Okay....a few pics to spice things up!

Totally off the record, but I think prosciutto is a good post-workout snack, high in protein, plus the salt your body needs to retain water. Try it some time...also with scamorza (smoked mozzarrella) to complete the traif duo.

In any case, I've been catching a lot of flack about the lack of pics, so....without further ado, here we go...the picture above is from the balcony of Stefano's apartment. He has a great view of the city, and, next to his apartment, operates a business center where people can come use computers and the internet instead of paying for an office. The grand opening of his business is this Thursday and I think that there is going to be a party at his place to kick things off.

The following pic is from lunch today....Stefano and Paolo...the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...(notice the hands in motion...a very important part of stating one's case).

Well, I have started my language classes, at a school called Modern English (originally, just an English school). In my class, there are only three people...including the teacher! Basically, just me and a tedesca (German girl) who also speaks Spanish, but not much Italian, so our level is the same and we get a lot of practice.....from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

Yesterday and today, I went to class, had lunch, took a nap and went to the gym. Not a bad routine, and the nap has been necessary as I have been going out most (and by most, I mean every) night with Stefano, Michela, as well as some other Italian and European friends I have met here.

I found a pretty good restaurant called Rosso Pomodoro (Red Tomato), which, although at first glance may somewhat resemble the interior of Pasta Pomodoro, takes the cake in the food department hands down.

Two nights ago, I went there and had a pasta o' scialatiello (sure I am spelling that wrong), which was homemade pasta with zucchini, eggplant, salted cheese and tomato sauce, with a glass of Barbera (my favorite wine thus far!). Last night, again at Rosso Pomodoro, a friend and I split a pizza with mozzarella and a few other types of cheese, fresh basil as well as a salad of bresaola (kind of like prosciutto, but a bit drier and darker) with rucola, carrots and drizzled with an orange olive oil, which was really interesting given the carrots and the orange flavor combination (interesting in a good way though), of course accompanied by a few glasses of Barbera.

Yeah, guess I had better be going to the gym, eating like that...btw, here are a few pics of today's lunch, in casa con la familia Salizzoni.....actually the first dish we ate was on the right, homemade pasta ai funghi porcini....and can you guess what is on the left....? It's oven roasted tomatoes, potatoes, a bit of greens and........yep, it's rabbit...realy quite good, lean flavorful but not gamey...a bit like chicken, but maybe more hennish?

Well, I had better get going pretty soon...it's 8:30 PM and I still need to eat dinner, then will meet Michela and a few of her friends for a drink. Ciao ragazzi!