From Armenian CooCoo to una cena di Pasqua Italiana

Easter has always been a good-feeling holiday…there’s no fuss, no long preparation, no present stress. It’s a holiday filled with early church goers, family, cute pastel dresses and the best holiday mascot…the Easter Bunny!

Italian Easter was different then the coocoo, zook, egg games I am accustom to from my Armenian background…I woke up early in the morning…took my time getting ready, wore my favorite green dress and took a walk. At 10am I ended up at Il Duomo, the center of Florence where the traditional “Scoppio del Carro” festivity was to take place at 11. The place was filled with every single Florentinian and tourist so my view of the celebration was slim to none.

Scoppio del Carro, the exploding cart, is an old Easter Florence tradition that dates back to the first crusade to the holy lands in 1099 AD. The crusade was set to liberate the holy sepulture from the pagans, the first soldier Pazzino dei Pazzi climbed the city walls and held the Dukes banner for all to see…in this act of courage dei Pazzi was rewarded 3 pieces of rock from Christ’s tomb. From then on ever Saturday before Easter Sunday, the Bishop would light a fire with sparks from these holy rocks and would carry it throughout the city lighting a fire in every home he passed…the burning fire would symbolize dei Pazzi’s courage and purify the homes and families that lived there. Being a part of Italian tradition that dates back to 1099AD was awe-inspiring and absolutely unbelievable.

 I spent Easter dinner with Jenna and her Mom and Pop which reminded me of my family and made my heart smile. We went to their amazing hotel, Monna Lisa to have a few drinks and then had dinner at Il Paoli Restaurante which was once a church! Everything was perfect the food, the drinks, and the company. Thank you D’Argenzio’s for making my Pasqua Italiana so very special.

MISS YOU BROWNIE AND ASHTON! 

Emilia

The Coast of Cinque Terre

The weather has finally reached the 70’s and for a SoCal girl that is the greatest news of all time! I have been literally freezing up until this point and have come to realize that cold weather and Emily just do not mix.

  Summer Sundays in Los Angeles are usually spent on the Pacific coast…Venice, Malibu, Newport so Jenna and I thought it would be nice to bring back a bit of SoCal tradition to Italy.

Cinque Terre the Italian coast of Italy was absolutely breathtaking, the cities of Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore line the Mediterranean Sea with a train taking you back and forth within minutes. The day was spent relaxing on cliff-side rocks, writing on the sandy beach, being a kid in the playground, and having the nicest lunch overlooking the crystal blue ocean. Of all the places I have visited thus far  Cinque Terre made the top of my list.

Emilia

Dinner with the Emilys and Jennas



In all of Florence Italy…with the 10 plus study abroad programs…and the millions of students that come and go…fate happened…a very nice coincident. At registration we sat next to two girls and happen to strike up a conversation…right before we got up to leave...we introduced ourselves...Jenna and Emily…meet Jenna and Emily. Yes, in all of Florence Italy we met another duo with the same exact names! We all instantly meshed well and have been partying and exploring Firenze’s finest spots. Saturday night, Feb 05 they invited us to their place for a nice family like dinner. Jenna from Wisconsin made some amazing pesto pasta…we had some Chianti vino and some bread with oil and vingerette. The meal led to some pretty good girl talk…just getting to know one another other. It’s awesome to meet such amazing ladies half way across the world and just hear about their Iowa State, northwest adventures.

 Who knows maybe we will visit them there one day.

Emilia