Pasta With Game

A whole week come and gone! February's coming to a close and it just feels so . . . Marchy! We finally got that reasonable weather we've been begging for -- I've even been going out coat-free. Last week we were assigned our first midterm paper for Illicit Trafficking. It will be 10 pages but we have 2 full weeks to do it so I'm not too worried! Other than that, school is decent. Our art class sends us to Florence again on Wednesday and it'll be great to get out mid-week.

Saturday was 60° and we went to Assisi without any jackets. The morning and night was cold but the daytime was perfect. We showed up at about 10am and went in search of the Roman Ampitheatre that was supposedly by the bus stop. If you know me at all, you know this means it took us about an hour to find it.  And it was all really anti-climactic because when we showed up, the "ampitheatre" was not a cul-de-sac of houses, complete with clotheslines and graffiti and patio furniture. We've been using Rick Steves' Italy Guide for Students which is honestly the best thing ever. He literally says, "Turn right here and you'll see . . ." It's great that it's so effortless. He led us to spot with the best Umbrian view you've ever seen. It was gorgeous and you could see the beautiful Rocca Maggiore, the 1,000-year-old castle on the hill.

That was all it took. We were determined to be on that hilltop. Our friend Lizzie won't turn down a good castle so we were going to make it up there: I in my dress and Danielle in her skirt. On the way, we found an ancient Roman faucet-thing that brings water down from the mountains. It was ice-cold and delicious (excuse the fact that I look ridiculous):

Along the way to the castle, we kept getting excited by the pretty views. So that led to a million mini photoshoots. Bear with them. They are pretty cute, though, right?

Needless to say, the hike up the hill consisted of sweat, ripped pantyhose and lots more mini photoshoots. What else would you do if every time you turned, the view got better and better? But we did finally make it to the top and it was so worth it. That castle was our jungle gym for about an hour. So many stairs. We just kept asking, "What did people do in times of war?" If I was being invaded and I had to run down those little passageways, I would've been the first man down. So, without further ado, more pictures from our lovely hour at the castle:

By that time, abbiamo avuto fame! We walked aimlessly til we found a place with outdoor seating. I ordered pasta with asparagus, truffles and pecorino. DELICIOUS. I can't, however, say the same for poor Danielle. Let me prefice this by saying that the only meat that she consistently eats is chicken. If she had her way, she'd shoot and prepare a cow herself so that she could make sure it was done right. Needless to say, she's choosy about her red meats. So it must've been the most ironic moment in the history of ... moments when the waiter comes over with Lizzie and I's plates and a third that he calls "pasta with game." We obviously can't argue in Italian so she graciously accepts the plate before looking at us aghast and says, "I SMELL IT!" I wasn't even trying not to laugh. It was just spilling out.

We also went to the Basilica of San Francesco. He's a very popular man with my art professor so it was very interesting to see his tomb (kind of). I mean, we weren't sure if that was his tomb and the signs were pointing three different directions for the Tomb of San Francesco but everyone was praying. Context clues. We really had such a good day and bought memorable souvenirs. I just love our weekends. They make me so happy.