When in... oh, nevermind.

You've all seen this, so I feel it needs no introduction. It definitely lives up to, and exceeds expectations.

I spent all of yesterday in Roma, with the stated purpose of finding "exotic" ingredients like avocados that cannot be obtained in the little citta of Orvieto. So... internship cred! I really think that walking around Roma seeing ancient ruins and marveling in the splendor of centuries of human achievement may be the best way to garner credit hours towards my degree. I highly recommend it for any students out there.

Oh yeah, workin' hard, learnin' things. School rules.

Today, my camera arrived. I think that I would have actually spent less trying to get it out of the mafia, because the Italian government decided to charge me a 46 euro tax on a tiny FedEx box that had already been paid for. Jerks. I might be more peeved if they hadn't given us democracy and yummy food. They lucked out, this time.

So... after sleeping in and Skype-ing the boyfriend I took a small photography excursion around Orvieto. I love this city. In the above pic you can see the sheer precipice that greets you upon wandering to the city limits. The round structure to the left is the pope's well, a really unique structure with wide steps built for donkeys to retrieve water. The unusual part is the double-helix formation of the stairs as you descend/ascend, never crossing each other. The leaves have begun to sprout on all the trees in the countryside below, in a couple weeks the grape leaves should pop out and bathe the countryside in verdant splendor, until then it's only "mostly" beautiful. Of course I'm kidding.

I didn't have enough time today to walk this whole trail, but you can wind around the volcanic plateau on the trail pictured above. It's really beautiful and the weather is getting pretty fantastic. I had to cut this hiking session short- and rush to my wine tasting class with the Italian sommilier. Damn the humdrum life of a student!! Classes to attend, DOCG wines to taste, food to nosh... you should be glad I'm here taking care of these issues so you don't have to suffer!

I will have to apologize now for the brevity of this post, I need to get a head start on my homework for the weekend, as tomorrow I'm going to Perugia to practice chocolate artistry with master pastry chefs, then have another multi-course meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant. This weekend I'm going hiking in the Cinque Terre with one of my roommates, if all goes as planned.

Buena notte!