In which we accidentally witness a toddler strip show.

The highlights of our first weekend in Tuscania:

1)   Free contemporary dance concert at the local theatre

2)   Meeting lots of Iowans

3)   DJ party at San Marco

4)   Cooking our first lunch in the apartment

5)   Ordering food and drinks from patient locals

6)   Successful solo navigation

7)   Sunday morning lay out/reading fest on the lawn

The lowlights

1)   Tuscania is experiencing its coldest spring in 200 years

Seriously, I am so ready to wear some of the summer clothes I brought on this trip.  Thankfully the sun has decided to kick it up a notch today, so perhaps the frigidity has passed?

There’s a group of students from Iowa here studying at Lorenzo de Medici with us, and it’s been fun getting to know them as we explore the city together. Last night we all decided to go to the local theatre for a free dance concert. We knew nothing about it, but we figured hey—free is good.

Here is a breakdown of aforementioned dance concert, recipe style:

1) Take 2 cups of

 

2) Add 3/4 cup of

3) Roll the mixture in

5) Garnish with basil, and serve hot with a side of awkward side glances and chair shifting.

Honestly it wasn’t so bad, we just weren’t really prepared to see little Italian children in bras dancing to the explicit version of “Thrift Shop.”

But that's enough of that. On to real food. For those of you who care (aka my mom) our first lunch in the apartment was amazing. We sautéed locally grown mushrooms, onions, and zucchini in the most delicious olive oil (sorry to rub it in, but the olive oil here really is so much better than anything I’ve ever had at home… tomatoes too), and then we mixed it with pasta, or ate it plain, and had some Tuscan wine to go with it. Perfetto, if you ask me.

Smell the delicious.

I’m starting to get a much better feel of the geography of this place. It really is the perfect size for someone as spatially challenged as I am. Our apartment is actually within the old medieval walls of the city, so for landmarks we use arches and statues that adorn the outer edges, fountains, pizzerias, and San Marco. San Marco is right around the corner from our apartment, and it’s the perfect place to sit and drink an espresso, or grab a beer, or sit and use wifi… Which is precisely what I am here doing right now.

Cappuccino with ginseng... Mmmm.

I’ve heard good things about my Travel Writing professor, so I can’t wait to meet her tomorrow. Apparently she’s Irish. That’s a totally insignificant bit of knowledge, but I thought I’d share anyway.