Allison's Wonderland

Three things the Italians know how to do right. I'm sure there is more, but this is what I have discovered so far:
Coffee, Chocolate and Pastries

Here's a picture of my favorite chocolate I have had since I've been here. Guess what everybody is getting for Christmas :)? This is pretty much Nuttella in solid form. Out of this world!



Simona and I ventured into Cuneo today. Of course we had to make a stop at the local bar where I got a cup of coffee and a different Nutella filled pastry then I had before. So yummy!

Cuneo is a decent sized down. About 60,000 residents. As Simona was in a meeting with the Sports Association, I went for a walk. Italian window shopping is splendid. I found some super cute stuff and it made me realize how terrible I dress sometimes. I want to be fashionable and fit in. I mean come on now. :) I also came across this plaza (piazza) where on the balcony there were cardboard cuts of people with Hitler in the middle. Did Hitler speak in Cuneo? He might have. I need to Google and find out. I got trapped in the United Colors of Benetton. Oh my gosh the stuff was super cute. Met back up with Simona and we headed to this church. It was all white inside and had some cool stuff. The picture that I took of the white chair and what looks like a cloth is actually carved on there. It's not a blanket. Kind of cool. After our church visit we went to this English school where ironically enough no one spoke English. The woman wasn't very helpful, but whatever.

We then walked back to the car, but on our way we had to stop and get another coffee. :) We were there at about 11:30 and during that time the coffee shop was experiencing Aperitivo. This is the time of day where modern Italians have an early morning cocktail along with little sandwiches about two hours before lunch. I thought it was kind of cool. I think we should implement Aperitivo in the states. Who wouldn't want little sandwiches before lunch? SCHWEET! I ended up getting this drink called a Marocchino which means small cappucino. IT WAS SO GOOD!!

The lady at the English school, who didn't speak English, told Simona that in order to help me learn Italian, I need to learn and go over 10 Italian words a day. Here's the words that I have to learn. Hopefully this might help you learn too! :)

Aperitivo - Drinks and sandwiches before lunch
Marocchino - Cappucino only smaller
Cucchiao - Big Spoon
Cucchiaino - Little spoon
Piatto - Big plate
Piattino - Small Plate
Bicchiere - Drinking Glass
Bicchierino - Small Drinking Glass
Forchetta - Fork
Coltello - Knife
Tovaglia - Table Cloth
Tovaglilo - Napkin
Tazza - Coffee Mug
Tazzina - Espresso Mug (Small)
Tavolo - Table