26 May

Today in Florence we got to have dinner with our professors at Giannino’s on Via San Lorenzo. When had the the third floor ballroom to ourselves, so for the first time since we left Atlanta we were able to act like the typical loud Americans we are used to being. When we got there our waiter, John Franco, asked us if we wanted the red or the white wine, my table went with the red. It was a bit dry, but was full of flavor and had an exquisite fruity aroma to it. Our primo piatto, or first plate, was a smörgåsbord of pasta including two plates of gnocchi with pesto sauce, penne with meat sauce, and ravioli with a red sauce and spinach leave. All three were delicious as was expected for pasta in Italy. It’s difficult to decide which of three was my favorite because they each had their own significant qualities about them. The pesto on the gnocchi was very robust and full of flavor, where as the penne’s meat sauce which was heavier on the meat aspect than the sauce – unlike its typical American counterpart – and the ravioli was very cheesy, and who doesn’t like cheesy Italian foods? Our secondo piatto, second plate, was a delectable course of veal scallopini with a white wine sauce with ground basil leaves and french fries. The veal would almost literally melt in your mouth and the sauce had the consistency of gravy with a slight herbal taste to it. However, the french fries were not what I expected and not very good. In the end, I would say that even though the Italian food is comparable to none here, lets leave the fried foods to the Americans.