Day 1

I have officially arrived in the small, quiet, and truly beautiful city of Tuscania! After the two-hour bus ride from Rome, we were quickly escorted around the small town to see our campus. It is located between two tall clock towers, one on each entrance into what the locals call the “old city of Tuscania”. 

Sun rise looking over Italy!

It is truly magnificent. Everything you could think of, small cobble stone streets (just big enough to fix a moped), damp clothing hanging from roof top to roof top, and beautiful winter shrubbery dangling from individual window boxes. Each home is painted a light pastel color, from yellow to orange, or light blue to sea foam green. Each street seems surreal, almost as if  taken from a movie. I went to my first local grocery story today. It was similar to a local market with a  pasta section that was out the door! Any kind of pasta imaginable, they had it. The fresh fruit was to die for, my favorite was the clementines (super juicy)!

As part of the orientation we had a welcome dinner at a beautiful authentic Italian restaurant called “La Palombella”. It was to DIE for! We started off with a strange, yet delicious pasta dish. I must describe it as the Italian’s do, “al dente!” It was pure perfection, not to sticky yet not too hard. The pasta looked liked coiled string, no bigger than the size of my pointer finger.  It came in a light cream sauce with chopped tomatoes and mushrooms. The mushrooms were extremely juicy and sautéed to perfection! Following the pasta we were served a thick pork chop and sliced potatoes. The potatoes were soaked in olive oil and spices, a personal favorite of mine. And for dessert we had a croissant like biscuit filled with cream and chocolate sauce. It was similar to a croissant in that it was light and fluffy, but shaped circular like a biscuit. The cream reminded me of the filling found in a Boston cream donut, but much lighter and less sweet. To top off the night we had a wonderful red wine throughout the course of the meal. My first meal in Italy was absolutely delicious! Muy delishioso!

My roommates Jennifer, Katherine, Jessica, Tori, and Tara are all great! They have been nothing but nice and welcoming, and not to mention it's always nice conversing a fellow American in a foreign country. Two of them have taken multiple Italian courses before, making ordering coffee and food a breeze. I am learning one step at a time and they have been very helpful! They are from all over the place, including two from Long Island, California, and Trinidad. We were all surprised with how amazing our apartment was because it is in the middle of never ending vineyard. It has 3 two-person bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a beautiful farmhouse Italian style kitchen, and a spacious living room! Oh, and I forgot to mention the stunning outside deck including an outdoor wooden stove! What is not to love?! And on top of it all we have 3 pets that immediately made me feel at home. Two cats, which could not be friendlier if they tried, and one adorable dog named Rudy. Both cats curled up by the fireplace with all of us as we shared stories about our hometown and past traveling experiences. They are already apart of the family!

I am off to bed for the night! First day was remarkable and blew my expectations out of the water! All my first day butterflies have vanished. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!