Death-By-Scooter!

Okay, I have been here for a few days now, and I have learned a couple of things that I want to write down before I forget.

#1 A couple of days ago, we saw a public transit bus loaded with passengers pull to a screeching stop at the side of the road. "There must be an emergency!" we thought. The driver saundered out and leisurely entered a gelato shop where he proceeded to buy a huge cone. Then he boarded the bus and continued on his route. Apparently a hankering for sweet frozen treats does constitute an emergency in Italy...

#2 I cannot speak for all of Italy, but the restaurants in my vicinity have been surprisingly terrible! I was looking forward to homemade pasta smothered in a variety of delectable sauces. I've spent months purposely watching what I eat so I could "carbo-load"--all in vain. :-( Where are they hiding all the scrumptious cuisine?

In all fairness, there have been two noteable exceptions. The first is a dessert called panna cota, which literally translated means something like "baked cream." Need I say more? How can you go wrong with something comprised soley of cream and sugar. I was nervous to try it. It looks like a rectangular brick of tofu. And, it has the consistency of sligthly rubbery cream cheese. I am glad I did though, because it is mighty tasty!

The second new food that is pleasantly toothsome is a dish called Jeswish artichokes. We walked to the section of the city known as the Jewish Ghetto. It is where about 5000 Jews were forced to live by the Pope during the reformation (1550s). I was surprised to learn that they were contained in this neighborhood by a wall. There were lots of rules pertaining to their conduct as well. The restrictions reminded me of Nazis Germany. For example, Jews were not allowed to go out at night, own land, or receive any higher education. They even has to identify themselves by wearing yellow hats. Sounds creepily familiar, right?

ANYWAY, (sorry to be sidetracked by a history tidbit) it is still a predominately Jewish community today. They take an artichoke, cut off the tips, and peel off most of the outer leaves. Then they flash fry it twice, so that the outside is kind of crispy. Then they hold it by the stem and press it on a surface to flatten it slightly and loosen the leaves. The end result tastes like an artichoke french fry. I will definitely be going back for more of those.
#3 Last item. When crossing the street here, you are literally taking your life in your hands. Jaywalking is like a national past time. Cars and scooters go zipping by at breakneck speeds and when pedestrians step off the curb, they just swerve to avoid them and keep on going. Our faculty adviser told us that if you make eye contact with a driver, it means that they have the right-of-way (the opposite of the U.S.), so you sort of have to avert your eyes and hope for the best. We were curious about how many people loose toes and limbs to demonic scooters and it turns out there are a glut of UTube videos about this very subject.
They look cute, but they savvy pedestrian knows they are not to be trifled with...

p.s. Doesn't it look like he's checking his cell phone for a text message?