The week of dinner parties.

So this past week, my roommate's dad came to visit. Teagan's dad is hilarious, so fun, a lot like my dad, and SUCH a trooper. So on his first day in Italy (Friday), Teagan and I took him to Florence. We visited the Duomo (again, for me, but it's still beautiful!), saw the Galileo Museum (VERY COOL, especially for little miss "History of Science," Teagan),  did some shopping, walked on the Arno River, crossed Ponte Vecchio, and had an AMAZING, DELICIOUS, traditional Tuscan meal for lunch. We had the house wine (as per usual), and Pappa al Pomodoro. Pappa al Pomodoro is basically a Tuscan peasant food, made from hardened bread, tomatoes,and some other spices/herbs. What makes this food so special? Like all Italian food, it's special because it's SO SIMPLE, yet UNBELIEVABLY DELICIOUS. All of the ingredients are SO FRESH. And then we had delicious chocolate hazelnut gelato. And took the train home.

AND HAD METER PIZZA.

Second time that week. The main scenario for meter pizza: Between 4-6 people go to Pizza Etruschetto and share a meter-long margharita pizza and a free bottle of wine. The goal: the pizza has to be completely finished. The rule: Everyone must do their part.

Here's a picture from our first meter pizza this week...which was on Wednesday...hahaha:

Six girls+1 pizza=Anxiety over getting enough. WE LOVE PIZZA.

I'd rather do meter pizza with four people. Much safer that way. Hahahaha.

So then, Saturday night, Teagan, her dad, our friend Briana and I had a little dinner part at Briana's apartment...pasta, veggies, salad, red wine....simple but delicious. And then we hit the bars. Teagan's dad, let me tell you, was a HOOT AND A HALF at the Italian bars. Makin' friends everywhere he went. It was awesome. We had a BLAST. We took him out every night that he was here, and he loved it every time. We even made him stay up until the secret bakery opened one of the nights (the secret bakery is the one that opens in the middle of the night (around one or two) for the drunks/partiers/bar-hoppers who are craving a nutella filled pastry...it's cheap and DELICIIOUUSSS).

SUNDAY, after cleaning up the house a bit and doing some homework, I took the mini-metro (cutest thing ever, I'll post a picture sometime) out of the center of Perugia all the way to the last stop where there is a GORGEOUS park for running. It was my first time running in like three weeks...rough...but it was BEAUTIFUL. So peaceful, and sunny, I swear I got a tan. And then I came back and we went to mass! It was at a stunning cathedral right next to our apartment, and it was all in Italian, but it was so fun to listen to. Throughout the whole service I was listening, doing my best to understand what the Priest was saying. Of course it helped that I've been going to church my whole life and know most of the basic bible verses/blessings/prayers that he said. That definitely helped. It was my first Italian catholic mass, though, and I think I will definitely be going back sometime!

And then Dal mi cocco's (which, I found out, basically translates to say "At my buddy's.") for dinner. The best traditional Italian restaurant in town. They do the full-deal. Wine, pizza bread, family-style pasta, salad, delicious dessert, amaretto shot with dessert, and an espresso to finish it off. CLASSIC ITALIAN. Nothing better.

Monday Night: Italian Murder Mystery Dinner Party.

So I've never been to a murder mystery party in ENGLISH, let alone in italian. But my italian professoressa, Barbara, thought it would be a fun thing to do as a class. (I KNOW, I LOVE THIS SCHOOL). So we all made a dish and brought to one of our classmate's houses for the party. Barbara showed up with the murder mystery supplies, and gave us each a character, a role, and a script. We had to go through the whole script in order to tell the story (Barb's tricky way of making us practice Italian outside of class), and it was actually really fun! Some of the courses of the meal went along with the script, which was super adorable. Then, in the end, we all had to write, in Italian, what we thought had happened and who had done it. The winner got a prize. It was definitely a test of my Italian comprehension, but was actually also a ton of fun. Plus, PLEASE tell me when I will ever have the opportunity to drink wine with a professor after this semester. Seriously. So funny.

Tuesday Night: Teagan's dad's last night in Italy=FAMILY DINNER IN THE APARTMENT.

Since we all had class and commitments all day, Teagan's dad made the roommates a delicious home-cooked family dinner for his last night in town. He made us this fun appetizer: cream cheese with pesto on top and hard bread. YUM. And for the main coures: Veggie Lasagna. And then gelato at our favorite gelato shop, "Fonte Maggiore" on him. SUCH a relaxing night.

So, to sum it up, for the past week I have been experiencing some of the best meals of my entire life in this country. Didn't hate it!

However, Teagan's dad has gone home, I'm writing a paper and studying for an exam (both for tomorrow)....so tonights dinner: Frozen pizza.

Ahhhh the good life.

:)