Day Fifteen.

Today was pretty normal. No Code Greens or skyscraper amounts of snow here.

We had class at 9, as per usual, and watched apparently a movie recognized as one of the best of all time (artistically): La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life). It was pretty damn artsy--reminded me of French nouvelle vague films I watched in World Cinema my Freshman year. It was about how the aristocracy and their "sweet" life in the city is really unfulfilling and empty.

After class we went to lunch, like always. I ate pretty light. Did get crackers and brie, though.

Italian class was a tad overwhelming because Dino jumped us into present tense conjugation and then decided it wasn't too much more of a jump to go to present perfect! It kind of is.

After class we went grocery shopping and did some window shopping as well. We went into two stores and looked at shoes but they were all really expensive. Still nice to look, though. We went grocery shopping, though, and I bought canned green beans and some Special K cereal. Then Erin and I went to a pasticerria (pastry shop/stand) and bought some delicious cookies while Jordan and Kate went into a second grocery store to look for Halls Cough Drops to no avail. Jordan and Kate then headed back to the apartment but Erin and I went to find a store she had seen last week called Moby Dick. It turned out to be an import store (like Pier 1). Erin really liked it but I didn't since it was all stuff I could get in the States. Then we headed back to the apartment.

We hung out at the apartment until 8pm when we went to Osteria Nuova, my favorite restaurant on our plan. You don't order there--they just bring you food and it's always delicious. You get two appetizers, a main dish (usually pasta) and a dessert. It's served family style so you share with those at your table (we had a party of 4). We got the carne cruda (smoked meat) appetiser with prosciutto, bologna, and salami and the vitello tornado which is veal lightly seared served with a tuna mash. They were both very good. The pasta dish was fettuccine noodles in a cream and leek sauce. Also very good. Dessert was also very good but less distinguishable. I think there was a small chunk of almond cake with chocolate shavings and a bite of chocolate lace torte with apricot jam on top and orange compote on the side. All in all, an amazing meal as I expected it would be.

Tomorrow we will be going to Torino for the day. I only know a couple of things we're doing: visiting the news station, university and municipal seat. Should be pretty interesting as Italy doesn't have free press (I know--who'd have thought! An awful judicial system AND no free press). I'll try to remember everything and report back.

Oh. I feel a little bit better about Valentine's Day--the girls have decided we should do a bakery crawl on Sunday and buy a cookie or two at each bakery we can find. I really hope we do it because that would definitely make me happy. But this is also a group that says they want to do something and then doesn't so we'll see.