I would love to come to you today with the pictures of a room in my house that's totally finished.  Alas, that isn't going to happen.  I'm currently getting beat down by my kitchen cabinets.  So instead, I'll give you the second installment of my posts about Italy.  Today, I'm going to talk about the food.

Ohhhh, the food.

I anticipated there being some tasty pasta and wine, which was true.  But there were also some surprisingly good other things! 

Our routine on the food front went a little like this:

Wake up.  Eat a breakfast/lunch (we woke up late...) of bread, jam, cheese, meat, fruit, coffee, and sometimes fruit tart.  Go out on an adventure.  Get a snack/pizza/gelato.  Continue our adventure.  Go to dinner.  Eat a couple courses out of the many they offer.  Go home.  Go to bed.

I could go on and on about the best things in different meals, but I think it will be better to hit the highlights.

We had gelato every day.  Sometimes twice.

The bread was a little bland... the better to put olive oil on.

I ate more cured meats in a week than I have in my entire life.

Fresh pasta is a totally different food that boxed. 

Italian food seemed to be simple food with simple, fresh, high quality ingredients.  I liked it.

And then, there was "THE MEAL".

One night, the wife of the gentleman we were renting the villa from cooked us dinner.  We sat outside at our little villa table, and she brought us food that she cooked at her house, one course at a time.  The menu was:

Appetizers:  Tomato and mozzarella, bruschetta (x3), prosciutto and melon.
Pasta:  White spinach lasagna, spaghetti with fresh sauce
Entree(s):  Cinghiali (wild boar) with green beans, roasted chicken and mutton with potatoes and salad
Dessert:  Fruit tart

We were full by the second course, but we just kept eating because she kept bringing more food!  Here are the pictures I took from the night!  They pretty much exemplify the dining experience of Italy.  Enjoy!


Just eatin', outside in Tuscany.

 

Mmmmm, wine!

Tomatoes and Mozzarella

Spinach lasagna pasta stuff.

Mmmmm, more wine!

Some sort of appetizer thingy.

Cinghiale.  Sorry folks, wild boar just doesn't photograph well.

Chicken, mutton, and potatoes.

Giant fruit tart.  We ate it for breakfast for like 4 days.

It was light when we started... It was dark at the end.  The sign of a good meal.

Wish I had some of that food right now!  It's cheerios and Jimmy Johns until my kitchen is put back together.....