"Andiamo a Chiesa.... e Mangiare!"

   Last Saturday night was one of the best nights I have spent in Florence so far. First, Caitlin, Stesha and I went to the 5:00 mass in English at the Duomo. When we first walked in, I remembered the first time I visited the church two years ago with my family. It was even more beautiful than I remembered it, especially the dome itself. It is lined with a magnificent fresco of the Last Judgement and is so tall, it seems endless. Here is a picture: (Yet again, this picture doesn't do it justice... you really have to be there in person.)

   Mass was held in the right wing of the church and the entire building was closed to tourists during the service. The priest spoke perfect English and gave a great sermon on forgiveness. It was such a cool experience getting to go to mass in such a beautiful and historical church. I definitely want to go again.

   After mass Caitlin and I went across the river for a cooking class we had signed up for earlier in the week. These classes are a birthday gift from my parents, but Caitlin thought they they sounded like a lot of fun so she decided to join me. (I'm so glad she did! It's so much more fun cooking with a friend!) The class was in a cute little kitchen with 4 cooking stations and there were 8 other people who signed up for the class. They were all from different parts of the world (Spain, Mexico, Australia, England, and the United States) which was really cool. We split into two groups of five (with one instructor per group) and began cooking! First, we made gelato. Our group made vanilla, while the other made a melon sorbet. After the vanilla had mixed in the ice cream maker for a while we added some melted dark chocolate to make stracciatella gelato (vanilla with chocolate chunks). Here is a picture of it being made:

   After the gelato was finished we started making our pizza! We rolled out some fresh dough (it had been made the day before because the dough tastes the best when it is given enough time to rise), spread a yummy tomatoe sauce on the dough, and topped it off with some fresh mozzarella cheese and basil. Here are some pictures of the preparation:

Mmmm fresh mozzarella and basil

   We stuck the pizza's in the oven and 10 minutes later it was time to eat! We all sat down together and enjoyed the delicious meal we had prepared as well as some great conversation. First we ate our pizza which came straight out of the oven. I was so hungry and excited that I didn't wait for it to cool and burnt the top of my mouth... but I didn't care, because it was so good! The crust was not too crispy, but not too soft and the simple flavors of the sauce, mozzarella and basil made for the perfect pizza.

   After we finished our pizza (Yes, I ate the entire thing) we ended the meal with our homemade gelato. It tasted just like the gelato from a gelateria (for those of you who haven't had gelato before, it's DELICOUS!). My favorite was the stracciatella.  

   Once we had finished eating I was completely stuffed, but 110% satisfied. When Caitlin and I left we couldn't stop talking about how much we had enjoyed the class and decided that we would have to return for another. After this next class I'm hoping to be a pro at making some Italian dishes so I can come back to the United States and make some delicious food for you all!