ITALY - Gelato Month

So I quickly deemed my month in Genova, Gelato Month. Might as well take advantage of it! I made it my mission to get gelato every day, for that month. And not just the same flavor, I tried just about all the new flavors I could find. Rose flavored gelato from the place next to work. Lemon cream gelato from my boss's favorite Gelateria. And of course bubblegum and puffo from the first restaurant we went to in Italy. Let me explain that last one. I was eyeing this mysterious 'puffo' flavored gelato almost from the beginning. Of course there's no logical translation and by each flavor if gelato the Gelateria's usually have pictures of the fruit and flavors in the case. This flavor had a smurf. It was also bright blue. I had no idea what it was. And when I went to the counter and ordered this puffo flavor and the bright pink bubblegum flavor the waiter laughed. Hard. I'm pretty sure my excitement and the fact that I'm a small girl that could pass for a pre-teen american didn't help that fact that I'm ordering brightly colored gelato. YOGO! You only Genova once. It was a great day. (Turns out the puffo was like a cotton candy/birthday cake kinda deal).

So I made sure I got gelato every day. It was pretty much a success. I might have missed a day or two but I always made up for it the next day getting gelato twice. Believe me, I was dedicated. It was fantastic. I even have a list of one or two more Gelateria's that I need to go back. Darn. Sounds like another trip to Genova! 

Pesto Trofie

One of the dishes that I had to get when I was in Genova, was the pesto trofie pasta. For that region, this dish is key. I honestly went most of the trip without trying it, then one day for lunch my boss decided we should sit down with another photographer and my friend who was working for her. Turns out both of our bosses were friends, because Genova is a little town and everyone knows everyone else apparently. So, the four of us went on a little adventure through Genova to this tiny restaurant on the middle of the sketchiest ally lined with the nicest transvestite prostitutes we've ever met (not that I've actually met any before this but that's besides the point). This place had the best food I've had in Genova and this lunch was so fun. It was interesting to try to follow a conversation with two tiny twenty year old american girls and two grown up Italian wedding photographers, especially since I barely spoke any Italian, and both of our bosses spoke little, to no english. It was the best meal I had in Italy and was by far one of the best experiences ever. Our bosses covered the lunch (two courses and coffee... they insisted). And I got to try trofie for the first time. It's hard to wrap your head around the texture but, once you do, its pretty awesome pasta. Lesson of the day? My boss is perfect. I totally lucked out. (Grazie Sandro!) 

I also bought some dried trofie and made it once I got back to America. I tried my own homemade pesto for the first time too and it brought me back to Genova. Not as good, but close enough for the memories!    

FRANCE - Crepes

That's right, I had Crepes in France. Because how do you go to France and not even try to have a Crepe? 

So, I know I was in Italy, but one of the last weekends we were there, our group decided we wanted to go to Nice. We spent the month in Genova which is really close to the border of France so we had to go. We originally planned to take a train to Monaco then head to Nice for the weekend but, of course, the weekend that we decided to go, the trains in France went on a strike. So our best plan was just to take a bus to Nice instead. We would have less time and while we wish our plan would've worked, this was the best we could do. Still, the weekend in Nice was the best weekend we had, easily.

The weekend we were in Nice, we happened upon a street music festival the first night there. Score. It was beyond fun and incredible to be there that weekend. And of course, being the crazy foodie that I am, I had to find a crepe place. And when I found it, it was great. This place made crepes to order and I got a lemon citrus crepe. They added a sugary lemon-y mixture that was so hot it was like molten lava. I may have burned my mouth a little bit but it was so worth it! 

ITALY - Kebabs

So before heading to Italy one of my friends mentioned that if I had the chance I HAD to get kebabs. He said that while he was in Germany he had the best kebabs of his life and I had to do the same. I swiftly mentioned I probably wasn't going to be anywhere near Germany this time around but he still told me if I found a place in Italy, I had to try it. 

And man did we find it. 

So, on the way to school each morning we would pass a little place that had kebabs. They had a cute little side window that looked like a drive thu, and of course the meat on the vertical rotisserie that smells fantastic as you walk by. My group of travelers never seriously considered stopping to try it, but one night I was with some of my friends from my italian class and one of the girls (also from America) said that we HAD to stop by! Seeing that we were all hungry, we couldn't find a reason not to, and I'm so glad we did! 

After that night, the group from RIT that I came to Italy with started frequenting this place. We were all in love with it, and it was quick, cheap, and delicious! They were open late so if we ever found ourselves hungry and walking around late at night we often stopped by. They even had french fries that they topped off with an amazing hot sauce/mayo/tzatziki that was like a dream come true for me. If I ever go back to Genova, that little kebab place is definitely on my list.   

ITALY - Seafood and Pasta!

Of course a month in Italy would not be complete without a plethora of pasta. Every shape and size, every sauce combination. The pasta was fantastic. I'm so happy I don't have celiacs and can eat gluten because pasta was a given.

We were also fortunate enough to be right on the water so seafood made the incredible pasta even better! I'm such a seafood lover, growing up my dad would always make sure to have at least fish for our weekly family dinner. Sometimes he would throw in lobster, clams, muscles, shrimps, scallops, octopus, squid or crab also. (My dad has been a chef for over 30 years at a nearby restaurant and he only gets one day off a week. So once a week we sit down as a family and he makes dinner that consists of at least 4 or 5 dishes that we eat family style. For the rest of the week we fend for ourselves. My mom isn't a great cook so we ended up with quite a few instant meals or we would microwave leftovers from Dad's dinner for as many days as we could). 

Carbs and seafood in Italy. What more could I ask for!

Seafood Seafood Seafood!