There is a constant stream of fresh baked- or made is probably the more correct term- chocolate, in addition to the abundance of gelato stands or shops that frequent every single street corner in Florence. We walked into two different chocolate shops in particular, both of which I have pictures of, and I literally think a person could spend hours in there. It is insane just how much chocolate, and how many kinds, and different flavors and textures, and you-name-its are in there. Unreal. After much deliberation, and a failed attempt at asking the woman working the counter which truffle was the best or most popular- she replied that all are good... gee lady, thanks for giving me no direction at all- I settled with some random ones from the counter that looked pretty, and I assumed tasted good, and got some chocolate raisins and almonds which were incredible. As far as the truffle "bar" goes, I have a suggestion for all you chocolate conneisseurs out there who have dreams of traveling to the delectable land of the Swiss... take a translator, or know what different liquors and flavors are in German- it will save you a lot of trouble. Don't get me wrong, the chocolates were delicious-- and you'd be surprised how different a fresh chocolate tastes, however, I got a rude surprise when I ate one of my "pretty" truffles. It was filled with cognac, a name that I didn't recognize in German, and a flavor that I didn't expect to find in my chocolate. But, to each his own, and if you like cognac, then that is the chocolate for you- no doubt. Moral of the story- learn your German.
Canyoning was possibly one of the most incredible adventures and best investments of my life. It. Was. AWESOME. I will post pictures from the great trip at the end of this. First of all, canyoning is basically a mixture of hiking and swimming through the canyons and rivers of the Swiss Alps, with the majority of the mixture being in the water. In addition to being amidst the breath-taking beauty of the Alps and just taking in the fresh air and slightly cooler temperatures than Florence, you get to basically "tear" down- I feel "tearing down" the canyon would best describe my experience as our canyoning guides responded to my literal shot through the water when we were told to lay flat in the water and "slide" through the part of the stream we were at with, "Whooooaaa, slow down! Easy, easy..." Basically, it was the best thing I've ever done. Not to mention, the 15 degree Celsius water. 15 degrees celsius is freezing. Absolutely freezing. Water that is so cold that it takes the breath out of you. The camera man caught a couple of pictures of me coming out of the water after having jumped or going under and those faces are quite the sight, haha. Also, each of our helmets had a name on it, to which we were supposed to respond during our excursion, because our guides said it was easier to read the helmet then remember a name. Great idea, interesting names. Ashley found a helmet with "Gaga" on it, and Brittany's had "kiss". I was one of the last ones to pick helmets- which are different sizes, mind you, so you have to find your size and hope that the name on that size is somewhat appropriate. The only smalls left had names in German or a different language, which I decided weren't the best choices in case they meant something super dirty, so I settled with the only medium helmet left, and beep bopped down the canyon as "Stu Pitt." Haha, it was pretty funny. If you'd like to hear some of the other names, just take a closer look at the picture of our canyoning group at the end of this blog to get a taste. Oh man, but those wetsuits and yellow diapers we had on were just parts of the most exhilirating and greatest moments of my life. For real. Go to Switzerland, and go canyoning.
I have a midterm this afternoon in my Mafia class, which is actually a very interesting class. I thoroughly enjoy it, and my professor, Stefano, is hilarious. Yesterday, his phone rang in the middle of his lecture, and he apologized before answering- informing us that his car had stopped in the middle of the road earlier that day, and that now he had to go find it, and proceeded to walk out of the room muttering Italian into the phone. Italians are funny. And they also stare. Constantly. Blatantly. Ashley said she wants to learn how to say, "Take a picture, it will last longer," in Italian, so she can tell the creepy Italian men to quit staring. I support her endeavors. I now have to go study the Mafia and read some things for my midterm, but I will update more later.
Ciao!
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