June 20th: Pasta Making & Rooftop Yoga!

We woke up ready for a fun-filled day that started with the most incredible Italian activity :)

After slowly waking up, Viv and Jill went out to grab pastries and coffee for the three of us. After a homey, classic Italian breakfast together, we got ready for the day, and Viv dyed her hair what she expected to be orange but turned out to be spaghetti yellow.

“ We learned how to make ravioli and tortellini from us an egg and 100mg of flour which was an incredible experience. "

A Skill that Will Last a Lifetime

Heading out on another day of adventure, we crossed the bridge to the other side of Florence where we found our classroom for the morning. Having not been in a class, just the three of us, since Tisch-zoom university in 2020, this was a wonderful way to reengage the three of us together, educationally I mean. This morning we met our five other pasta-makings classmates and got to hear about their fabulous travels and origins— hailing from Australia, Mexico, and the US (very cool).

We then met, Giulio, our pasta making instructor who had that classic Italian charm and hilarious wit. We learned how to make ravioli and tortellini from us an egg and 100mg of flour which was an incredible experience.

What was even more amazing, was that while we learned how to make spaghetti alla chitarra (aka fettuccine), using a pasta guitar. So, after cheffing it up we all sat at a family style table to enjoy some housemade red wine and of course our own homemade pasta! What an excellent experience.

Calm Afternoon

After cooking, we stumbled in to a nearby thrift store where Viv found me the ultimate birthday dress to wear while we’re in Santorini, which I’m super excited to sport on July 2nd. After venturing back over the bridge we settled back into our homey attic airbnb to enjoy an afternoon of reading for Viv and Jill, and blog writing for me. Also during this mid-day break, Viv dyed her hair a bright red...now less of a spaghetti and more like the sauce.

“ We could see everything, and had a particularly exceptional view of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, which was our forward facing focal point throughout our 60 minute yoga practice. "

Most Memorable Evening

After one of the best mornings of our trip, we headed to one of the best evening activities of the trip—rooftop yoga! Now, this wasn’t any normal yoga experience…we were on the rooftop of this residential building with an UNREAL view of the city of Florence. We could see everything, and had a particularly exceptional view of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, which was our forward facing focal point throughout our 60 minute yoga practice. It felt great to move our bodies and participate in an activity that the three of us regularly do together in NYC, but more than that, being outside as the sun was setting over Florence was a magical experience that we will take with us whenever we need to go to our ‘happy place’ (as Jill coined it).

After an extremely calming class, we stayed on the roof where the second part of this activity began. Juliana, our chef for dinner, brought out red wine and bruschetta for our appetizers and for our mains she offered homemade zucchini & broccoli pasta which was incredible and something I will definitely be making at home. We conversed with the other Americans taking the class and learned about their travels and experience. We compared the European lifestyle to our American one, which was a great way to recenter ourselves and find aspects of the European lifestyle that we want to bring home.

Overall, this was a fantastic day filled with newfound pasta making skills and a new perspective of the Florence from a dogward dog point-of-view. Can’t wait for tomorrow :)