On the Bright Side

Today was, I will admit, a very blah day. Rainy and icky outside, and I just didn't feel like doing anything but sit around and munch and do crossword puzzles. BUT...a blah day in Florence is so far above a blah day anywhere else. I'm really not complaining :)

When my alarm went off at 6:40 AM, I sprang out of bed, twirled around getting dressed, full of energy and cheer!...GOTCHA. I hit the snooze button a few dozen times, dragged myself out of bed, ate an apple and headed off to my very early and often frustrating class. The teacher is very nice, but the students I am surrounded by...oy. I don't think the time of day has anything to do with the lack of intelligence they display.

But, as usual, I was a bit more awake by the end - can I just say how much I LOVE my walk to class! Not only do I pass this baby:

I'm quite attached to the bell tower. No particular reason.

But I swear exercise is better than any amount of coffee or espresso. I'm so much more energized when I come home just from the 20 minute walk to and from class. Walking = happy Gillian.

It helps that I know that post-class time = BREAKFAST time! My favorite meal of the day, and the meal in which lies most of my cooking talent. Today was same ole, same ole  - banana oatmeal. I meant to put yogurt it in to change things up...but of course I got distracted and forgot. I promise you some more interesting oat pictures soon!

You can never go wrong with a classic!

Munched and kind of wallowed today. Just one of those days I suppose. Matched the weather (and my current physical state, which I will not elaborate on - suffice it to say if you're female, you understand.)

Eventually I decided I needed to have some lunch, so I threw together a green & white salad:

Lettuce (which is not very good and I will stick to my beloved arugula - although it is still miles above what Converse calls "lettuce") under zucchini, cannellini beans and a mix of parmesan & pecorino (I didn't know which one would be better flavor-wise), dressed in an olive oil-dijon-white wine vinaigrette (thanks Mom :).

Not bad - not Mom's, but it fit the bill.

I had my first "yoga club" meeting tonight. It was, much like the rest of my day, rather blah. I was very grateful to finally get the chance to do it at all - Italian tiled floors do NOT make for any kind of yoga practice - and it did feel lovely, but it was very much a beginner's class and I am still craving more a challenge. But it was nice and relaxing, which is always needed and appreciated. I do miss my little attic studio though!

*EDIT to the original post*: Papa G just ordered me a yoga mat from UK amazon.com...in just a few days, our living room will be morphed into the current practice studio of Gillianasana. Can I get a WOOHOO?!!!!!!!!!!!

On the way home I stopped at the Euro store - like a dollar store, everything is one euro, and I frequent it as only a good college student can. My purchases were so amusingly random that I just had to take a picture:

That would be a Diet Coke (because they taste SO much better here and I've been craving them lately); a bowl for oatmeal (I'm picky, and these shallow and wide bowls in the apartment just won't do); a knife (because the ones on the apartment suck and I'm sick of trying to slice an apple with a pathetic excuse for serrated butter knife), a cup of pear sauce and apple-blueberry sauce, because they looked interesting and applesauce is one of my favorite oat add-ins. The cashier probably thought I was crazy. But hey, she works in  the euro store. Tit for tat, people.

I came home and wasn't particularly hungry but I knew if I didn't eat I would turn into a bottomless pit, so I made the Gillianasana special - aka, take whatever food I have left in the fridge and throw it in a pan with some olive oil and garlic. Tonight's was garlic, tomatoes, the rest of zucchini and a couple of egg whites (I'm not a big fan of yolk, the flavor just doesn't do it for me) and threw it on top of the lettuce that I am trying to get rid of.

It looks...well, let's be honest, it looks like cat vomit on a bed of lettuce, but it tasted pretty decent. Balsamic vinegar and garlic is kind of my go-to cure-all for shady recipes. If anyone wants to donate to the "Gillian needs to make prettier dinners Cookbook", feel free. It won't be like this every night, I fully intend to use my cooking class skills to my full advantage. In fact, I have some penne da farro (penne made from spelt flour) just dying to be taste-tested...

On the docket for tomorrow is class, oatmeal, and a shopping trip to Mercato Centrale and the stalls around it - I'm a woman in search of fresh food, a change purse, and a Florence sweatshirt, and I will NOT be stopped!

~Namaste~