So a shark walks into a park...

Don't be confused. This picture does includes neither a shark nor a park.

Lauren and I made crepes tonight. Why? Because we're going to celebrate Shark Week in the park tomorrow night. Well, it's really more that we're meeting Jamie for the movie their showing at Pier 54. It's Julie & Julia, so we thought it would be appropriate to bring a good supply of food with us. And maybe wine. We're not committing to a position right now. The confirmed menu includes an arugula/watermelon/feta salad, potato salad, quinoa, and crepes with a Nutella-like spread for dessert. I say "Nutella-like" because we went to Whole Foods today and they didn't have Nutella. The salesman said it was because there's some hydrogenated oil or something in it... we looked confused and disheartened, so he grabbed Lauren's hand, comforted her and said "But we do have several other hazelnut/chocolate spreads that - unlike Nutella - won't kill you." Who needs a doctor or therapist? Those Whole Foods employees are great!

Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Not going to die thanks to Whole Foods" Yazge

Zucchero e Cognac

Is she:

A) Filled with the Joy of cooking?

B) On a sugar high?

C) Hopped up on cognac?

D) All of the above

So I was bored this afternoon and started thumbing through my mom's copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking (MtAoFC) hoping to find something to make for Christmas morning. My immediate thought was fish, but right before the section labelled "poisson" is a passage on crêpes. Apparently, according to Julia, you can make this monstrosity of a crêpe tower by layering them with different fillings. One of them involves lots of sugar, creme, and cognac. Very exciting. I always knew I loved Julia, but now that I know she's a fan of the booze, she's just move ahead of Lady Fonda on my list of favorite oldies but goodies.

But as far as Christmas morning, I've settled on Gâteau de Crêpes à la Florentine. Fitting, no? What with all the living in Florence for three and half months this year... It involves layering crêpes with cream cheese, spinach, and mushroom filling. If it sounds gross at first, just think of it as a huge French lasagna. Bon Appetit!

Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Full o' Crêpe" Yazge

Paris, je t'aime

Look how photogenic we are! Oh, and the Tower doesn't look that bad either...

OK. So it's late, I realize, but I needed to start blogging. Otherwise it might not ever happen. My sinuses have been acting up ever since we first left Florence, coughing, sneezing, drippy, phlegm phlegm phlegm... Attractive, no? So I just took some cough syrup and a Zyrtec, and should be passed out in roughly 10 minutes. So let's do this fast!

I figured I'd start with the most easily recognizable part of our trip: La Tour Eiffel! It was the first part of Paris I saw as our bus from the airport rounded the corner at night. It was all lit up and just as romantic as everyone has ever described it. It was ironic, because I was reading My Life in France, the Julia Child memoir, and she was describing her first view of Paris. We share that. I also like to think we also share a God-given talent for cooking and a charisma that wins over the masses...

While we were taking pictures with the tower, we spotted these two wedding couples taking pictures in front of the tower. You know how I mentioned a while back that we were doing a photo scavenger hunt? Well one of the tasks was to get a picture with a bride and groom. One was to get a picture with Asian tourists (with points proportional to the number of Asians). Another extra 3 points for a picture in a foreign country. 2 bonus points if the picture is taken outside Italy. Because the two bridal parties were entirely Asian, and standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, Jamie and I scored SERIOUS points.

Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Tower Touring and Point Scoring" Yazge

P.S. - I regret to announce that the trip to Barcelona has been cancelled. Meridiana cancelled our flight, and there was no way to reschedule in a cost- or time-efficient manner. So we are taking suggestions for what I should do that weekend. Current options include Torino, Geneva, stay in Florence and recreate our own Barcelona complete with tapas and lisps. Whoever comes up with the best plan of action (including an itinerary of exciting activities) gets an all-expense paid trip to join me!

Just kidding! But I'll bake you some cookies? That sound good enough? Awesome.

Il mio Spagnolo

Our hotel, setting for Matty Koo-stina Barcelona

Don't worry. I haven't forgotten the most important post from Belgium: Waffles. That will be covered later today. But right now I need to share a bit about my interactions with the Spanish language today.

I went to the store to get the last few ingredients I needed for my pumpkin soup (recipe here). It turned out amazing in case anyone was wondering. But on my way back I stopped by the Paperback Exchange, a bookstore run by a couple English women here in Florence. I really wanted to get a copy of My Life in France by Julia Childs before I end up in Paris. Liz read it, and I feel that before we embark on our Parisian culinary adventures, we should be on the same page, both literally and figuratively. Anyway, I was waiting to pay when this adorable little Spanish couple walked in. They were asking the girl at the register something, but in Spanish. She had no idea what they were saying, so I mustered some chutzpah and started speaking to the abuelitos in Spanish. Well, what I hoped was Spanish. I've been in Italian for so long, I was blending everything. The good news is, I could understand them (even through their Barcelona accents). They wanted to go to Il Papiro, a local hand-made paper store, but it was closed. You'd think of all people the Spanish would understand the store was on siesta. But I gave them directions to my favorite little paper store (which is way cheaper), and they went on their merry little way.

While I thought I'd be done using my rusty Spanish for the day, we finally found a hotel for our weekend trip to Barcelona. Trieste and I decided it would be best to call them first before we booked online. So I used my Skype account and ended up speaking to a guy who kept using the word "habitaciones". In my head I was like, "why the devil does he want to know where we live?" Later I looked up the word and realized it meant "hotel rooms." I thanked him for his help and went online to book instead. I really need to brush up before we go. Maybe I'll just listen to some Ricky Martin?

Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Quijote" Yazge

Fare o non fare?

This could be Liz and I on Thanksgiving

OK Team, I need your input. I have a very critical decision to make, and I want everyone's opinion. No exceptions. Are you ready for it? Are you ready? Here it goes:

Liz and I really wanted to see Paris together, but I'm already going for the first half of Fall Break. As Liz and I spoke further about the matter, she told me that the only time she could go is the weekend of November 27th - Thanksgiving weekend. The reason why that's the only weekend that works is because she wants to take a 3 hour cooking lesson at Le Cordon Bleu. That would be where Julia Child got her start. Fantastic. So I think that I'd really love to do this, but should I go back to Paris that weekend instead of doing something else? Plus the class costs something like $75 US. But how many chances do you get to take a cooking class at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris?! I'm conflicted, but not really. I just need everyone to tell me that I should go do it. Can you do that for me? I just need lots of positive affirmation right now. Oh! Oh! And don't forget how amazing Thanksgiving in Paris could be. Especially after I've learned 3 hours worth of Culinary skills! And the wine. Don't forget the wine.

Thoughts?

Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Bleu" Yazge

Padroneggiare l'arte della cucina francese

Taylor had this fantastic idea today... but let me start from the very beginning. It's a very good place to start.

(Please tell me that reference wasn't lost on everyone... here's a picture to help)

So I've been on this Julia Childs kick. The movie's coming out, and I've been cooking a lot. I'm going to Italy and really want to do the whole Tuscan chef thing... Anyway, I've been making reference to "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" (MtAoFC) a lot in the past few days, and also talking about all the food I've made in the past few days: Mint Chocolate Crêpes, Whole Wheat French Toast, etc. (Both of which were delicious... not that I had to tell you, of course. Everything I make is delicious.) I then made a post on Facebook about these exotic chocolate bars that my mom wanted me to check out. Which by the way, their website makes them look deceptively large. They're not. They're petite, which is a nice way of saying unreasonably small and over-priced. But since when has that ever stopped me?

At this point, Taylor gets the brilliant idea that I should start doing that for my blog. Not buy expensive things, but write about them... and other things that I really enjoy/get interested in. "Matt's Favorite Thing of the Day" or something, in blog format. Or a website. Or an e-mail service. And then Taylor decided it should be all three. Kat liked the idea of a text service. But the whole over-arching idea is that I would write about my favorite things... (Girls in white dresses and blue satin sashes, snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes. Are you getting the reference now?)

So today I tribute to The Sound of Music - in case you failed to notice the lyrics that have peppered this post. I know, I know. SoM is a little lame to be one of my favorite things, even if it has a song all about favorite things. But it does have a solid nun theme working in its favor, and as I've previously established, nuns kick ass. Deal with it.

Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Nun-lovin'" Yazge