Olive, mele e foglie.

For those of you who have been to my former office in NY, this photo will look familiar to you. I took the same photo five years ago and had it prominently displayed on my wall for years. I was visiting Firenze with my mom and stumbled across the school where I am studying today. It was the same time of year and the city had the same autumn glow, as the leaves (foglie) were beginning to change. Walking past this gate every day reminds me how happy I am to be here, five years later making that dream a reality.

I frequent the market at least three times a week. Of course now, my market friends know a lot more about my life. They have met my family, they ask about my nephew, I have met all of their children. They know how far I ran during my last run, the status of my bags at school, my favorite restaurants, the magazines I read and how I spend my weekends. They know what I like to eat and how I like to prepare it so they continue to give me new recipes and ideas. The apples (mele) are just perfect right now, so I could not resist taking a photo. Fuji and Staim are my favorites, and I still eat an apple every single day at around 11AM in school. Secchiona!

With the changing of the leaves comes "raccolta delle olive," and "estrazione," collection of olives and extraction of olive oil. I received the bottle pictured above from my friend Carlo who has an olive grove. The olive oil you see came to live approximately 36-48 hours before I received it. I stopped at the bakery downstairs on my way home to pick up Tuscan (saltless) bread to make bruschetta with my newest prized possession. Of course the moment I walked into my apartment I tore into the bread before I could even turn on the oven. I have never, ever, had such creamy robust olive oil in my entire life. Actually, there was one time on a mountain biking trip through Chianti when our group stopped at an olive laboratorio and we tasted fresh olive oil straight from the crock... that came very close!

It is my new Nutella (and I think you all know how I feel about Nutella). Thankfully I think it might be impossible to finish an entire bottle of olive oil in one sitting. I am trying to figure out a way to transport this back to NY so I can share this heavenly treat. I think I might forego all cosmetics and fill a ziplock bag with 3.4 ounce bottles of just olive oil. I am pretty good at the art of persuasion in the security line, thanks to days gone by when I used to carry red velvet cake home from business trips to North Carolina. I think with a flip of the hair and a smile the Italian security officers will even be a little more forgiving. The departure city and ingredients might change, but one thing remains the same: However delicious something might be, it is that much better when shared in the company of close friends and family. Even better, after it arrives in one piece after a journey of a few thousand miles.