Penne & Pearls: Day 17 and 18: Holy Cannoli

Today was somewhat unremarkable, but I've been meaning to blog some important things that I've learned about Italy so far, but that are totally miscellaneous. First, is that even if the vendors at the leather markets light their bags/ jackets/ shoes on fire to show that they're real leather, it doesn't mean that they are. I was totally set on the fact that if I was going to by something, it had to face the flame. Not the case. Plastic stands up to the heat as well. Unfortunately, I cannot offer you a tried and true test that DOES prove if its 100% leather, but atleast you can eliminate one option if you're ever in italy attempting to buy leather goods.

Another small anecdote that I wish I had known about italy, is that you need to bring your own bags to the grocery store. If you dont, they charge you 10 cents a bag, which isn't so much a big deal, but it totally screams american/ foreigner. Plus bringing them is more eco-friendly :). Another thing about grocery shopping is that typically italians purchase groceries in small trips. While at home me and my mom would probably rack up 10 or so bags, its usual to just bring home two or three.

And the last thing that I can think about at the moment is about gelato. Yes, I know, food food food, but hey we are in Italy. Gelato is displayed in two ways generally: in big huge colorful mountains, or in metal canisters, where you can't actually see the gelato. When you have the gelato in those big huge mountains it incorporates air into it, making it not quite as rich. Also, having it in the canisters usually indicates freshness, because they are used behind most shops to make it in store.

SO, back to the true trials and tribulations of italia. Tuesday was molto uneventful, and while I'd love to waste your time telling you how awesome brushing my teeth was and how many clouds were in the sky, ill spare you. Wednesday, Kelli and I went to a new bar for coffee, and it ended up being so cute and nice. The people were pleasant, and we got these awesome dry sweet cookies which rocked in coffee. And they put the fleur de lies (excuse the spelling) in our foam!

We also got to walk to class under this beautiful sunset, which was a treat in and of itself.

After class, some of Kelli's lovely friends came over to cook us dinner! To reciprocate, Kelli and I picked up some cannoli at a wonderful bakery called Scudieri...again forgive my spelling.

Josh ended up being a great chef, and of course we were so happy not to have had to cook tonight ! He also brought along some sous chefs ( roomates ) who were compensated by a free meal as well!