Thursday, September 24, 2009
I expected great coffee, but nobody told me that I'd be getting fantastic Italian tea. After my having suffered through six hours with the Italian police department, I needed (and deserved) a relaxing evening. A small group of us wandered down to "The Tea Room" where we had been told there was going to be live music playing and though we were misinformed about the music, what we found was even better. The Tea Room is a quiet hole-in-the-wall full of comfy chairs, teapots, and chotchkies. For 4 euro a person, you choose from one of the (almost literally) hundreds of different teas and are then served a full pot of loose tea with a beautiful, matching teacup and a personal strainer. I picked a decaf "frutti neri" and it was one of the best teas I have ever had (and that's saying a lot). And though I was too full to test them out, the various desserts caused my mouth to water and the friendly, singing man behind the counter made me certain that The Tea Room is a place I will frequent, especially when the weather turns cold.
Again, I returned to an internet-free apartment.
The calming tea and lovely company of my previous evening made my first Thursday of classes a more bearable 6 hours. Every Thursday, sandwiched between my two, 2-hour classes on the Black Plague, I have two hours of what I have learned is basically an art history class in Italian. It's a tough day. Still, I did survive and was rewarded in the end with a package from home! While the 20-minute haul from the IES center was much more difficult weighed down by a 20-pound package and a backpack, it was absolutely worth the struggle. Full of the simplest American treats, (comics, Dove dark chocolates, and ziploc bags) the package oozed with the comforts of home.
After a dinner in the University's cafeteria, (yes, I ate Sodexo in Italy. I am appalled) we ended the night sitting in the Campo. And though the price ended up skyrocketing and sending me into a bit of a panic, I have officially booked my flight to Paris for fall break and I couldn't be more excited to meet up with three Richmond friends. Nothing makes you appreciate home like time away from it.
I expected great coffee, but nobody told me that I'd be getting fantastic Italian tea. After my having suffered through six hours with the Italian police department, I needed (and deserved) a relaxing evening. A small group of us wandered down to "The Tea Room" where we had been told there was going to be live music playing and though we were misinformed about the music, what we found was even better. The Tea Room is a quiet hole-in-the-wall full of comfy chairs, teapots, and chotchkies. For 4 euro a person, you choose from one of the (almost literally) hundreds of different teas and are then served a full pot of loose tea with a beautiful, matching teacup and a personal strainer. I picked a decaf "frutti neri" and it was one of the best teas I have ever had (and that's saying a lot). And though I was too full to test them out, the various desserts caused my mouth to water and the friendly, singing man behind the counter made me certain that The Tea Room is a place I will frequent, especially when the weather turns cold.
Again, I returned to an internet-free apartment.
The calming tea and lovely company of my previous evening made my first Thursday of classes a more bearable 6 hours. Every Thursday, sandwiched between my two, 2-hour classes on the Black Plague, I have two hours of what I have learned is basically an art history class in Italian. It's a tough day. Still, I did survive and was rewarded in the end with a package from home! While the 20-minute haul from the IES center was much more difficult weighed down by a 20-pound package and a backpack, it was absolutely worth the struggle. Full of the simplest American treats, (comics, Dove dark chocolates, and ziploc bags) the package oozed with the comforts of home.
After a dinner in the University's cafeteria, (yes, I ate Sodexo in Italy. I am appalled) we ended the night sitting in the Campo. And though the price ended up skyrocketing and sending me into a bit of a panic, I have officially booked my flight to Paris for fall break and I couldn't be more excited to meet up with three Richmond friends. Nothing makes you appreciate home like time away from it.
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