Florentine Royalty Treatment

I really can't believe it's been a week since my last post, time is absolutely flying by!

Since the beginning of this week wasn't anything out of the ordinary, I'll start with Thursday, the beginning of my best weekend yet.  Thursday started off well as always in my wine class.  I'm learning so much and tasting wines at the same time!  At the end of class, April and I stayed behind to have a chat with our professor and a student who is studying to get this wine certificate when they invited us to go wine tasting with them that evening.  They didn't give much detail about exactly what we were going to be doing or even where we were going but we were excited regardless and agreed to meet them at a restaurant at 6:30. After wine class, I did a little shopping and then went home to make myself lunch.  Then I had my first Italian quiz which I was beyond nervous for.  The nerves ended up being pointless since the quiz was like 20 questions and beyond simple, I'm almost positive I aced it.  The positive vibes we flowing as I walked home from class early and was able to enjoy an episode of this weeks Glee with Anna (I LOVED IT) before having to get ready.

April and I arrived at  Ganzo at exactly 6:30 to meet our Professor.  We began walking to what we thought would be a wine bar but ended up being his car.  I was hesitant at first but we crammed into his teeny mini cooper and were off to our unknown destination.  I was a little nervous since it was my first time in a car in Italy but it was fine, just a little bumpy thanks to all the cobblestone.  We crossed the Ponte Vecchio to the other side of Florence and ended up at a beyond beautiful hotel set on a hilltop, surrounded by spotlights, and a well-kept garden.  Our professor, Massimo, explained that the hotel, owned by famous Italian designer, Ferragamo, had just re-opened in January after being closed for the summer for renovations.  We stepped into the hotel and I had to stop myself from letting my jaw drop, it was magnificent.  The inside of the hotel was like nothing I've ever seen before, everyone was luxurious and decorated from head to toe; the floors were marble, the drapes were silk, and the ceilings covered in hand blow Murano glass chandeliers.  I couldn't help but feeling under-dressed as one of the staff asked to take my coat while we entered the lounge.  The lounge was a large rectangular table made out of glass with changing colors shinning from below and surrounded by vintage velour chairs.  April and I declined anything to drink fearing the prices of the menu but Massiso insisted on getting us an authentic Italian cocktail since I had been curious about them earlier.  He ended up agreeing to let us share a cocktail named Negroni.  Just a heads up to anyone who doesn't want a strong drink of Christmas tree, AVOID THIS DRINK!  The Negroni is made out of Gin, Campari (Orange Italian Liquor, and Sweet Vermouth) but April and I had to force ourselves to finish the terrible concoction in fear of being rude.  We were almost finished with the first round of cocktails when Chase (the wine certificate student) introduced us to his friend, the manager of food and beverage at the hotel.  He took us fora tour of the sitting area, the conference room, the card room, the ladies parlor, the restaurant, and the wine cellar.  Everything was all so beautiful, April and I had no idea where to look to soak in everything the decor of the hotel had to offer.  After the tour, we were going to taste the wine Chase had brought but unfortunately Massimo declared that it was 8:20 and his wife had been expecting him at 8:00. (Italians are literally NEVER on time)  So we gathered our things and squeezed back into Massimo's teeny car for the ride back into the center of Florence.  As April and I walked back to the apartment we were both in a daze from what we had just witnessed and felt so privileged to have been invited AND invited back for another time when we would actually get to taste the wine!

It was getting late and we were both a little hungry but not starving so we stopped down the street at OK Bar for a quick bite.  I ordered the lasagna and was not disappointed, it was huge and the epitome of what you think of when you think Italian homemade lasagna.  We went back to the apartment and got ready to go out and celebrate Shelbi's 21st birthday!  The celebration was a success and we headed back home to sleep for a few hours before we had our cooking class the next day!