[A] is for [apples]

I was having a really hard time deciding how to tell all my stories from Europe.  I don't want it to drag on forever but there are just so many things I want to share!  I decided to start Italy & Greece from A to Z.  I'll go in alphabetical order and pick a picture with something that starts with the letter that we're on and I'll tell the story behind it. But don't worry, it won't be 26 days straight of  Europe stories. Promise. 

location // Ferrara, Italy

So, for my very first installment of Italy & Greece from A to Z, out of all the pictures that I could have chosen of notable European landmarks, I picked the one that could have been taken at the grocery store five minutes from my house.  Heck, it could have been taken at my house based on the number of apples that we buy.  

But it is the A to Z challenge, isn't it? And apples start with A, so this is what we're talking about (never mind Athens and Assisi and the Acropolis and art . . . nope, it's apples). 

This picture comes with some emotional baggage for me.  Every time I see it, I crack a smile because of the ridiculous amount of work they ended up being.  So, gather 'round the campfire because it's story time!

Once upon a time when I was packing for my European adventure, I made sure to throw some Jif-To-Go peanut butter in my bag because 18 days is way too long for a girl and her PB to be separated.  Fast forward about four days and I was already needing a creamy fix. We made a short stop in Ferrara and my eyes quickly found a small supermarket.

Supermarket meant that there was a large chance of apples, which as everybody knows, is peanut butter's best friend.  Luckily for me, they didn't just have apples, they had my favorite type of apples! I know, it was like I was floating on a cloud.

I picked out four good looking ones to share with some friends later at our apples&peanut butter party that I was planning on hosting and stuck them in my backpack for later.

I kind of wanted to dig into one them right then and there, but I have this thing with unwashed fruit where I either wash it or don't eat it. So, we stopped at a little bakery and while everyone was enjoying their Italian pastries, I snuck into the bathroom to do some fruit washing.

As it turned out that there was one sink that was shared by both the men's and the women's bathrooms. And also conveniently didn't have a counter attached.  And to top it all off, the sink was really gross so if an apple fell, it was never coming back.  No pressure, right?

After trying to hold all four apples, turning the faucet on with my elbows, and thoroughly soaking my sleeves,  I let myself think that the apples were more clean than they were before and that I better get out of there before someone came out of the bathroom/I dropped one.  So I turned around to grab some paper towel and lo and behold, there was a hand dryer smirking at me. (It was totally smirking, I swear.)

Usually I'm pretty eco-friendly friendly but I was not appreciating the hand dryer at this moment.  So I compromised and dug my rain jacket out of the bottom of my bag and wrapped the apples up all while giving the evil eye to the dryer.  With those kind of survival skills, I'm pretty sure I could be a boy scout.

Many hours and a walking tour of Florence later (those suckers added some serious weight to my backpack!) there was finally an opportune time for some apples&PB. This time occurred in our hotel room which conveniently featured a clean sink complete with a full counter.  I wish I was kidding.

But it's a good ending because I ate my peanut butter and lived happily ever after.

The end.

Just kidding, that's not the end.

But, wait! There's more! 

Only three apples were consumed at my apples&PB party, so using math skills, that means that one was left. I stuck it in the mini-fridge for the next day and accidentally left it there forever and ever.  After all that, I just forgot about it.

*slow clap*

Okay, now it's the end for real.  I feel like this post should start a What I'd #DoForPeanutButter hashtag.  What would you #DoForPeanutButter?

Five Florence Favorites on Friday!

I wasn't expecting to love Florence, Italy.  Smushed in between killers like Venice & Rome, I thought that Florence would just be a stop on the way.

Wrong.

So, so, very wrong.

I am absolutely crazy about Florence! The art! The history! The architecture! *swoon*  Okay, so maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but Florence is definitely a dramatic place.  Home to so many amazing things, the day and a half that I spent there was no where close to enough time.  I barely scratched the surface of the Florence Cathedral and didn't have time to venture to Piazzale Michelangelo and the Boboli Gardens, which is a crime in my opinion.

I'm linking up again today with Juliette, Faith, & Allie to blog everyday in July (which despite my recent track record, I won't keep up. Promise.) and today's prompt is to talk about five favorites.  So to keep the alliteration going, we're talking about five of my favorite Florentine things!

|| 1. The street art.

Umm, how is this happening? Stuff like this goes in museums and she's just painting it on the street like it's no big deal. If you didn't know that Florence is an art city, you do now.  

|| 2. This awesome statue of Machiavelli. 

First things first, check out that leg! Watch out Angelina Jolie, you've got competition! Second, if you thought that maybe he was a pretty nice guy underneath his whole "ends justify the means" thing, you may want to think again.  Check out that expression! Or, if you get nightmares easily, don't. 

|| 3. The street cleaner // the fact that Florence in Italian is Firenze. 

If you were about to litter and then saw this cute little street cleaner begging you to please place your trash in a trashcan instead of on the ground, you would, wouldn't you? (Unless you're heartless/don't think that the baby street cleaner is cute like I do.) Also, I was loving the Italian versions of city's names.  Florence was by far my favorite though for unknown reasons. To me, Firenze just sounds tall, dark & handsome. Anyone with me? 

|| 4. David

This is me maturely reacting to a 14 foot tall naked man.  

Once the initial shock of "oh, hey, naked man! *avert eyes*" was over, I was super glad that I coughed up a few extra euros to see David in person.  The detail was incredible! I kept staring at the back of his hands and imagining how much work it must have taken to carve out the veins so perfectly.  (I just typed veins and for all of you who don't know me, that's a big deal.  #Gross) If you're ever in Florence, see David.  For real.  10 points to Michelangelo.

|| 5. THE DUOMO! 

I am obsessed with the Duomo.  Oh my gosh.  Seeing it in person was one of the things that blew me away on this trip.  Prior to leaving, I had read a book entirely devoted to how the dome was built and to see the finished product right in front of my eyes was unbelievable.  I wish I could go back and look at it all day. (Glad we're talking about a building here because if we were talking about pretty much anything else, I would be labeled Creep of the Year.) 

|| Extra, extra!

I got to climb the Duomo! Best. Experience. Ever. No joke.  But that's another story for a different day.  Here's some pictures to tide you over since I know you're all on the edges of your seats now.

Ever been to Florence? What did you like/dislike about it? What are your five favorites this Friday? Link-up and comment with your link so I can check them out! 

Happy weekend everyone! 

This is Home

I was planning on telling all of you more about my European adventures, but then I saw the prompt for Juliette, Faith, & Allie's link-up.  Today for the Blog Everyday in July challenge, you're supposed to talk about your city.  And that made me think just how much I missed my hometown! After eighteen days of travel, I was definitely ready to get back to the familiar (but oh, so sad to leave the views and the food and the history and the . . . oh. Sorry.).  So, let's talk about the familiar!

I've lived in this small city an hour outside of Detroit for my entire life! (Well, minus 1.5 years of my life, but I don't remember them, so let's not consider that.)

Sometimes we get these really incredible sunrises that make me want to sing.  Except that would ruin the moment.  So I don't.  

Being located in Michigan means that my hometown sees all two seasons: winter and construction season.  Kidding, kidding.  We get a gorgeous range of new buds in the spring, green, green in the summer, crunchy leaves in the fall and an eternal winter that lasts twice as long as all the other seasons combined.  You do the math on that one.  

We have a cute little downtown with cute little shops and cute little parades that big city people think are lame, but I deem "cute."

Proof: My friend, who is from a much larger city, and I biked down to watch the Memorial Day parade that lasted pretty much all of seven minutes.  I loved it.  She didn't.  Oh, well. Can't please everybody.

We were a little late to the fro-yo game, but I am now proud to say that my hometown has not one, but TWO fro-yo shops.  You're pretty much ready to make my town your next vacation spot, aren't you?

If not, maybe this will convince you: we have a food truck! An actual, real life food truck with actual food that actually is pretty good.  I was really hesitant to go at first, but I'm really glad that I did.  It's so unique and becoming a definite feature of my town.  I hope it sticks around as long as I do!

More cool things about my town! In addition to our cute little downtown area that gets all dressy for Christmas and summer, we have a super classy strip mall.  No creepy abandoned buildings here! Everything is new and exciting and busy nearly all the time.  

Annnnd, for all you outdoorsy people, we have a metropark with lots of hiking trails, fishing spots and beaches to get your tan on.  Golf courses and ski hills? Yep, got those too.

If you aren't as in love with my city as I am, that's okay.  You have to live it to love it in my opinion.  However, I will offer one more point that may sway you: 

we have pie. 

An Open Letter to Gelato

Dear Gelato,

It was love at first sight.  Then, at first taste, I was ready to spend the rest of my life with you.  After indulging in your creamy deliciousness two times within six hours of being on Italian soil, I didn't know how our relationship could get any closer.

Hazelnut Chocolate - Verona, Italy // 4/5 stars

Amarena (cherry) - Venice, Italy // 2/5 stars

Sure, your tiny little scoops were wimpy by my American standards, but all that meant was that I had room for more! I paid the price for you and I didn't even flinch.  While I haggled to lower the price of €3.50 keychains, I put down the same amount of money to get two flavors of you in my belly with no problem.

Stracciatella - Venice, Italy // 4/5 stars

You offered me so much variety and choice.  I was never bored when I was in your presence.  Although, I do admit that occasionally you did cause a panic attack because I was next in line and still couldn't decide.  (Especially at that place in Rome that had 150 flavors . . . that was rough.)

Coconut & Nutella - Florence, Italy // 5/5 stars

Every relationship has their problems though.  That's just a rule of life.  Ours is no exception.  While you usually were the perfect escape from the scorching Italian sun, there was that one time where I took a chance and ordered a random flavor that left me trying to get the taste out of my mouth a few hours later.  I've learned to forgive that offense though because nobody is perfect.  Rule of life #2.  

After Eight - Florence, Italy  // 3/5 stars

To wrap this up, gelato, I just wanted to tell you that I miss you terribly.  Although my wallet may disapprove of our relationship, there will always be someone who doesn't understand.  It's hard on me because I can no longer look around and see at least five gelato shops within ten steps that allow me to indulge in you.  Instead, I can only look at the pictures and remember all the great times that we once had.  

Pistachio - Florence, Italy // 4/5 stars

Arrivederci, gelato.  Until we meet again! 

I'm linking up a day late with Juliette, Faith, and Allie to blog every day in July! (Disclaimer: I'm not going to blog every day in July.  That just won't happen. I'm too busy mourning the absence of gelato.)

Are you a gelato fan? What flavor is your favorite? Mine is definitely a tie between Twix, Nutella, and coconut!