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!