Sunday was pretty laidback. I went to the grocery to buy non-market items. I spent the afternoon finishing the novel Atonement since I loved the movie. The book is just as good although the film is far more straightforward. Anna and I spent aperitivo at a bar near Piazza Signoria. A bit pricey but I’m willing to dish out an extra euro or two for premium liquor, strong well-garnished well-mixed drinks, nice environment, and bartenders who actually have flair. After that, we went to Loch Ness to meet up with the others and to play foosball. A relaxing and entertaining night indeed.
a sweet and small world after all
Monday was a non-molecular food styling class but still pretty intricate. We did sugarwork. Melting, coloring, pulling, and blowing sugar for garnishes. Apparently it’s somewhere between sculpting and glass-blowing. You know how hard it looks on The Food Network? It’s even harder. Jack and I made a pretty awesome, surprisingly large red… thing. And we adorned it with contributions from our classmates and a large organ-shaped bubble that our teacher had drawn.
I stuck around the kitchens because my friend Southern Anna – another food photography student – and I had agreed to help our professor do a photo shoot. (From now on, I suppose I'll use "Southern Anna" and "Soviet Anna" to distinguish between the two.) He’d arranged for Desi, one of the chefs, to prepare the dishes. Anna and I also got a chance to prep a few dishes for him and learn from another chef, which to me is always fun especially if it’s outside of an academic setting. He also let us have all the leftover zuccotto ingredients (ricotta and chocolate shaving whipped cream, cocoa ricotta, pan de spagna, sweet liquor, etc). I had to leave for graphic design before the actual photography, but it was still a sweet afternoon.
My graphic design class had its session at a trattoria, Borracio. The owner/chef/one-man-show gave us a good group rate. An antipasto plate, vegetable soup for those who wanted it, a trio of pastas, panna cotta, tiramisu, bread, water, and, of course, wine.
When I got back to my apartment, Cassie and Liane were borrowing clothes for a “gentleman’s party.” When Cas told me the name of the girl throwing it, I almost lost it. I asked where she was from and if she had an older brother named Taylor. Aforementioned girl is Hilary, one of Adrian’s old grade school classmates. Her brother Taylor was one of my friends in junior high and in high school before their family moved to California the summer after freshman year. Small world. Of course Hilary and I didn’t recognize each other but for names. Besides age, she’s taller and I’m thinner. But we had a grand time. Kind of like Paul and I did in London, we just ignored everyone else for about an hour reminiscing on the old days and catching up on our lives, families, and mutual friends. Eventually the party moved out to a nearby bar we all loved and closed out there.
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