- Day 5 – Genoa Local Cuisine
This was a rest day for me. During the morning, we had free time. Therefore, me and my roommates slept in that day and around 12pm we went to checkout the market fair that was at the port that Sunday. We bought some fried calamari and ricolli and ate it in front of the Genova port. Right after, we head out to the Acquario di Genova, which is supposed to be the only aquarium in Italy. It was beautiful! From dolphins to penguins, the aquarium had a lot of variety and it was very interactive! Afterwards, we decided to go around Genova to buy some souvenirs. Since we were in the cooking group 2, we had the cooking class in the afternoon. We took the bus and walked to a very resiendential area. We had a great time with Chef Francesco, he showed us his wonderful recipes! My favorite one was the pesto. After cooking, we waited a few minutes and got to eat! Everything was so tasty, specially the gnocchi with pesto sauce, which is Genoa specialty. We shared a nice dinner with the rest of the students and Professor Dodge.
- Day 6: Piedmont
- We had to wake up super early this day to catch the bus that took us to Piedmont. It was a rainy and cold day, but I honestly loved it! It gave the Piedmont landscapes a different but nice vibe. After around 3 hours on a bus, we reached Piedmont. As I said, the landscapes were beautiful! The vineyards and houses we te very characteristic of the place. We went to the Agricola Brandini headquarters in La morra, where we went on a tour of their vineyard and their wine production. I got to learn a lot about the types of grape, the process of wine making and storage. Around 1pm, we got lunch, a wonderful 4-course Piedmontese meal with specific wines to pair each of them. My favorite part was the Moscato wine with the dessert (hazelnut ice cream and a brioche). Since it was cold and rainy, we went on a quick tour around Barolo, a town nearby, and then we returned to Genoa. I really liked this experience, since my grandparents were from Piedmont, I was excited to go there!