Classes are finished!

Beautiful Tuscania

Exams are finally over! Staying up all night was actually worth it. I think I did surprising well on both of my exams. I do not regret (in the slightest) going out last night! After about 4 hours of sleep the previous night, I had to go home for a power hour nap. After my amazing and much needed power nap, Jen and I started cleaning the apartment and packing for our next move.... ROMA! I never thought I would be this sad to leave Tuscania, I have grown to truly love all the locals here. I have never felt so at home as I do here. I know for sure, I will be coming back to visit sometime in my life. I know I will not have this type of experience in Rome, the city is too big and there is not enough time. But don’t get me wrong I am so excited to see the beautiful and historic city of Rome, but the small town feel will be vanish. I am also very excited to see Mom and Dad and show them around Rome. It will be nice to get into a bigger city. My number one task: buy peanut butter! I don’t know how I survived this long without it!

Tonight Dario surprised Jen and I by bringing over the movie “Vanilla Sky” and homemade wine. I’m going to miss that kid like crazy. He is the sweetest thing I girl could ask for. He already feels like a second brother to me. Whenever I need anything for the apartment or need a translator for the local Italians he is always there to help! Tonight Jen and I were sitting on the same couch cuddled in my large blanket, when all of a sudden I have Dario’s head in my lap as he makes himself quite comfortable to watch the movie. By the end of the movie I can hear a faint snoring from the lap, yep that’s Dario. Tomorrow he is coming over to celebrate our last night here. I know we will be seeing Dario and Ivo in Rome. They will miss us too much to not come visit at least once!

I am so excited to have Dario come stay with me for a couple of days in London once I head back home. He will be living there for most of the summer, about 3 hours outside the city. I promised to walk him around the city and show him the nightlife of an American-Brit! 

Typical, yet incredible night in Tuscania! 

Uncharacteristic of me, but I love it!

Wednesday night, mind you the night before both my Italian and History exams, Jen, Katherine Tara and I head out to the local bar, Duomo. Let me tell you it was an experience! Tonight was the last day of the weeklong festivities surrounded around carinvale. The entire bar was decorated similar to that of a masquerade party. There was string and masks hanging from the ceiling, lights contently flashing, and free food for as far as the eye could see. I especially loved it because they were playing American music and the Italians loved it! They knew the words to almost every song and were singing there little hearts out. Tonight was the adult version of Sunday’s carnivale extravaganza. Every type of imaginable costumes was present. And let me tell you there were a lot of smirfs. Must be the new thing here, and it was quite amazing. All the bartenders were covered from head to toe in blue paint. By the end of the night Jen and I ended up in the back on horse pen attached to a large truck roaming around the old town of Tuscania. And man oh man was that an experience. Every Italain man in that pen was dressed as a cow, a horse, or some type of farm animal. My abs were throbbing (from laughing so hard) after the first 5 minutes of being placed in the pen (by Gino of course). Tonight is a night I will surely never forget. I’m going to miss this small, yet crazy town! Tuscania never ceases to amaze me! 

Last cooking class, I will miss you Giordino!

Today’s cooking class was my favorite because of Giordino and his singing abilities! He was blasting Riana songs and singing his heart out. He kept making fun on his own tummy when it giggled as he belted out the words. I used a long large wooden spoon as my microphone and we have a lovely duet in the kitchen. That will be a memory I will never forget. We were one good singing team, I could hit the high notes and Giordino could hit the low ones. Because it was our last class, he bought the 6 of us 5 bottles of wine, so by the end of the class we were having a grand old time. He is such an amazing cook with the most beautiful bakery! He also cooks for people who have allergies, which I love! I tried his wheat free pizza and it was honestly out of this world.

Today we learned how to make “Risotto ai frutti di mare”, which translates to Risotto made with fish from the sea. I learned it is important to cook all the different types of fish in separate dishes because they all cook at different times. We had muscles, clams, squid, octopus, shrimp, and prawns. I was so proud of myself, I tired all the different types of seafood and I loved all of it! All the seafood we used came from Sicily; it was all extremely fresh and didn’t taste to “fishy”. My least favorite part was taking the head and eyeballs out of the squid, that almost made me loose my appetite. Girodino thought it would be funny to hang them in front of my face; he got a nice shove from that one! I was the one who prepared the tuna steaks, which took no time at all! You only cook the tuna for about 3 minutes on each side, the inside of the tuna should still be very pink! This was my favorite part of the dinner! The fish was so light, flavorful, and not too salty. I learned how to make a lemon and olive oil sauce, which added a great deal of flavor to the Tuna!

Mom: You should be so proud of me for trying all this seafood! My next adventure will be to try a spicy-tuna roll you rave so much about!

Tonight’s special: Fettucine con Ragu di cinghiele

Tonight I learned how to make Ragu with wild boar as the first dish and pork and mashed potatoes as the second dish! Let me tell you, like everything else I have made, it was delicious! I learned how to marinate and cook wild boar sauce. It was much easier than I was expecting. Jen and I made the homemade pasta for this dish. Now that is a lot of kneading. I felt  as if all we were doing was kneading, kneading, and more kneading! The eggs from the dough kept sticking in between my fingers. Jen and I were a great team, she kneaded the dough and flattened it out, and then I put it through the pasta cutter, and flowered the fettucine. I learned you have to pour flour on the fettucine soon after cutting other wise it will stick together and become one big mess.

Italian mashed potatoes are much different from the ones at home. I learned you must keep the skin on the potatoes when you boil them because it helps keep the water from evaporating into. When water evaporates into the potato is makes them loose their flavor and vitamins. The Italians also use a lot of cheese, which I love! Once the potatoes were boiled, then skinned, we added two large handfuls of Parmesan cheese! It made them so creamy and flavorful!

I really enjoyed the pork for the soul reasons of the applesauce we made to be put on top of it. Its very simple and easy, I can’t wait to try and make it at home. You first had to chop up the apples into thin slices, then sauté with butter, salt, pepper, and chopped parsley until the apples became soft. Place the apples on top of the pork and you are ready to serve! YUM! 

When in Rome (I mean, Tuscania!)

Today was a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon. Jen, Katherine, Tara, and I headed to the local “carinvale” to see what it was all about it. Come to find out, carinvale is similar to our Halloween. All the kids dress up in crazy costumes and prance around the town. Many of the local school children participate in the float building and get to throw confetti at the bystanders as they pass by! The entire experience brought me back to my childhood as I watch kids chase after each other screaming and throwing confetti. All the parents stood close by sipping on wine and eating homemade sugar donuts. There was every possible costume you could imagine, from, Buzz Light Year to Indians, to princess, to bumblebees, to cowboys, and everything in between. They children where absolutely adorable! You couldn’t help but smile while watching them run around the town center.

The best part, was looking at their faces as the floats slowly drove by, there were in pure aw.  It was as if the local high school kids were celebrities to the youngsters. They all were trying to grab their hands as the float drove by. All the floats had themes, the first was as Hercules themes, the second was a farm theme, and the third was a career theme, any imaginable career was found on this float, from a painter, to a dentist, to receptionist, to farmer, and a doctor.  I have never seen the town so packed in my entire life! The streets were packed with families from all directions of the main road. The carinvale ended with a large bonfire and party in the town center. The town center was blasting music that could be heard for miles outside the town. I have come to love the Italian music; the idea of not understanding the words seems to relax me. It is all so upbeat and beautifully spoken! Tuscania’s local cooks sold any type of baked good imaginable. They were delicious! I got 6 homemade sugar donut holes with a glass of white wine! Nothing beats some sugar and wine. I hope to have the opportunity to experience carinvale in Tuscania again sometime real soon! 

Most relaxing day!

After the multiple weekend trips cancelled because of all the snow, today was an extraordinary day! To start off the day, Tori, Jess, and I went to visit a small town just 20 minutes away by public transportation called Viterbo. I loved it, absolutely loved it! It was like Tuscania on steroids. Perfectly for a day like today! It was around 55, the sun was beaming and the town was bustling! We walked around the town from 9:00 am until around noon. We toured many local churches, shops, and of course restaurants. We stopped at a local caffe bar called “Antico Caffe Schenardi” which is known for having the best cup of coffee in town, and man oh man did they ever! I had a piece of spinach pizza and a ginseng cappuccino. It was delicious!  So delicious in fact, the before we left I just HAD to buy another cappuccino. I hope to bring Mom and Dad there sometime! I know both of them would drool over this coffee. To end a lovely afternoon touring the town of Viterbo Mei took us to the “Terme dei Papi” natural hot springs!

Let me tell you this is my favorite place in all of Lazio! To die for! Mid February and I am in a bikini lounging in a hot spring, it honestly can’t get any better than that! The pool was huge! I am talking around the size of a football field! There was a very shallow area where the water was around 120 degrees and a deep end where the water averaged to about 110 degrees. I had to start off in the deep end because the water was too hot for my sensitive skin (what else is new!) I had a blast. There were 8 of us in total that went and I don’t think we left the water for 3 straight hours. By looking at my fingers and toes you would have thought I was 90 years old, so wrinkly! I had some interesting conversations with locals all of whom were very kind and intrigued by the fact I was American. I felt like a shark in the water, everyone was staring! It was expecting someone to say “Look American in the water!” Julianne brought her underwater camera so that occupied us for a good hour. We were all trying to make the most ridiculous faces underwater and they looked even more ridiculous because I refused to open my eyes in the sulfur water! It was one of the most relaxing days here and I could not have enjoyed myself more!

After the hot springs I explore my first Italian mall. That was interesting to say the least! It was one large circle! There were about 25 shops in total, but pretty much anything you possibly image. This was nice to see real supermarket for the first time in over a month. I saw my first frozen Chinese food, but I told myself no. So very very tempting! I did however find a hot already made rotisserie chicken and yes I did buy it and eat the entire thing by myself.  Mind you it was a small chicken, but yes I did eat it all. It made me feel like I was at home again! I finally got my fix of protein that I had been looking for since I arrived. To have the perfect ending to a perfect day on the way home Mei blast some American soul music and sings her little Asian heart out. It was hilarious; she was bobbing her head and belting the words while encouraging us all to sing along. We all know I can’t say no to a sing-along in the car. I think the entire town of Viterbo could here us through that car. “Ain’t no mountain high enough!” was blaring through the cars walls. Today was a success!  

Vulci field trip

Oldest remaining Roman street

Vulci, I advise everyone to visit Vulci when visiting Italy! Vulci is the idealistic rolling hills and valleys as far as the eye can see. The only thing that breaks up all the farmland is the cows and sheep’s. It was beautiful! Today I headed to Vulci for my history class where I got to see ancient Roman ruins spanning for the 1^st through the 6^th century AD. The name of the archeological site is “Vulci e la maremma etrusca”. It was fascinating! I could not believe I was walking on real Roman made streets. It felt surreal; I was exploring Roman castles, homes, temples, and marketplaces. It was remarkable how in tact it all was for being thousands and thousands years old. I love my history teach because I have never met someone who could love what she’s teaching more than her. She actually makes me excited to explore the lands and see what I can find. I had never been more thrilled to look for ancient ruins in my life. It was also great to have someone there who could explain, in depth, all the history of what I was looking at. The Roman’s never felt more real and alive to me than they did at that exact moment.

After getting the see the ancient Roman ruins, she allowed us to explore what would be the outskirts of Roman village. It actually reminded me a lot of the English countryside. Nothing beats the beauty of nature. It was truly breathtaking. I sat on the edge of what appeared to be a never-ending fence and just tired to absorb all the beauty around me. I felt so small in comparison to the vast hills and valleys. It was wonderful to just sit and listen to all the sounds around me. I could hear cows mooing in the distance, horses grazing, and crickets chirping. Nothing beats those sounds, nothing! I then kept on exploring until I came upon a magnificent lugo (lake). The water was truly blue. The lake sat below an entire wall of large boulders.  It looked as if someone took a scoop out of the boulders and place perfectly blue water right in its center cutout. It was an amazing find! And to top it all off there was waterfall! I could have sat in that exact spot for days and been completely content. The region of Lazio is truly one of the most beautiful places I have never been too. Every time I think I couldn’t see something more beautiful, I do!  

Fairytales do happen!

Starting to get towards the end of my stay in Tuscania and I already know I am going to miss it! All of the people have been truly warm and welcoming. All my teachers want me to learn, not memorize. If someone is sick they will personally drive you to and from school and get you the necessary medicine. The locals are amazing and I mean amazing. The encourage you to speak Italian and help perfect your skills in any way they can.

Now here is an amazing story. In between my two classes, Jen, Katherine, Tara, and I went to our local pizzeria. As we were waiting on our pasta we hear a large table in the corner speaking English, which is extremely rare in this area. At first we thought it was our imagination. We only heard a few words here and there like shoe, zipper, and bag. But all a sudden I feel someone staring at me. When I look over the entire table is trying to get out attention. They ask us if we are Ldm students and where we are from. Come to find out it was a family that was coming back to visit Tuscania from the states. Andrea, the name of the younger women, was a former student of Ldm. She had come to visit the town she fell in love with 3 years ago again. Her entire family is from Pittsburg but she went to school in North Carolina. She is currently living in Pittsburg, but most of her family is now living in either North or South Carolina. It is crazy how small this world really is!

Not only did she fall in love with the small town of Tuscania, but she also fell in love with waiter at the pizzeria we were eating in. His name is Fredrico and he used to work at this father’s pizzeria. So the story goes that Fredrico was so embarrassed to ask Andrea on a date so his father (who owns the restaurant) had to for him. They have been married for 2 years and seem to be the happiest couple. He Fredrico followed Andrea all the way Pittsburg, where they both are living now. They were the sweetest family. By the end of meal they were exchanging wedding photos with us and telling us their entire life story. It is times like this that make even more appreciative of what an amazing opportunity I have been given.  Fairytales do come true! A young American girl comes to Tuscania through the Ldm program and comes home with a handsome Italian husband!! 

Happy Birthday Dad!

February 12- big day for the Reid residents because the Silver Fox is turning 51 today! Happy birthday Dad! I want to give you a big shout out and wish you the most amazing birthday! I’m so glad Mom made it back in time to celebrate! I hope your fancy birthday dinner was delicious. Lots of steak, potatoes, vegetables, and wine! No Yorkshire pudding, yuck! 

I hope you have a great end of the night with a glass of scotch and the sox to be playing! Sending many positive vibes your way on this wonderful day! Love you Dad!

A true Italian snow-day

Today was a blast! Jen, Tara, Katherine, and I were outside playing in the snow all day like children! We met Dario and his friend, Edwardo to go sledding down the large hill where the ancient church is. Let me tell you we were truly kids again! The 5 of us stole streets signs and used them as sleds. On the walk over to the hill through the old town I counted 6 snowmen! The Italian’s version of a snowman is hilarious! You can tell they are “newbies” at the whole snow thing. They used rubber gloves as hands, orange peels for the smile, and of course carrot for the noise! I have never seen so many people so excited about snow in my entire life! For people who haven’t seen snow in 27 years they seemed highly prepared. Almost every single person I walked by had the brand “BOOTS” boots. They looked like spaceman snowshoes. They honestly looked like giant marshmallows on people’s feet and came in every color you could possibly imagine! Where as I on the other hand did not anticipate 5 inches of snow in Italy and was wearing thin leather boots. Let me tell you I could not feel my toes for the better portion of the day.

When we finally reached the top of the gigantic hill, Dario threw the first snowball directly into the side of my head. From that moment on it was officially game time! The snow was perfect for snowballs; it stuck together so easily! It reminded me of a movie scene, hiding behind ancient tombs and church walls to escape from fast (and hard) snowballs. Dario and Edwardo were one hell of a tag team. 4 against 2 and we were still struggling! After I proceeded to have half the snow of Tuscania down my jacket and into my boots we decided to create a snowman masterpiece. Dario and Edwardo wanted to make a “sexy snowwomen”; it was one of the most amusing two hours of my life. Those two are crazy to say the least; they started to become very intricate with there design. This snowwomen had highly disproportionate boobs and butt to her small little waist and legs. This snowwomen became the talk of the town. We had families come up to us and tell us how realistic our snowwomen looked and asking which one of us “lovely ladies” we were trying to portray. After 5 hours in the snow it was time to head back to our cozy little apartment. We spent the night sipping on hot coco and watching movies with Dario and Edwardo and a few others! I have really come to love this small town and all the incredible locals. Our landlord, Anna Marie, has really treated us like her own. We are going over for dinner sometime this week to have a true homemade Italian dinner!  She loves that Dario has new people to spent time with! He is heading to London in a couple of months and spending the summer there. I am hoping to be able to see him once I arrive back home! Now I can finally repay him for all his hospitality by showing him around Marylebone, just as he has done for all of us!

Nevoso in Tuscania, who would have thunk?

Friday was a very uneventful day. It was a blizzard outside for most the day and evening. Due to all the heavy snow our apartment had little, and at times, no electricity.  Right before I was finished making my sautéed vegetables all the electricity in the apartment we out. Not only did we not have power, but also the entire town of Tuscan had no power. I was left eating my dinner (for one) by candlelight. Can’t say it was the worst way to end a night! I sat on my couch for hours after dinner looking out the main living room window at all the heavy falling snow. I had our lovely friend curled up in my lap, purring of course, keeping me nice and warm next to the woodstove. Stuck in the house all day wasn’t too bad. I wasn’t ready to venture out into the cold just yet! I was still in shock by the fact that yesterday was 50 degrees and sunny and today is 18 degrees and snowing! Who knew weather could change so drastically from one day to the next? 

GREAT day!

Thursday February 9, 2012 was a GREAT, GREAT, GREAT day. First things first, I got to sleep in until 10:30, which for me is amazing. My morning history class got cancelled because of our field trip yesterday to the Etruscan tomb site in Tarquina.  Secondly, It was around 50 degrees outside today, which recently is a heat wave here in Tuscania. I didn’t need to wear a scarf or gloves, watch out! Thirdly, before heading to class, Jen, Catherine, and I stopped by the Centrale Bar for a ginseng cappuccino. For one thing, it is the most amazing drink you will ever put into your mouth and to top it all off, we got our cappuccino for free! Every morning Jen and I typically stop at the local bar for our morning cappuccino before class. The bar tender that works there has always been so welcoming, outgoing, and talkative towards us. He always has a smile on his face that spans from ear to ear when we enter the door. He the typical middle-aged Italian man with thick dark brown hair, a little scruff on his face, and is extremely tall and skinny. He is constantly encouraging us to speak Italian and will correct us when needed. Today after finishing our cappuccino we go to pay and he keeps giving our money back. We were confused thinking maybe we were giving him the incorrect amount. After multiple tries we ask him “quanto costa?” and he replies (in English-for the first time) “no, on me!” He was so proud of himself for speaking English and so glad we made our daily stop. He was the icing on the cake to my already fabulous day!

Later in the evening a bunch of us went to San Marco’s for a couple of drinks. To sum it all up, by the end of the night Jen was teaching an Old Italian woman how to “drop it low” and “pop lock and drop it”.  The five of us ending up getting free tequila shots because of our amazing “dance moves”.  We were defiantly the entertainment of the night and none of us minded it one bit! Great way to end an outstanding day! 

Tonight's beautiful sunset!

Etruscan Tombs

Today was freezing day to say the least. The high was 18 degrees and with wind-chill it felt like 8 degrees. We had our first history field trip to the ancient Etruscan tombs dating back to the first and second century BC. We had a 25-minute bus ride to Tarquina, which was one of the major Etruscan settlement cities. Tuscania was another city but there are much fewer found artifacts within Tusncaia in comparison to Tarquina. It was very interesting to finally see what we have been learning so much about in class. The tombs were beautiful and very well kept for how history they are! Many had colorful paintings along the walls and funeral beds in which people were placed with many valuable goods surrounding them. Some of the tombs still had pottery, jewelry, weapons, and parts of carriages that were used during this time. Very few had skeletal remains left, but some skulls were still intact. Most of these types of tombs belonged to the aristocrats, the families who could afford such lavish funeral burials. Many of the paintings within the tombs depicted aristocratic banquet scenes or typical war scenes which took place between the Etruscan and Greek civilizations. Many tombs had large pottery glasses that were painted with black and red paint. Much of this pottery had senses of men in amour fighting off ancient mythological creatures. I thoroughly enjoyed this field trip and found it very interesting and informative to see the things in which I was learning. I would recommend anyone to visit this site if given the chance! There is so much history at the end of your fingertips! Truly an amazing experience! 

Pumpkin Risotto, enough said.

Waking up this morning was not pleasant. I am a baby when it comes to sleep and 5 hours just wasn’t cutting it. Well worth my exhaustion, but did not lead to a very productive day of classes. All I was interested in doing was sleeping. I am currently sitting my bed, trying to keep my eyes open. Of course wub is right next to me keeping me great company. (Tay- hope you are taking care of Bonnie for me!) The one plus side to my day was, of course, my cooking class! I always look forward to food, especially food I can cook for myself.  Tonight I learned how to make Risotto con Zucca e speck croccante e tartuco. The second dish was called Vitello in crosta di mandrole. To translate, it was a pumpkin risotto dish, topped with butter and Parmesan cheese, along with two thick slices of veal topped with salt, pepper, and crushed almonds.

I learned how to make homemade vegetable stock, which was used to cook the risotto and veal in. Homemade risotto takes at least an hour to make, but is well worth the wait. My main job was the pumpkin. I had to cut, skin, sauté, and mash the pumpkin to then put into the risotto. It was perfectly sweet and delicious! To cook the risotto you had to chop half an onion, 2 cloves, add 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, 2 truffles, and some salt and pepper. Once the risotto is done you add a few cubes of frozen butter (which makes it creamer) and Parmesan cheese. It was so delicious!  Favorite meal so far!

I thought of you Mom! I know Risotto is your favorite meal, I promise to make it for you once I get home!

So excited for this weekend because Jenn Sieber is officially coming to visit this weekend! Great food ended with a great skype date. Can not wait!!!!!! Lets see what Tuscania brings us this weekend!

Off to bed early tonight, I’m getting up early for my first History field trip to Viterbo. We are going to see ancient Etruscan tombs, woohoo! I’m excited to see the history I’ve been learning so much about. Lets hope it isn’t snowing tomorrow morning!

Buenasera!

Happy 21st birthday Jen!

Today we a very relaxing day at the household of Katie, Katherine, Jen, Tori, Tara, and Jess, the 6 of us watched New Years Eve and The Titanic (in italian mind you). Of course it was snowing all weekend, so most of the time we were outside freezing our asses of or snuggled by the fire watching movies. After classes the 6 of us plus Brian, Matt, and Flowers went out for dinner to celebrate Jen’s 21^st. We went to the same restaurant we had our “welcome to Tuscania” dinner. It was to die for, but what else is new. I had my first real steak, rare of course, and I almost died with happiness. Don’t get me wrong I love pasta, but having a nice piece of steak was just what I needed! The 9 of us didn’t leave the restaurant until almost 11:00 pm after taking our time with wine and dessert. On the way to our apartment we stopped at San Marco’s, one of our local bars, for a few birthday drinks. Of course on a Monday night at 11:00 pm I run into Ivo. He was sweet as always and we planned to go to the Disco Friday night. I can’t wait to experience my first Italian “Disco", should be very interesting to say the least! I love the Italian culture of drinking any day of the week, keeps me quite relaxed. The bar is always open until at least 1:00 am every weeknight and later on weekend. The bar was blasting old school Riana and Third Eye Blind, great throw back songs that lead to more dancing and more glasses of wine. Great way to celebrate a great 21!

Buon Compleanno Jen!

Oh, what a night!

Wow. Wow describes my Saturday night perfectly. We live next door to our landlord, who has a son (mind you, he is not hard on the eyes) our age. While gathering wood for the woodstove he came out to say ciao. One thing led to another and we invited him over for drinks later that night to celebrate Jen’s 21^st. He said he would bring “a few” friends, come to find out a few means 6.  Trying to communicate with 6 Italian men, two of who speak a little English the rest speaking none was very very interesting! The more wine, whisky, and vodka that was poured the easier conversing became. They where hysterical attempting to speak English, it was adorable. We ended up playing a vocabulary translation drinking game, which was hilarious! We left to leave for the bar around 12 and man the bar was packed. The plus side to meeting nice locals is, not having to walk the 12 minute trek in the freeze cold and snow! After 3 shots of tequila, two mojitos, and an Irish car bomb I was a dancing fool. Swing dancing on the cobble stone street with charming Italian man is every girls dream, and mine came true! It was a blast! They were side-splittingly funny, had amazing Italian/English accents, and very charming! Tuscania is the friendliest little town filled with such warm, welcoming, and caring people! I hope every weekend from here on out can be half as amusing. After being cooped up in the house all weekend (because of all the snow) it was great getting out of the house and exploring the town as the locals do! My cheeks hurt from laughing too much and that is always a great way to end the night! 

Hello snow

Snow, snow, and more snow! The weather forecast was more than correct! I woke up especially early today for going to be to so late. I was up and ready to go by 9:00 am. Had my usually cup of tea and made myself two sunny-side eggs, a yogurt, and some toast. It was a nice hardy breakfast, which was just what I needed because I woke up to the sound of my own stomach rumbling. It took a lot of effort to leave the house today. You could hear the wind howling from inside and the snow rapidly hitting against the windows. Once showered and was ready to go, I left the roommates behind (who were curled up by the fire all day) and explore the “winter wonderland” of a town. The town looked beautiful covered a light white blanket! I started by walking to the town park and made my first Italian snow angle. The locals were in aw of the snow, making as many snowmen as possible and having snowball fights. It made me feel like a kid again. Let me make clear there was only 1 ½ inches of snow on the ground at best. The last time the town of Tuscania had snow fall was 23 years ago! Of course, within the first week of my arrival there are record-breaking snowfalls. As I walked around the town I felt like I was in life-sized snow globe, it was too gorgeous to be true! 


PS. All I have to say in response to last night is:
Who do I think I am drinking JD on the rocks?!

View from the bar! (notice the icicles) 

First week of classes complete!

Thursday was very exhausting day. I had quizzes in both of my classes, so of course I was up late studying! I think it did extremely well on my Italian quiz and fairly well on history. Hopefully my 50 flash cards made a difference. Spent a wonderful evening with my 5 roommates. We stayed up until 2:00 am, no electronics, talking, laughing, sitting by the warm woodstove, and drinking wine. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end a stressful week. The stories were never ending and of course exceptionally amusing! With 5 girls there are a lot of stories to share. My apartment is really starting to feel like home. I love the adorable little kitchen; it’s the only reason I don’t dread making dinner every night. Thank god for the gas stove, my morning cup of tea is the only thing that gets me going at 7:30 in the morning! Our landlord, Anna Maria, is the sweetest woman on the planet. She offered to drive us to the grocery store Saturday because of all the unexpected snow we are suppose to be getting. Can’t wait to see if the weather forecast prevails…!

Buonasera amice! 

Let it snow!

SNOW. Yes you did read that correctly, snow. When I woke up this morning there was snow covering my entire front yard. I would have never expected snow in Italy, especially this close to the shore! The sun looked like glitter on the ground as the sun rose early this morning. It was extremely picturesque. I took many pictures and froze my butt off! Although the snow is beautiful I do not love this extremely cold weather. The heating in our apartment is very minimal to begin with, so cold weather is not a plus! I've been wearing socks (which I never do), a long sleeve shirt, and leggings to bed every night. I am not used to having no heat at night and it’s killing my sleeping patterns. Hopefully this weather will warm up soon! Totally worth it, even if just for the pictures :)

Learning to cook like a true Italian!

Second day of classes went very well!  Learning many of the basic conversation words in Italian. For homework today I had to write a paragraph describing my apartment and friends from home. With my limited vocabulary it was a particularly long paragraph, but I got the job done. I had to use words such as “il parimento” meaning floor,  “il tavolo” meaning table, and “il suffitto” meaning ceiling. I found Italian to be more interesting and helpful while living in Tuscania for few, if any, locals speaks English. I have been enjoying my History class as well, but I am having a very hard to understanding her English. I feel as if I’m hearing end sentences of a paragraph, rather than an entire book. I hope as the weeks go I become more accustomed to the Italian accents when speaking English. Interpreting Italian-English could be a whole course in itself!

Today (and every Tuesday nights to come) I take a cooking class! Tonight’s cooking class is by far my favorite! Who wouldn’t like learning how to cook as the Italians do? I learned how to cook a dish called “Spaghetti alla chitarra all Amatriciana” which is a spaghetti, tomatoes sauce, artichokes, and lamb. I learned how to make handmade spaghetti and let me tell you that is an art from in of itself.  You must first mix two different types of flower together, one is a more yellow colored while the other is a white. You must then make a hole in the center of the flower to crack the eggs into. I then proceeded to knead  the dough for 10-15 minutes. Once completed you must let it rest for 20 minutes before making it into spaghetti form. I also learned how to make a bacon, onion, garlic, and tomato sauce, which was to die for! The bacon here is much thicker, it also reminds me of thin pork chops. The bacon added a lot of flavor and saltiness to the sauce. I also learned how to deep fry artichokes in sunflower oil. I had never eaten an entire artichoke before but it is something I plan to do from now on! Lastly, I learned how to grill lamb chops. You must take the lamb out of the fridge at least 15 minutes before cooking. Before cooking the lamb add a small dash of olive oil to the pan. Once lamb begins to cook you may also add freshly squeezed lemon juice for extra flavor.

A fun fact I learned was you must always cook all foods with regular olive oil versus extra virgin olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil has a lower acidity, where as, regular olive oil has a much higher acidity, making it easier to cook with.  Our teacher Giordano Franci has his own bakery down the street from the school. He offered to have my class over for free baked goods and a tour of this place. I hope it make it over there before next week! He grew up in Tuscania but has lived in London and Southern Italy as well. I look forward to next Tuesday, purely for the cooking class if nothing else! 

First day of classes

Today was officially my first day of classes! My Etruscan, Greek, and Roman history class was long and little bit dry I must say. I found the discussions about the ancient Greek and Roman architecture much more interesting. Lots of reading in this class that I’m not looking forwarded too, but hopefully it will help. The teacher is very nice but also extremely hard to understand because English is not her native language. My Italian class on the other hand was very informative, interesting, and fun! (Yes, I did just say fun) I never thought I would look forward to learning a foreign language. I feel much more motivated to learn Italian now that I am here and need to communicate with people on a daily basis. I can order my own cappuccino at the bar and typically order a meal at a restaurant, but I hope to be able to communicate much more easily before leaving Tuscania. My teacher is extremely nice and encouraging. He would rather you try and make a fool of yourself, than keep quiet and never learn. My classes do not end until 4:00 pm, so my day feels much shorter. I am going to miss having so much free time, but I look forward to learning more Italian!

Todays beautiful sunset

Making my own meals, for every meal, is already starting to get old. I took you for granted Mom! I never understood how time consuming cooking a meal was until I had to do it myself! I have already made a ton of chicken and pasta. Tonight I decided to switch it up and make some stir-fry with the fresh veggies I got from Friday’s market. Now that was especially delicious! Eating all these carbs (pasta and bread, of course) makes me miss fresh salads and veggies. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s classes, especially my Italian cooking class! I will learn how to make my own 3 course homemade meal. YUM! J

Until tomorrow!

Sunday funday

Sunday was a very nice relaxing day. Sleeping-in always puts me in a better mood. I made a nice cup of green tea (with my delicious new cinnamon honey) and sunny-side up eggs. My favorite part of the day was sitting on my front porch in my pajamas bundled up in my coat, slippers, and leggings looking out over the olive trees that span for miles beyond my apartment. My nose and cheeks became as red a cherry, but the morning sun warmed my back. The air feels and tastes more fresh and crisp compared to Marylebone. It felt like a vacation being able to sit outside and hear nothing but birds chirping and the occasional vespa passing by.  It reminded me of Connecticut, sitting on my back screened-in porch listening to the waterfall trickle down the stones as it met with the water below. I never realized how much I missed nature until it became hard to come by.

Later that night, Jess, Tori and I spent hours trying to plan our trip to Istanbul and Turkey for our weeklong break once arriving in Roma. We got most of the flight planning out of the way and will finish picking hostiles within the coming week. I am very excited to see both of these amazing countries. I have only heard wonderful things about both. I hear the spice markets are out of this world and Old Constantinople is a must see! I will need to do some further research on places to visit once I get there. If anyone has any suggestions it would be very much appreciated! I finished the night sharing 3 bottles of wine with Jess and Tori. It was exactly what I need to fall fast asleep!

Bona note amici!

Day 4

St. Mara's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica

After a late night out, the girls and I got caught up on some much-needed sleep. Once getting our act together we heading towards the outskirts of town to see the ancient Etruscan church and ruins. Saint Peter’s Basilica and S. Mara’s Basilica were atop a large hill that span for miles and miles. The church is no longer used for services but as been preserved for thousands of years. I can’t help but think how many people have walked where I just walked? How many sat at this exact same pew?  Entering St. Peter’s gave me goose bumps just thinking about the amount of history in one place! After exploring St. Peter’s we then began to venture to S. Mara’s Basilica, which was equally as magnificent. I loved this church because much of the artwork was preserved in comparison to St. Peter’s. Many of the walls were painted in colorful biblical scenes along with breath-taking architecture throughout the entire ceiling.  After making my way back to town I stopped at “Falleroni” Gelato bar for some homemade ice cream! Of course I got a mixture of coffee and Tiramisu that was to die for! Tonight all 12 of the 3-citiy Ldm Students came to my apartment and made a homemade dinner. We had three different types of pastas to choose from, salad, bread and olive oil, and of course wine! It was brilliant having everyone over laughing, sharing stories, and eating! 

Day 3

Friday morning I woke up at 8:30 am to walk to the school for 9:00 am. I had to finish paper work for my permit to stay that took up a good portion of the morning. In between waiting to sign my documents I explored the local market just outside the “old town”. It reminded me a lot of my local market at home in Marylebone. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese stands, deli stands, and an amazing local homemade honey stand (prefect for my morning cup of tea)! Tons of amazing leather shoes, I was drooling just looking at them all! And of course there were many stands of scarves, hats, and mittens. I was very excited to order (in Italian) my own fruits and veggies for the upcoming weeks groceries! All of the locals are extremely welcoming and encourage trying to speak the language. I only have to say a few mismatching words, such as “quanto costa” meaning how much or “vorrene”meaning I would like, before they are filling in my missing pieces.  Their extensive use of hand movements while speaking has been incredibly helpful with the language barrier. I purchased some delicious potatoes, onions, tomatoes, red peppers, apples, blood oranges, and zucchini, all of which I can not wait to cook with in my adorable new kitchen!

Roof Top of Palazzo Ranucci

Later in the afternoon Mei (one of my advisors) took a group of us around the town for a walking tour. I learned where all the local amenities and services of the town were located. Of course what I found most helpful was learning about the many local restaurants. I hope to eat in most of the restaurants before I leave, trying something new at each place! Some that look particularly tasty are, “Fantasmino” which is a local pizzeria, “Sapori di Festa” which is known for having the best plate of pasta is town, “Kyatos” which has amazing fresh baked croissants and pastries each morning, “Pulceinella” which has wonderful sea food pasta dishes, “Voglia di Piiza” know for its out of this world lasagna, and last but not least, “La Dolce Nuvola” which is know for there exceptional crepes of all kinds! I look forward to trying all of these magnificent restaurants!

For dinner a group of us went to “Palazzo Ranucci” which was a highly sheik restaurant known for having more international food, rather than purely Italian. I tired to be very adventurous and daring while eating! The first dish was pasta topped with wild boar. I was surprised with how much I enjoyed this dish. The boar tasted like chicken but had the consistency of tuna. I would recommend this dish to anyone who passes! For the second dish I had a large portion of veil top with sautéed peppers, onions, and olives. Red meat is always a favorite of mine so I had no problem finishing this dish! For dessert I was served yellow custard. It tasted like eggnog, but had a fluffy light consistency, topped with drizzled chocolate sauce. This was my favorite meal so far! I enjoyed trying many dishes I otherwise would not have, I hope to come back again! To end the night a large group went to a local bar called “Caffe Del Duomo”. This bar was very inexpensive and was packed with locals all of which were eager to mingle. I started the night off with a 2-euro shot of tequila. After attempting to talk to locals most of my drinks came free! I met a hilarious older Italian man who gave me a card to his restaurant called “Il Fifugio” where he offered to give my friends and me a large discount as well as, a free wine tasting at his vineyard! I hope I make it there before next weekend! Many drinks in, Tara and I ended up in the center of town on our backs gazing at stars for what felt like an eternity. I found the big dipper and North Star and felt like I was in Granby CT again! What a small, small world. The night sky always makes me feel at home. I could not have wished (on a shooting star) for a better night!