travels and food

Attention: Do you spend too many hours on facebook? Do you have a “job” in the real world but you end up surfing the web a lot? Are you generally bored and need something to do? BE MY TRAVEL AGENT!

Seriously though, I’m in the process of planning spring break and its more complicated than I thought it would be. Right now the plan is Prague and Budapest with three of my friends. Trying to coordinate planes and trains on a low-cost budget is frustrating. Flying in and out of Venice can be expensive, so were trying to find flights into Milan but so far there are few. Our program gave us a booklet of at least twenty different European airline carriers, but I’m still having trouble finding what I want on the days I want. In addition, getting a train from Prague to Budapest is difficult because the websites are in Czech and don’t translate into either English or Italian. So if you are at all bored or know a little Czech let me know. I’m also accepting donations to the ‘Allison’s travel fund’. (All forms of currency accepted though Euros preferred) Thank you American economy for making my money essentially worthless.

Everyone keeps asking what do you eat? Answer: Really, really, good food.
For breakfast I usually drink milk and eat some yogurt and maybe some fruit. Everyone else in the family has biscotti and sweet cakes. No joke they are the Italian equivalent of Twinkies and Ding-Dongs. I cant eat sweets in the morning so it really limits my breakfast. No eggs, no bacon, no grits…just cookies. Oh and really strong coffee.
Speaking of coffee, I have regained my coffee addiction. I haven’t had coffee since I was working at that law firm a few summers ago and decided to switch to tea. I initially felt guilty about my returned love for cappuccinos but honestly I’ll never drink another American coffee again so the addiction will seize this summer. The coffee is amazing It’s heavenly.
Anyway, lunch isn’t overly exciting. I have class at noon most days so it varies from eating at the mensa or grabbing a quick bite at a café. Dinner with my family is always good. We had Gorgonzola tortellini the other night. Another time we had just various kinds of cheeses served with a little bread and some ham. Surprisingly, we don’t eat a lot of pasta. Typically the pasta is the “primo piatto” not the main dish, meaning you’d eat a spoonful as an appetizer. The meat portion is the “secundo piatto” and my family many times will just have this.
Last night, we had hamburger meat. No bun, no condiments, just meat. The oldest son, Edoardo, comes in from basketball practice and begins to rant about the food. “Mom!” he says. “This is a tiny piece of me. Look at me! I’m a growing boy. How am I supposed to get buff and strong and like a man when you serve these tiny pieces of meat!! I need at least three of these! Seriously, one night can we please have steak! I want a large, bloody, fat, cow for dinner, not hamburger meat!” By this point, his mom and I were both near hysterics.