Ichiko Aoba blog

on july 1st, my dad and i headed out on a roughly 2 hour car ride to the city of Fiesole. i had never heard of this place before, and so i was totally surprised when we ended up going up a hill with a 20 degree incline to get to our hotel. (the hotel was cool.) (on the car ride i listened to The Beach Boys.) this general area has an interesting culinary history - in old times, the price of salt became too high, so the citizens started making their bread without it. and then, i guess that never changed. and the bread tastes terrible (to me). but, maybe in response to this unsalted mess, all of their savory foods ARE incredibly salty, which is great. for lunch, i had a large piece of lasagna which was amazing and buttery and yes i did finish the whole thing. 

to kill some time before the concert, we decided to trek up a steeper hill for its incredible view. you know how i keep mentioning we were high up? you can see the entire city of Florence from there! it's gorgeous but my pictures all came out trash. also, the heat was so intense i almost fainted/vomited/died (?) and had to go back to the hotel to shower because i was sweating so hard. but it was all good, because we then went straight to dinner, at the same restaurant from lunch. 

i had a dish called "pennette al carne con chianti" or something like that, and it was just pasta with tomato and what seemed like stewed beef. it was VERY tasty, i had never had anything like it. during the meal, my excitement for the show was at an all time high. all day, i kept seeing tourists in doc martens, speaking either french or english, in elegant clothes, and i KNEW they. were. there. for. ichiko. so, in case you don't know who she is and i've been yapping about a stranger, i would love to explain. 

she's a japanese singer-songwriter who makes very dreamy and ethereal folk-ish music often themed after her love for the ocean. at my specific show, she was completely alone on stage and just had her guitar, keyboard, and flute. we were at a literal ancient roman amphitheatre (i can't spell) that was built entirely of stone. like, it could not have been more cool. everyone there was super cool-looking too, there were a bunch of people with brightly dyed hair and pretty dresses, i saw a girl with a full-on gyaru look which is a first for me. i took 1 picture before the show and just let the night pass by with no worries. she's an incredible musician, and i swear to god all her songs sounded exactly like the recordings. i won't bore you with even more details, but the 3rd song she performed was the one i was most excited for, Sagu Palm's Song. if you want to get into her music, it's a great place to start! 

anyways, i just wanted to post this as a little time capsule of an experience i had been anticipating for so long. i'll be dreaming about the food for a few more weeks. if you're still reading, i hope you have a good day! bye!!