This week I made a trip to Mercato Centrale to see all of the food stands that are there. The food stands that are in Mercato Centrale are different from the vendor stands that are right outside. The vendors outside often yell out to you or shove something in your face to see their products, but none of the food stands in Mercato Centrale did this. The food stands were waiting for people to come up to them instead of approaching people. They still have similar ways of presenting their products because they both presented them so you can see all of the products they sell. The most unique thing I saw was the butcher stands because they were all over Mercato Centrale. The butcher stands were cutting up meats and whole chickens while we were walking around, which was surprising to see. I enjoyed visiting Mercato Centrale because I could see how Italian food stands work and what food I can buy to make my own meals. I think this visit was important to Italian Gastronomy because I got to see what foods Italians typically use when cooking.

Our Journey to Naples this week took me out of my comfort zone with the food and the city. The city is like New York City because there was always something happening in the streets. When I first got to Naples, we went out for lunch and had a typical street food of Naples, which is fried vegetables and pizza dough. Of course anything fried is good so this street food was Caroline approved. At the restaurant in Pompeii, We had eggplant parmesan with a side of pumpkin plant friend with ricotta cheese. This was definitely a food that took me out of my comfort zone because I have never had pumpkin plant, let alone fried. I did like the fried pumpkin plant, but it was not my favorite food from the trip. One of my favorite things about Florence are the various pastries that you can have for breakfast. I normally don't eat croissants, but I had to try a chocolate croissant before our train to Naples. This chocolate croissant was the best croissant I have ever had in my life. It was so fresh and the chocolate was so good. A restaurant from Florence that has been a good source of American style food has been Rooster cafe. I have been craving a good American breakfast since coming to Florence and this French toast was the perfect choice. In class we have been making typical Italian cuisines and last class we made several foods like, eggplant parmesan and chicken parmesan. The chicken parmesan was one of my favorite foods we have made in class and the gelato (not pictured) was so good!

While exploring Florence for the past 2 weeks I have definitely had some different experiences. The most surprising experience was how different the food service is in Florence compared to back home. You rarely see your waiter while you are in the restaurant and you have to pay for water which is so strange. Pizza has been one of my favorite things to experience here in Florence! Gustapizza is the best pizza I have ever had in my life. The ingredients are so fresh and all of the pizzas that they offer are so good. I have tried two other pizza places and although they did have the similar qualities like fresh ingredients, but gustapizza was the best out of all of them because they make it so good and so fresh.