Week 3 update

Hellloooooo beautiful people, 

Another great week in the books, I'm convinced that there's no such thing as a bad day here :)  

On Monday morning, I had my yoga class and we practiced for the first hour (as we always do), and afterward had a circle discussion about our 'headmate,' which is essentially the voice in your head and the way you talk to yourself. I have always set incredibly high standards for myself and often times beat myself over stupid things when I feel like I don't do a good enough job at something. Since starting yoga, it's something that I've been working on being better about. As we went around the room and shared our own feelings about ourselves, I was able to sit and reflect on the last year and how much nicer I am to myself. As my yoga teacher says here, "different days, different journeys" -- not everyday is going to be good, some days our energy is off, things fall apart, and thats all ok!!! 

On Tuesday, I had my Mediterranean Diet class. The first hour and a half we learned about typical Mediterranean appetizers and the ingredients used in each. The Mediterranean diet consists of a high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruit, nuts, and grains. Olive oil is very prevalent, while there is a low intake of saturated lipids. Depending on the proximity to the sea, there is a moderately high intake of fish. There is a low intake of dairy (mostly in the form of cheese), and a very low intake of meat and poultry (once a week max). The appetizers we learned about included Meze, Tapas, and Antipasta dishes. 

The second half of class was spent tasting. My professor is a culinary arts teacher as well, so she prepared Friselle with tomatoes (Bruschetta, Friselle is the kind of Italian bread), Cecina Toscana (Italian chickpea flour flat bread), and Primo sale cheese for us to try. We discussed the ingredients used in each, and the flavors associated with each appetizer. 

Continuing on with the food trend, I made my way to the local Florentine Chocolate Festival after class. Every year, theres's a week-long chocolate festival in one of the squares in Florence. I purchased a pomegranate chocolate bar made solely of chocolate and pomegranates - no eggs, no milk, simply chocolate and fruit. I am constantly reminded of how fresh and unprocessed the food is here. 

Today I woke up and went back to the chocolate festival (can't keep me away!) and purchased 3 more bars, 1 for me and 2 to bring home with me. Don't worry mom, dad, Mormor&Popie, you've got Swiss and Italian chocolate in your future ;) I also took myself shopping and purchased a beautiful camel-colored wool coat from Italy. Need to add to that 'adult wardrobe' of mine, and also purchase the good quality items while I'm here. Jamie had another photography assignment which was to capture 20 pictures of different accessories, so all of us modeled different things for her. Here are two pictures, one of my snakeprint booties & fringe purse, and the other of all my earrings (No, Mormor, I haven't gotten any new piercings since I've been here, and I don't plan on it either ;)  ) 

Ciao for now, I'm off to Paris this weekend with Jamie :) 

Happy *early* Valentine's Day!! 

xoxo,

Katie Girl