some fringe, a video, and an update..

why hello there. its been awhile. i really wanted to keep this blog running [post italy] but clearly that didn't happen. lucky for you (or maybe not) i have decided to put in my wildest effort to make a blog post happen right now. so this is what has been happening around here lately..

1) i departed italy with a sad heart and arrived in america to my LOVE and terrible food (sorry america)

2) we went to florida! (more on this later. maybe)

3) in an effort to keep thing interesting, i chopped my hair and got some fringe action happening around the five-head area. 

4) christmas happened! that was fun. 

5) we (bae and i) (bae? sorry world) made homemade goat cheese and spinach ravioli, italian style. it was delicious. we were also really fancy and go-pro'd it (that's a word i swear) so maybe you'll see a little video in the near future. 

for now, here is a little video of my christmas if you would like to see. 

happy new year!

Venice

my parents are here!

it has been so fun showing them around and i am so grateful to have them here. they got here around noon on saturday and i knew it was them when i heard suitcases being rolled down the street and heard my mom say "well i guess this is it!" outside my window. i showed them around florence and we got panini's from pinos for lunch. they were pretty tired so i let them rest for a few minutes before venturing out to apperitivo and gelato. 

on sunday we got up and took the train to venice! we spent the day wandering around the streets and canals and getting lost, obviously. we had pizza for dinner at rossopomodoro. it was amazing. i had a spinach, sausage, and cheese pizza. we were too full to have dinner! 

cuties

we watched a beautiful sunset over the grand canal 

just look at that thing!

my taste buds..

1. risotto with "sauce of the roast"

2. caramel creme brulee

3. chocolate on a stick with pistachios from interlaken

4. the best brownie i think i've ever had

5. hot chocolate with caramel bailley's 

6. cheese fondue

7. potatoes, pears, and pickles to dip in our cheese

8. soup with shrimp and muscles

9. deep fried mozzarella sandwhiches

Interlaken

on the lookout on top of harder kulm

i'm not sure i could sum up the beauty that is interlaken in one blog post. or ever really. 

 we got to interlaken on friday morning around 5:00am. i hopped off the bus sans jacket and immediately began shaking from the cold. with florence still in the high 60s everyday, i forgot what cold feels like! we checked into our cozy hostel, balmers, and went right to sleep.

we didn't book any activities for the weekend so we were excited to get up and explore. we wandered in and out of chocolate shops and stopped in a cafe for some hot chocolate. we also walked down to the shore of Lake Thun. it was a gorgeous walk along the bright blue river that opened up to the most gorgeous view of lake thun. it was amazing. we got chocolate for lunch (naturally) and hung out at the hostel before getting fondue for dinner. 

on saturday morning we woke up and hiked to the top of Harder Kulm which was way harder then expected (har har). there is usually a funicular train that takes you to the top but we decided to walk hike  struggle to the summit. i'm blaming it on our lack of hiking gear. anyway, the views at the top were completely worth it. there was a lookout that spanned over the side of the mountain, allowing for amazing views of both lakes. the tip of that thing was a little scary when the wind picked up and it was bouncing all over the place. after the hike we stopped in utopia for some hot chocolate with caramel baileys amazingness. (we just went to the grocery store so we could make this stuff. currently drinking as we speak) utopia is owned by a cute woman from new jersey who now lives in interlaken with her husband and kids. after we warmed up and showered we went to a chocolate show at schuh. a woman showed us where coco beans come from and how they get turned into chocolate and finally truffles. i was was more concerned with the free samples. the ticket for the show also came with a voucher to spend in their chocolate store. 

i was terribly sad to leave the mountains but the drive home was so pretty it was almost worth it. almost. until next time, interlaken. 

so many cows!

look at that water!

on the shore of lake thun

on top of harder kulm

straight ahead is Jungfraujoch, the highest point in europe

my taste buds..

1. giant hazelnut pretzel at the international food festival

2. i actually have no idea what this is an don't remember eating it

3. celery veloute with glazed artichokes, pine nuts and roast meat sauce

4. honey-glazed baby rooster with thyme-flavored baby potatoes

5. risotto with burrata cheese, sunchoke and truffle scent

6. lime-scented macaroon

7. chocolate hazelnut coffee mousse cake

8. also not sure what this was

9. pesto pasta

10. stuffed red onion

11. wurstel from the international food festival

12. some sort of chocolate cake

13. glazed lamb

14. also some sort of chocolate cake

15. true european "hot chocolate" from hemingway's

16. finally made it to gusta pizza!