Wine and Coffee, Vino e Caffe

I am finally feeling more comfortable as a Roman resident! I think sometimes people don't even know I'm American... maybe that's just wishful thinking though.

I have spent the past couple days touring different food markets and drinking lots of coffee and wine. Italians (and I'm sure other Europeans, but especially Italians) like to drink a caffe after their meal. A caffe here means an espresso shot. Yum! 

Shoutout to my girl, Chanel back at Zenzero, for helping me appreciate coffee more and actually enjoy the taste of an espresso. 

The food markets are so enchanting here. I could spend all of my time there. 

But perhaps the most mesmerizing place of all, is Eataly. It has the most amazing foods. They sell everything Italian you could think of! 

I was able to try a traditional Roman antipasto, a fried artichoke. It has such a nice crispness while still maintaining the wonderful flavor of the artichoke. 

I even ate anchovies there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND I LIKED THEM! 

There's something different about the fish here, probably the freshness. 

If I don't come back, this is why.

Kelsey, I know you would love this. You buy a liter or more bottle and then fill up your bottle with wine. Then you can come back and get refills when you're done with it. And it's inexpensive but great quality. Just another great reason to venture out to Eataly. Sorry, mom. 

Perhaps my favorite part so far is actually getting to cook! Wednesday night I cooked a traditional Roman side dish, Broccoletti alla Romana. It was so delicious and a perfect side to the wine and herb chicken I baked. This chicken was so fresh and not shot up with steroids so it was tiny but the freshest, most tender chicken I've ever had (only partly due to my cooking :))

Tonight I whipped up a batch of basil pesto and sautéed some tomatoes to add with the bow-tie pasta I bought. 

I also got to go to an English speaking mass at St. Patrick's! I almost forgot I was in Italy during that time.

Well ciao! This weekend I will be traveling to a few cities so exciting updates to come!