Food and Beverages- Blog #5

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The food and beverages from Italy have so far been very good. I have been trying to eat almost everything so I want miss out on the delicious food. During our welcome dinner when we first got here I ate everything that was handed out to it me. Of course I could not eat it all because of how full I was by the third dish. The first dish that was handed out to everyone was more on the lines of finger food like an appetizer. When we were given our dish of appetizers there was this bread covered with lamb meat on it that looked like it was blended up. A pate is what it is called, which is ground meat and fat minced turned into a spreadable paste. I was the only one to eat the pate out of the whole entire group. Most people did not even try it because it did not look appealing to them. I always say not to knock it until you try it. When I went to try it I was not expecting to like it becuase just like everyone else it looked quite disturbing. It honestly looked like cow poop on top of a piece of bread. I tasted the meat part of the bread first to see what it taste like and from there I ate the whole thing. If only you could see everyone's face while I was eating the pate, it was pure comedy if you ask me!

Most of the things that I have been eating here has been mainly pasta, pizza, and pastries. I have eaten other things while I been here in Italy but those three are the main ones. The pastry that I eat is usually in the morning on my way to school. At school I learned that Italians do not eat a big breakfast like we do in the morning. In America for breakfast I usually have bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, and toast, if I have enough time to fix it. Now if I am running on a short amount of time I will grab something quick from Starbucks or Mcdonalds like a doughnut or a mcgriddle. I usually prefer a hot breakfast majority of the time so it would be rare for me to get a doughnut over a mcgriddle. For lunch I will usually grab a slice of pizza or sandwhich to eat; on my pizza I love to get vegetables as my toppings. What I normally get is spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini, and the list goes on. The other day in Bologna I tried a pizza with eggplant on it for the first time and I thought it was delicious. The eggplant reminded me of eating mushrooms because they do not have a distinct taste to it. So I am going to add the eggplant on to my list of vegetables to put on on my pizza. I have not ate too many sandwhiches here but the ones I did eat were not too bad. The meat on the sandwhiches just needed a little bit more salt on them.

After the fashion show I remember Mrs. Harrington talking to me about how some food places sell this food called Tripe, which is cow stomach. She was telling me about how it is very popular here and asked me have I ever heard about it or had it before. I answered her and said no I never had it before and honestly I was disgusted with the idea of even people eating it, GROSS! If she is reading this she is going to get a good laugh out of this. Anyways, up the street from my apartment is a food truck that sells sandwhiches for no more than 4 euros. The man that works there does not speak any English only Italian so it was difficult for us to communicate with each other. There is a man in front of me that got this sandwhich that looks oh so delicious and I go to ask him if he spoke English but he says just a little. The man that only spoke Italian was trying to tell me that the sandwhich that he got was a special for today and you cannot get it anywhere else. Then asked me if I want it, I shook my head yes and got the sandwhich. As I was eating the sandwhich I notice the meat was very juicy and needed some more salt on it. Other than that I pretty much devoured the whole sandwhich. The next day I go back up there to try something new and this time there is a lady up there. I asked her if she spoke English and she said yes, and I was just filled with joy. I proceeded to tell her what sandwhich I wanted and what all I wanted on it. While she was making my sandwhich I asked her when did she work becuase I was having a hard time communicating with the guy the last time I was up there. I then tell her about the sandwhich I got yesterday and how it was the special for the day. She says to me oh okay so you got the Tripe sandwhich and I am like yeah with a big smile on my face. Then she goes and asks you do know that Tripe is cow stomach, when she asked me that my mouth suddenly hit the ground with shock.

The wine here in Italy is very delicious to me. Yesterday I went to a wine tasting at a winery and I enjoyed every last thing about it. Learning the history about the Antinori family was fascinating to me. What I love the most about the tour yesterday was how our tour guide told us how they try to not waste anything. I have a high appreciation for businesses like that.

January 12, 2018 I walked 17,159 steps, January 13, 2018 I walked 11,856 steps, and today I walked 10,459 steps.

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