July 13th, 2008
More from Italy
We’ve had many adventures since our arrival. After half a week here I’m becoming pretty familiar with the streets of L’Aquila. It’s amazing to be able to wake up in the mountains. On Friday, the governor introduced us to the best seafood restaurant place in this region. He didn’t speak much English so his assistant Roberta translated. She was quite entertaining. The director of the lab was also there along with Frank and Barbara. We had many sorts of raw fish including sushi (the only foreign dish that I knew of), lobster, crawfish looking things, and some others that I can’t remember what they were. I liked some and others not so much. Roberta kept telling us to leave it if we didn’t like it but I usually tried everything (except the oysters) since the meal was so expensive. We had a bit of White wine and a mix from the region. We had some cooked fish and later pasta with shrimp. It was all pretty good but I liked it best when the fruit came. There were some melons and cherries and pineapple that you can find around the U.S. and there was also some fruits (like leche) from the European region. All very good. Then we had candied almonds, drinks, and chocolate. I took a sip to be polite. The waiter was joking around all night because I fit their image of Americans drinking milk. He brought me a huge glass of warm milk with cocoa. Then we had a lemon dessert drizzled in chocolate. The whole night we told the governor about us and America and we talked politcs and covered many subjects. We’re trying to convince Roberta to follow the governor to the U.S. when he meets with Gov. Rounds. It should be interesting. Dinner lasted 4 or more hours. I didn’t get to sleep until about 3 that morning. Italians normally eat much later than I ever have. Instead of going to Rome this weekend, Frank (Princeton Professor) showed us around the countryside since he’s quite knowledgable about the area. First we went in shopping in L’Aquila. Many fun shops and the market in the center of town is amazing. Then we went and looked at a few churches on the way up to the lift. Very beautiful villages around. We ate at Maria’s…the owner is a mother of one of the Italian students coming to Princeton. We had appetizers (very colorful), a couple types of pasta, and watermelon. The waitress gave us an apricot dessert on the house. When we get back to Princeton, Grey, Veronica and I plan to treat Frank to a South Dakota meal since he’s been treating us to the Italian styles. We went up on the lift to the top of one of the mountains. I hated the bumps when we passed a tower. The view at the top was breathtaking. We climbed up on another path and took pictures before coming back down to look at a metal workers crafts and hang out for a bit in the hotel there. After we came back down we decided to take a scenic drive to the beach. Beautiful ride. Frank drove smooth enough so I didn’t get carsick on the mountain roads. We found 2 cows on the road and we stopped to take pictures of a waterway through the mountains. When we finally got to the beach it was about 7 or 8. We walked the shore picking up rocks and shells for a bit and then Frank decided that we should go get swimsuits (since we had left them at the hotel) and hop in since it was my first time to a beach and the ocean/sea. We ran to store before it closed (5 or 10 minutes) and changed and jumped in. Frank took some pictures and we all tried to swim out and ride the waves in. When it got too dark to swim, we got out and dried off and ate peaches that Frank had bought at the market that morning. The sights and sounds of the shore village and the waves were amazing. We decided to come home before eating. I can’t seem to snooze on drive for fear of missing something so Veronica and I talked while Grey slept. Grey, Veronica and I went out when we got back to try to find something to eat. The night life of Italy is amazing. The main streets were packed with people our age. Grey wanted to wander too far so Veronica and I came back to the hotel to eat my food and have girl time. I didn’t get to bed before 3am. Woke up this morning for breakfast at 9:30 so we could walk to the Basillica by 11 for masse. Just Veronica and I went since I’m the only practicing Catholic of the bunch and we figure we shouldn’t go out alone. The church was beautiful as was the music and the language of the masse. I wish I could have understood the liturgy. The process of masse is very similar to ours so I just followed everyone else around. Sundays L’Aquila is pretty quiet aside from church so we’re trying to catch up on everything now. So far the experience has been amazing and I want to come back after some lessons in Italian. Grey and I went to dinner and wandered the town. We came across a smaller market with amazing jewelry. The woman there was very nice and tried to teach me some Italian while I purchased things. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.
