local tourist agencies was leading. We thought that'd mean going to some quintessential European pubs. You know, old men telling war stories, lots of soccer fans, singing crazy drunken songs... the works. We're cheap, so we thought we'd just meet up with the pub crawl people at the last bar as opposed to paying the $15 to go to all three.

This place, Red Garter, was definitely not what we were expecting. Granted it was an ex-pat bar, but that's no excuse. There weren't so many ex-pats as there were obnoxious American students and two or three older creepy Italians lurking in the corner. There was a beer pong tournament, some crappy cover band playing in the back room, and 90's music blasting everywhere else. I don't go to these types of bars when I'm in the states, so why would I want to go to one here? (Although to be fair, they have the Sunday football games live every week at 7pm... that may need to happen.) Forget finding old men with crazy war stories, I couldn't even find anyone that looked old enough to remember what happened in the first Gulf War, let alone talk about Nam or the damn Nazis. Oh, and the soccer game that was on the one TV they had turned on? It was the European version of ESPN Classic. Fail.

On the bright side, there was plenty for Jamie and I to make fun of while we drank our beer. Heineken goes down so much better with laughter at someone else's expense.

Ciao Bella

Matteo "Pub Problems" Yazge

I polpi: un'opera BUFFA!

It didn't look like this, per se, but it most certainly felt like it.

So I bought an octopus the other day at the market. Fresh. Cleaned. Thank GOD! I tried cleaning 2 pounds of calamari on my own once, and that was quite enough of an experience. But I was definitely feeling my Mediterranean roots calling to me yesterday. I marinaded my little octopus friend and went running again along the Arno. I almost lost several fingers in the process of mincing garlic though.... the damned knife blade kept slipping out of the handle. A trip to the kitchenware store is in order on the way home tonight. As much as I love my blood, I don't think it'll make a particularly favorable seasoning. The kitchen smells much better when I use garlic, balsamic, rosemary, and honey (as opposed to various bodily fluids - ink sack included). Also, no fish stink, which means that the octopus was plenty fresh. I think I may have overcooked it a bit though. It was a bit gamey. As I was searing it, I kept thinking "what would Julia have to say about this???" Mom, you've got the book; anything in there?

Sticking with the Mediterranean theme, I checked the box for my new sandalias, and they are the "Riyadh Style" - which granted is in Saudi Arabia, but we're going to go with it. So today I decided to wear my kafiyeh with them. I look more like I'm ready to hit the casbah, but again, we're just going to go with it...


Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Octopus Destroyer" Yazge