Almost Done in Siena

It's just starting to hit us that we have just at one week left in Italy. We've been here just long enough to get accommodated and really feel like we are "Italian" in the loosest sense of the word.

I've come to enjoy tons of stuff about Italy. First of all, the FOOD! You truly can't order a bad dish at a restaurant, especially if you go to the well-recommended restaurants. Everything here tastes so much better than the stuff at home. I have come to discover that I actually do like salami, I just don't really enjoy the processed, packaged crap back home. The groceries here are pretty cool too. They don't burden you with a vast variety of things; just enough to be able to have a good selection. They have great prices on lots of things and a good selection of fresh meats and cheeses. Matt and I have developed our "favorites" of things when we go to the grocery. I like my Cioccolino Fondente Special K cereal every morning, we both love plumcakes (like a better twinkie with no filling), I have a FAVORITE strawberry yogurt (seriously, it's the best yogurt I've ever had). Most importantly, the wine. When us silly Americans think of Chianti, we think of the crap that comes in the wicker bottles. Here, the wine flows fresh and cheap. I love the "true" chianti classico. If I could bring home a case, I would. Hands down. It's delicious. Also, think of the cheap wine you get at home. Well, it tastes cheap. But the cheap wine here (I'm talking 2-4 Euro) is wonderful. We've also learned our favorite menu items. A Sienese specialty dish is Papardelle with wild boar sauce; another is pici (think triple thick spaghetti) pasta with some kind of sauce. Matt has been ordering osso buco like he's never going to have it again. And I think we've both had enough fresh pesto pasta to last us both a lifetime. But we continue to love it and eat it.

Another thing I've come to love is the atmosphere. Everything is just much slower and relaxed in Siena. People are generally in no hurry to get anywhere and just meander through the streets. I like having the window open and listening to neighbors greet each other on our street. Not to mention, the area is full of beautiful sights and great history. It's definitely a place I'll continue to come back to in future European travels.

On the flip side, I do miss some of the comforts of home. I miss my big comfy bed and a clothing dryer (we've been hanging ours on a clothes line). I miss the English language. I miss the media room and the pool. I miss my family and the pets. And as much as I enjoy pasta, I miss the wide variety of foods back home.

List of things to eat as soon as I get back to the States:
- MOS PIZZA
- A big fat delicious cheeseburger
- Chinese food
- Sushi
- Chips and Salsa

But man, I'll miss the gelato. Mmmmm.


In other news, the wine tour was WONDERFUL. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and even bought some stuff to send home. I've discovered that I like truffle oil, which was absolutely delicious. Matt and I have spent the week thus far trying to cram in all of our last minute shopping and sight-seeing (we climbed the city tower the other day and took some great photos). We have our finals on Friday and then we head to ROME!

We changed and added bookings this week. We're spending 3 nights in Rome, staying at the Hotel Raffaello and we are moving to 3 nights in Venice, staying at the Hotel Ca del Nobile. Then we leave to go back home to the states.

I'm sad that we're leaving soon. I wish we had more time. Gotta make this last week count the most.