Prosciutto

Day 3, and it keeps getting better. I've now met everyone in the CET Siena 2011 spring program, and they're all amazing! We've been going through orientation meetings and touring the city. I've also begun my true love affair with Italian food. I mean, I knew I loved Italian food - I like my spaghetti as much as the next girl - but this is no Olive Garden, guys. Yesterday, after our morning meeting, we took a walk beyond the bus station and explored the Fortezza and adjacent park. The Fortezza is a beautiful place to walk or jog, and has a great view of the city. It feels like springtime even though it's still January - it's been sunny and there still seems to be lots of green in the park. After wandering, we ate at a little greenhouse-esque restaurant close to the supermarket, where we got delicious pasta, panini, and salad for 4 to 5 Euro each. Later, after taking a much-needed nap, we had dinner with our entire group plus the Italian roommates (we live in apartments throughout the city, each with a few CET students along with Italian roommates). The food at this restaurant was INCREDIBLE. Plate after plate of salami and prosciutto came, fresh bread, big pitchers of the red house wine, bruschetta, then three pasta dishes. The third pasta dish was pici (a thick, fresh spaghetti-like pasta) with wild boar sauce. Heaven. Dessert was a plate of three tiramisu samples. To me, food is one of the great delights in life, and Siena is not disappointing so far whatsoever. After checking out the nightlife at a little bar and then finally returning (via the massive double hill to get to the apartment! ahh!) and blessedly passing out, we got up today for our rounds of paperwork and registration with the city to be allowed to live here for the semester. I am pleased to say that my breakfast was my first Italian gelato. I chose pera, or pear, and it was truly like eating a real pear in ice cream form. Squisito! Lunch was a simple panino with thick slices of fresh tomato, mozzarella, prosciutto, and lettuce sandwiched between crusty slices of warm bread. Prosciutto is swiftly becoming one of my new favorite foods, definitely going to keep the fridge continuously stocked with it for these few months, plus probably back in the states, too.