MANGIARE! I am going to have to be honest, one of my favorite things about Italy.. is the food. the CIBO. I can't even tell you how excited I get when it is time to eat! Something you need to know about the Italians, is they put all they have into their cooking. They care so much about their food, and how it looks and tastes.. ALWAYS! I am loving it.. (well, my thighs may beg to differ) but the food is definitely a work of art, in and of itself. Whether it be a homemade cooked meal from a native, or going to a ristorante, or a mozzarella bar- it is always a green light.
Something that my body has not yet adjusted to (and probably will never adjust to) is the theory of a 3-5 course meal. MAMA MIA! ACCIDENTE! Often, we will go eat with members, or good friends or visit my mother's family- and of course, they insist on feeding us. No matter HOW hungry I am, I can never bring myself to eating ALL OF THE FOOD. It is an anxiety attack for me, and I don't want to offend them by not eating their food. I could fast for 3 days straight, in preparation for these meals- and STILL not get past the 1st or 2nd course. Is it just me?
The best story is from last Christmas. Matty, Jen and I came out here for the holidays, and on Christmas Eve, we, as a family went out to dinner to a local restaurant- The Pinocchio. (One of my parent's favorite.) The old lady that ran the store didn't speak any English, except a few "choice" words, and thought it was funny to say them to us- over, and over again. Classic Italian Nonna. Don't get me wrong, the food is ALWAYS incredible, just too dang much of it! So, they bring out the pastas, then the salads, then the caprese, and of course the excessive amounts of bread- which can fill you up by itself. Well, as we all are sitting there around the table, like beached whales.. she brings out chicken! Ohhh Mama mia! Of course, we didn't want to be rude, we HAD to get it down some how. Some way.
Finally, we came to the realization that there was no possible way we could eat this chicken. Thanks to mom, and her big winter coat, we found our EXIT.. to stuff the chicken in her pockets. Indeed, we did it- and mom wobbled out of there with at least 4 or 5 big pieces of chicken in her pockets. Oh, and don't worry- at the end of the meal, she brings out champagne for us to drink. Again, we don't want to be rude. The minute that she walked out of the room, we started pouring the champagne into the empty water bottles, and even some onto left over food.. we had to get rid of it, to make it look like we drank some of it! Keep in mind, there are 5 of us doing this!
So, moral of the story- do not ever underestimate an Italian meal. Do not ever overestimate your digestive system.
My eyes light up every time I see the food here. There are so many different types of cheese here, I can't even believe it! I didn't even like cheese outside of the Cheddar family, until I came here.
Of course, I can not forget the GELATO. I could go on for days about how incredible the gelato is. It is lighter than ice cream, but so much more delicious and beautiful. GELATO= Heaven on this earth.
The beautiful and pleasing food here, is definitely a legitimate reason to say that La Vita e Bella.
o my gosh that food looks amazing!!! And your thighs could use a little padding so eat up! ;) Since you are becoming quit the foodie, you've got to come to Chicago after we move, there are some really yummy places to eat there:) There's a place that has the best cake batter ice cream-ever!!! I hope you learn how to make some of that amazing food over in Italy so that you can teach me when you come back! Miss ya girl and hope your having a blast!..and I'm so glad you made your flight-how scary!
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