She's Aliiiiiiiiive!

Hello to my beautiful beautiful blogosphere! Contrary to popular belief, I'm still kickin' over here in Florence. I was stampeded with midterms, then it was off to spring break for me! I've been having so much fun and I can't wait to share. So let me try to give you my Pre- Spring break madness in a nutshell :)

This weekend it was St. Patrick's day, which is one of my favorite holidays!  Many of my friends were actually headed to Ireland to celebrate, but unfortunately they don't do all that much here in Florence. Colleen was out to the Amalfi Coast (lucky duck), so Kelli and I decided to bring a little south boston St. Patty's flair to Florence! Dennis's sister Patrice had us over last year for a beautiful brunch and it was such a wonderful memory for me...so we did a little copycatting!

This is one of those times that I would give nearly anything for a Roche Brothers and a Michael's....but we made due! This was the inspiration:

Cheers!!

Moustaches for moustache straws....of course :) 

Then we made a cheesy potato bake that we found here...It came out pretty good....and I successfully busted out a "rue" but the potatoes were a little undercooked. Overall, It was okay...and even if not...my friends made me feel like it was! 

I also made  this baked french toast which I know was good!!

We also threw together a trifle using prebaked cakes, and italian style pudding. Add some croissants, strawberries, bananas, some champagne and amazing chicken sausage,  Our tablescape stole the show though! 

This crew.

got some "Ciao Bella" shirts!

After brunch, we headed to an Irish pub called "The Lion's Den", and had so much fun! Probably too much, but definitely a successful St. Patty's!

Met "Dennis" and "Colleen"

Another major event: Our first trip to Trattoria Mario...

Kelli and I had a hilariously fun day exploring Florence together. We worked out at Piazzale Michaelangelo, but most importantly we found THE trattoria Mario. We waited outside in the sun for about 20 minutes, and then finally were able to sit. We were placed elbow to elbow at a long table with all....I repeat ALL italians. When I said a cheerful "hello!" to the table, I was greeted with a mix of confused stares and courtesy nods...whoops. Though I was slightly embarrassed the food made up for it. I got a delicious roasted chicken, and Kelli had this amazing beef stew/ redsauce type dish. Literally to die for. 

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Naturally we were served complimentary bottles of prosecco and champagne with the locals and owners when we were done eating....I guess my friendliness did pay off! 

Later we went to the "fish pub", and hung out there for a while. Though nothing really major happened, we ended up having such a good time. Traveling is amazing, but getting to know the city I'm in was incredibly fulfilling.