Chocolate on my Mind

I have a six page paper due later this week in philosophy so I spent most of my day in the library doing it.  My paper is on Thomas Aquinas and his analysis of free will.  I argue for and against free will using the argument of determinism which goes against free will.  I made a schedule for the weekend and I plan on doing quite of bit of studying because next Monday through Thursday I have midterms.  The way my classes are structured is 50% midterm and 50% final.  So after my midterm week I will not have any other grades until the final in December.  I am really excited for this Saturday because I am going to go to the Perguia chocolate festival.  EuroChocolate is an annual chocolate festival that takes place in Perugia, the capital of the Umbria region in central Italy. The festival has been held since 1993 and is the largest chocolate festivals in Europe. EuroChocolate draws nearly one million tourists and Italian natives each year.  Italy's most well-known chocolate company Perugina (now belonging to Nestlé), known for their Baci, is represented along with a number of other brands such as Lindt and Caffarel. EuroChocolate offers many snack and souvenir options such as chocolate covered bananas, chocolate liqueur, chocolate molds, and chocolate bricks.  EuroChocolate offers a variety of activities including chocolate art displays, experimental chocolate tastings, street performances, and chocolate sculpting. In recent years, an igloo has been constructed out of 3,600 kilograms of chocolate bricks. There is even an opportunity to make a chocolate day spa appointment. In 2003, the largest chocolate bar in the world was constructed. It measured to be more than 7 meters in length, two meters high and made with 5980 kilograms of dark chocolate and thousands of hazelnuts.  I love chocolate so I am really excited to go and see and taste!  I have watched a couple of youtube videos on it which has gotten me really excited.  For lunch I had a delicious meatball sandwich from a deli across from campus.  Tomorrow night I am meeting up with two girls who are in Theta with me who are also studying in Rome but in a different program.  We are going to meet for dinner so it will be nice to see them!

Just Another Manic Monday

On Saturday Night!

I woke up this morning and it was pouring rain outside.  It made me just want to snuggle up and good thing because I have midterms next week so I need to catch up on readings and do homework.  I skyped with my friends from home for three hours.  I swear skype time moves faster than real time.  I grabbed my umbrella and went to class and realized that I need to invest in rain boots or any pair of closed toe shoes for that matter.  I had my international economics and philosophy class today.  In philosophy we had a heated debate centering around the question “does the end justify the means?”  My roommates Tara has her parents in town so we went to a pizza parlor named Tony’s for dinner.  I got the Rustica pizza and it had potatoes, sausage, and three different types of cheeses on it.  I am almost finished with my new book (second chance) and I am really enjoying it.  I am excited to see how it ends hopefully before I fall asleep tonight!

Vineyard Tour and Market

On Saturday, I woke up early and I had a wine tasting event in the cutest little suburb town called Civitella.  It is located on the border of Northern Lazio and Umbria between the hills and the clay canyons of Civitella d'Agliano to the west and the fertile plain of the Tiber Valley to the East. The natural beauty of the area has remained untouched by urbanization and industrial development and still offers breath-taking landscapes, dotted with woods and lakes.  In a bus, it took about an hour and half to get there.  We arrived at family vineyard with the family name of Mottura.  We first arrived at a big warehouse and met the owner of the vineyard and went inside and he began to show us how the wine process works.  Inside the “factory” part there were huge silver machines where the wine was fermented and we could taste and try the wine at different stages.  The lesson was a huge chemistry lesson and I learned that it is such a complicated process.  Wine making essentially involves the mixing of fruit juice and sugar and then adding yeast to convert the sugar to alcohol. I learned that while wine is generally made from grapes, other juices can be used as the base.  The reason grapes are the usual fruit of choice is because of their high sugar content.  Alcohol is the by product of the action of yeast on sugar.  Grapes contain enough natural sugars to allow full fermentation.  When using the juices of other fruits sugar generally has to be added as the fruit generally does not contain sufficient natural sugar for full fermentation.  Also there is a different process for white, red, and champagne which makes the process even more intricate!  The blank white wine won the best wine in Italy in 2009 so he focused on teaching us how to make the white wine.  There are three parts:

1. Preparation (picture of grapes on the wine)

The first step in making a white wine is to have the grapes just ready. They need to be picked not only at the proper time in their life cycle, but also at the right time of day to ensure the acids and sugars are all at the right balance for the wine. The grapes are picked carefully, to prevent bruising, and often first put into a cleaner that removes spiders and leaves (and, one winemaker told us, occasionally mice!).  Next, the grapes are put into a machine which gently squeezes the juice out. For a white wine, all skins and stems are removed at this point. They would add a tannic flavor to the wine, and a color as well - neither are normally desired in a white wine.

2. Fermentation (picture of the big silver machines)

The liquid is held in a stainless steel vat. In this vat, the sugars inside the grapes are turned into alcohol by yeasts. Some wineries use only the naturally occurring yeasts that are found with the grapes. Others have cultured yeasts that they use year after year. This fermentation process typically takes from 3-4 weeks.  Temperature is very important during this stage - it also affects flavor and color. Often cooling pipes or even garden hoses with holes in them are run around the vats, to maintain the temperature.

When fermentation is complete, white wine can then go through cold stabilization. This process requires the wine dropping to almost freezing, to precipitate out the tartaric crystals that can form. The crystals are quite harmless, and this process can affect wine flavor, but it is done so nervous consumers do not panic when they see crystals in their wine bottles.

3. Aging (picture of the barrels above) going can be done in barrels, or now it is even done in stainless steel vats with oak chips along their bottoms. Often, during aging, a special bacteria is added which allows malolactic fermentation to occur. This additional fermentation, often noted with a "ML" on the barrel being used, converts the malic (sharp) acid into a lactic (mild) acid. Barrel aging in general allows the wine to absorb some of the flavors of the barrel, giving it an oaky and smooth taste. White wine is normally aged for less time than a red wine is. It might age for up to a year to give it the correct amount of flavor, or it could be bottled immediately. White wines are normally drinkable right when you purchase the bottle, although there are some whites that do benefit from a few years of aging.

After tasting the wine at different stages we got back on the bus and went out to the actual vineyard where we were able to eat the grapes off the vine.  They were really good and sweet.  The vineyard is 130 acres and it was beautiful with the Italian country side in the background and it felt like you could just see plants for miles and miles.  After seeing the actual vineyard we went to his estate to eat lunch and have some more tasting.  When we got there he took us down to the cellar where we saw where all of the wine was aging.  It was so cool!  It was 50 meters underground which keeps the wine at a perfect 44 degrees.  It was huge and actual ran under the entire center square of the city.  There was barrel upon barrel and signs with the age of the wine.

Lunch was a delicious red sause past pasta, chicken and potatoes, and apple pie.  At the different stages of the lunch we were taught about what type of wine we should me drinking and the different type of grapes and their taste. 

Procanico: produces sparse bunches, is very resistant to rot, reddish-gold in colour, it is of limited yield but has distinctive personality.

Verdello: has compact bunches, a dark green colour, high acidity and fine and delicate bouquet.

Grechetto: our favourite variety of which three different clones have been selected, has rich, heady, lasting bouquets together with full and persistent body. Drupeggio or Rupeccio, has a flowery bouquet and velvet-smooth body.

Chardonnay: the base for our classic method "champenoise" sparkling.

Merlot, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and Pinot Noir: all red varieties very often apt to turn to great wines in our area.  Rule number one was white wine always away from the table and food and red wine during your meal.  He kept saying how important it is to drink the right wine at the right time beacuse the wine enhances your food.

We loaded back in the bus and I was back in Rome by 6.  I then relaxed for a little and then went out with my friends Maddy and Bridget to Trastevere.  Trastevere is where my school is located and I have never been there at night before.  Trastevere maintains its character thanks to its narrow cobbled streets lined by medieval houses. At night, both natives and tourists go out to its many pubs and restaurants.  I got a huge scoop of gelato and had a great time people watching. 

On Sunday morning, one of my roommates Marni and I got up early determined to go to a market called the Porto Portese.
This is the biggest flea market in Rome, and one of the biggest in Europe, where you can find basically everything but food, from Murano lamps to cheap underwear to auto parts. We were told to go early and watch your purse.  Luckily for us we did not bring a purse because we found out it was 3 miles away so we decided to run.  I put some money on the bottom of my shoes and we tied our house key to our shoe lace and were off.  We ran along the river for awhile until  we needed to turn right onto a busy road.  We found the market and it was a huge mob scene!   There were different entrances for different things.  Enter at Piazza Ippolito Nievo if you are shopping for antique furniture, lamps, curiosities, rugs, furniture old lace and embroideries. Enter from Piazza Porto Portese if you're in the market for pots and pans, clothing, shoes, house wares. It’s a bit overwhelming but it’s fun because you never know what you might find, so long as you’re willing to press on through the crowd to find it.  We just got back exhausted after calculated we ran slash walked about 8-9 miles today!  Right now I am waiting for my water to boil for a nice egg salad sandwich!

The town had cats everywhere!  On every other car and perch possible.  This is a picture of a few cats eating a pasta lunch!

Ballin

Yesterday after class in the hallways I saw a guy in basketball shorts, shoes and a ball.  I have seen around before with a basketball but today I decided to go up to him and ask where he played.  We talked for a while and there is a gym a couple of blocks from campus and there is a group that goes around and shoots and plays pick up games.  So today from 10-12 I played pick up basketball and it was so fun!  The games got really competitive and there was only one other girl playing but I didn’t care.  I was able to put in some threes and played a little point and shooting guard.  The court was outdoor and a little run down.  I wish I could of played longer but I had to go to class all gross and sweaty but so worth it.  I am going to start playing every Tuesday and Thursday.  Interestingly enough I found out that Italy is actually one of main basketball nations of Europe, along with Spain, Greece, Russia, and France.  It has always had much less exposure than the national pastime of soccer. However, Italian basketball has always had its fans and is gaining in popularity, currently it is the number two spectator sport. In some Italian cities such as Bologna, basketball rivals soccer in devotion and even the prestigious NBA teams have started playing exhibition games against some of the top Italian teams.  They have been the best until recently the Spanish have claimed the division title.  I had a fun night with my roommates last night and I am lucky to have gotten so close to them.  Tomorrow I have a make-up day at school.  (I usually do not have class of Friday.)  I have a field trip with my econ class to some important place I am not really sure where but I will talk about it tomorrow.  At school during passing period there was a huge birthday celebration for the president and they had cake and champagne for everyone.  Oh the joys of private school.  So everyone came into my psychology class with cake and champagne and the teacher just carried on as normal.  I am loving the sun and enjoying it since I know as we approach mid October rain will soon be setting in.  I watched my very first episode of Glee yesterday to see what all of the fuss was about and I absolutely loved it!  It was so great and had so many symbolic messages and I really got a lot out of it.  I just picked up on the most recent episode and I will most definitely be tuning in next week.  I am hopefully going to try to stream the Giants live tonight.  Ciao!

The Pope and I are Neighbors

I left for class three hours early morning just to walk around Rome and everyday the city continues to amaze me.  It is absolutely huge!  As I walk down my street I saw huge lines and crowds in Saint Peters Square so I decided to see what all of the hustle and bustle was about.  I went through security and as I entered on the square I saw the Pope on the huge big screen!  He was giving mass up at the front of the square.  There was a huge area reserved for people that were sitting and watching the mass and then there was hundreds of people standing behind.  The alter was raised so I was able to see him from afar.  He was sitting in his chair and was just a small white dot but his face was blown up on the big screens around the basilica when he would talk.  I kept walking through the basilica and we stopped in front of the swiss guards.  They have the craziest outfits on and will not budge.  Although I was able to get one of them to wink at me haha.  I remember learning about the Swiss guards in school.  Not many people realize the rich history behind the vibrant and highly skilled Swiss Guards that protect the Vatican City in their bright costumes. The Guards are renowned for their loyalty and therefore make perfect guardians to the current Pope Benedict XVI. The role of the Vatican Swiss Guards is to provide protection for the Pope. Highly trained soldiers from Switzerland provide this service, guarding entrances to his Papal home in addition. Swiss Guards must also be Catholic and are highly devoted servicemen trained in skills such as un-armed combat.  The Swiss Guards make the visit to the Vatican that bit more special, but although they make look harmless and ceremonial, they are incredibly well trained.  After the walk through the Vatican I discovered streets and streets of touristy stores that I did not even know existed.  It reminded me of the Spanish steps as the street were filled and filled with people hustle and bustling going in and out of the stores.  The sun was out and it felt good to feel the heat against my skin.  I passed by the castle of saint angelo and I hope to tour it either tomorrow or the next day.  I got back to school about an hour early and went up to the rooftop terrace of the school and read my philosophy books.  For dinner tonight my roommates and I plan to make a meal that we have recently had in one of our cooking classes called penne with mushrooms and prosciutto.  Here is the recipe we are following.  Ciao!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp flour
1 cup chicken broth
Salt
Black pepper
1/2 tsp freshly milled black pepper
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup thinly sliced scallions
4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, diced
1 lb thinly sliced, trimmed mushrooms
1 lb penne pasta
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano cheese
2 tbsp minced parsley leaves
Preparation:
1 – In a 1 1/2 quart saucepan, melt 1 tbsp butter over low heat. When butter begins to froth, add the flour. Mix well with a wire whisk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until lightly golden. Add chicken broth, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and nutmeg. Turn heat to low and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Cover saucepan and set white sauce aside.
2 – In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat until haze forms, then add 2 tbsp butter. Add scallions and cook, stirring constantly, until barely tender, about 1 minute. Stir in prosciutto and cook, stirring, until softened but not brown, about 1 minute. Add mushrooms, turn heat to medium-high and cook, stirring, until mushrroms just begin to exude their juices, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Pour white sauce over mushroom mixture and blend well. Turn heat to low and cook, stirring, until mixture is well incorporated, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
3 – Cook pasta in 6 quarts boiling water with 1 tbsp salt until al dente. Drain in a colander, transfer to a bowl containing 1 tbsp softened butter and toss quickly. Mix 3/4 of the sauce and Parmigiano cheese with pasta. Spoon remaining sauce over pasta and garnish with minced parsley. serve with additional freshly grated Parmigiano cheese.
Serves 4 to 6

Proud to be an AMERICAN (in my heart...not on my clothes)

Yesterday I just got settled in a did some errands.  I went to the grocery store and the fruit stand in the morning.  I bought the biggest green onions I have ever seen in my life.  My entire hand was needed to grip the base.  I also did my laundry for the first time and I was not very pleased.  Most of my whites turned out a little discolored and my since there is no such thing dryers my clothes did not dry very soft at all.  Also in order for them to dry I had to put them on a clothes line on the balcony.  In the morning it did not look like it was going to rain so I left them out.  In the middle of class it started to down poor and I knew my new clean clothes were getting soaked!  At the grocery store I got ground beef and I made the best burger ever for dinner.  I had a toasted hamburger bun, tomatoes, onion, lettuce, ketchup, and mustard.    At the airport on Sunday,  I bought a new book called Second Chance by Jane Green.  I really like it so far and I am about 100 pages in.  I am enjoying her style of writing and hope to be able to read more tonight.  I always feel a little guilty reading it because it is so much more interesting than my econ book that also need to be read!

On a more serious note, recently there has been a terrorist attack in Paris by al-Qaida. The U.S. State Department alerts U.S. citizens to the potential for terrorist attacks in Europe.  Current information suggests that al-Qa’ida and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks.  European governments have taken action to guard against a terrorist attack and some have spoken publicly about the heightened threat conditions.  It has been strongly advised NOT to travel this weekend.  I was supposed to take a 3 hour train to Lake Como and go back backing this weekend but I my friends and I will be staying in Rome now.  There is so much to do here anyway that I have not done yet.  There are a couple of reminders that have been told over and over.  We are advised not to be in areas where large groups congregate, avoid crowded tourist spots frequented by Americans,  and avoid expressions of the USA, such as wearing a flag or college sweatshirt that immediately identifies you.  I have a UC San Diego sweatshirt that I brought her but at our orientation I was told to NEVER wear it so I have yet to wear it.  The most important thing is to be alert and  pay attention to those around you.   Do not involve yourself in protests or rallies and to leave public places if you see signs of trouble.  I also just registered with the US Embassy so every time I plan to go somewhere I just have to register where I am gong and they will send me any alerts or warnings.

I was assigned my first research paper in philosophy today that is due next week.  I am going to make another delicious burger for dinner.  I don’t mind the rain at all especially since it is a warm rain and I don’t even need to wear jeans.  I like the wetness on my face and my hair always get super curly once I get inside and it dries again. 

Mangia! Mangia! Mangia! AKA Eat! Eat! Eat! Sicily Trip

Day 1:

I arrived at the airport at noon and everything seemed to be going smoothly.  I thought it was cool the way I boarded the plane.  Once we handed our in our ticket we were escorted outside to a bus.  The bus then drove us around the building a little and into the middle of the runway.  We got off the bus and then walked outside up to the stairs to the plane.  I felt all presidential because I usually only see that in movies or when it is the president but apparently that is how all of the flight boarding’s are in Europe because there are so many flights going at once that they do not have enough gates.  We all boarded the plane and then an announcement in Italian came over the loudspeaker which I did not understand. Obvi.  But  I looked around and everyone seemed to be getting up.  A nice lady translated for me and told me that a truck had run into the plane door earlier and that the tech guy did not think it was suitable for take off.  So back down the cool stairs of the plane into the bus and back into the terminal for another 2 hours.  At least we were told two hours therefore my two good friends who are the trip with my Carly and Brittney and I went to go walk around.  We arrived back to the gate 30 minutes early and the entire gate was empty and the bus we driving away to get on the next flight!  Someone chased him down and we barley made the flight! 

Sicily has an extremely long history of war and has many sites and monuments dedicated to the long continuous battle between the Romans and the Greeks.  I do not have time to right out all of the history but in short this is what is what happened.  A quote that people use to describe the history it  “They came, they saw, they conquered.”  This quote applies to the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Angevins, Hapsburgs, Bourbons.  Yes, all of them. When the Greeks saw the island of Sicily, they fell in love, sent their fleets, and set up colonies.  The Romans saw what the Greeks had, fought them for it, and became the new conquerors.  The Arabs saw what the Romans had, fought them for it, and put the island under their dominion.  From he north came the Normans, the Angevins, Hapsburgs and Bourbons, and when they saw Sicily, they too, went to war, and conquered.  With all of the war the island of Sicily to this day still has many influences from other cultures and is rich in culture.  Its location is ideal for trading because it is so close to Africa.

We arrived in Cantina, Sicily and met up with about 20 people from Florence and 2 people from SAI Milan.  We all got into a bus and went to another part of the Island called Siracusa.  We did not actually stay in Siracusa but on an island off Sircausa called   Ortigia.  So basically it was an island off an island that we accessed by a bridge.  We arrived at our hotel called Hotel Posta which was located right downtown so it made it easy to get around the city.  We then went to dinner at a restaurant called Osteria Bacco.  The food I had this weekend was the best food that I have ever had in my life.  I don’t even have the words to describe how delicious all of the food was.  Because of all of the time Sicily was conquered there are many different influences in the food which causes a great variety.  The use of apricots, sugar, citrus, sweet melons rice, rasins, nutmeg, clove, pepper, pine nuts, cinnamon (along with fried preparations) is a sign of Arab influences from the Arab domination of Sicily in the 10th and 11th centuries.  Normans and Hohenstaufen influences are also found, such as in the fondness for meat dishes, such as Bruscialoni. Later, the Spanish introduced numerous items from the New World, including cocoa, maize, turkey, and tomatoes and other produce. In Catania, on the east coast, initially settled by Greek colonists, fish, olives, broad beans, and fresh vegetables are preferred instead. Much of the island's cuisine encourages the use of fresh vegetables such as eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes, and fish such as tuna, sea bream, sea bass, cuttlefish, and swordfish. In Trapani in the extreme western corner of the island, North African influences are clear in the use of couscous.  The dinner was huge!  I wish I could de scribe it in more detail what I ate but I hardly have words for it and most of the time I did not know what I was eating.  All I know is it was incredible and everything tasted so fresh.  The chef was so proud of his food and dish after dish kept coming out and when you were full the waiters kept just saying Mangia Mangia Mangia!  It is rude not to finish the dish in Italy. 

After dinner we strolled around the main piazza.  The city was mellow and quite and all of the buildings are gorgeous.  The island is extremely small so from almost everyone you were able to look out into the harbor.  It was the most romantic place ever.  There were couple everywhere and I saw 3 different weddings just in that night!  The entire town knew each other and everyone was just happy.  The Piazzo del Duomo is the central point of the city, and features the Syracuse Cathedral (duomo), the most important monument  in Ortigia.  In Ortigia you can also see the oldest Doric temple to be found anywhere in Sicily at the Temple of Apollo.  Other highlights include the impressive baroque architecture of the Palazzo Beneventano del Bosco across the square from the cathedral); the Basilica of Santa Lucia; the 13th century Maniace Castle; the Lacrime Church, the Spring of Arethusa and the catacombs of San Giovanni. You can also see the tomb which is thought to be that of Archimedes, the great physicist and mathematician who called Syracuse his home, and lived and died in Ortigia.  My friend Brittney has a friend studying abroad in Ortigia named Charles.  So we went over to his apartment in this cute little part of town and he showed us around a little.  Brittney, Carley, and I went out to a Jazz bar with Charles and about 8 of his friends.  It was really cool and there was live jazz music playing. 

The next morning we had a delicious breakfast at the Hotel and were taken the Ortiga Market which reminded me like the farmers market but like times ten!  The fresh vegetable stalls are piled high with white and purple cauliflower, broccoli, plum tomatoes still attached to vines, fluted heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, fennel, potatoes, carrots, onions and eggplant all carefully arranged to form a patchwork of colors.  There are leafy greens that I can’t identify near the familiar bunches of parsley, mint and basil. The fruit stalls are filled with citrus – blood oranges, mandarins, ordinary lemons and two-fisted, lumpy Sicilian lemons. Blood oranges are red oranges so the orange juice on island is red.  It is really good and is way more fruity and sweet than normal orange juice.  The fish section of the market is the most lively.  The loud calls of men selling fish and seafood fill the air with promises and banter that I don’t understand.  The metal tables are filled with squid, cuttlefish, three kinds of shrimp, cockles, mussels, sea urchin, octopus, fish filets, mustard-yellow dotted eels, small pink fish, and silver striped black striped fish. A large piece of fish ready to be sliced into steaks sat beside the up-ended head of the swordfish it came from.  The fish section was so smelly but they were the biggest fish I had ever seen and the guy would just take a huge knife and cut you off a piece.  There was also people selling snails for a specialty dish that they like to make.  At the end we stopped in a deli and had a wine and cheese tasting.  The tasting was really informational and I was able to really learn a lot.  I can’t write it all down now because it is so much information but I learned a lot!

After that we all got on a bus and went and went a place called Pantalica Ranch.  It was a ranch owned by two brothers and it was in the valley so it had incredible views and it was gorgeous.  I had another absolutely incredible meal.  I think this one was my favorite even though they were all good.  I was full after the first course it was so big but don’t worry I kept eating through the second course, third and dessert.  The meal lasted about 3 hours.  The first was a bunch of different breads, hams, cheeses, peppers.  The second was two different types of pasta a mushroom pasta with really really thick noodles and  a vegetable lasagna.  The third was beef with potatoes.  All of the food there was grown right there on the farm.  We then walked around the farm, played with the animals and I played some ping pong.  We also had the option of going horseback riding which I was so down for.  Although the horses weren’t exactly as well  trained as they are in the states and I did not have to sign any type of release form or anything they just had us go 7 at a time and hop on.  Our guide spoke zero English.  I quickly learned that horseback riding and skirts do not match but I was not going to let me get in the way of going.  Luckily, I have recently been horseback riding with my family in Hana so I felt comfortable on the horse unlike most of the people.  My horse was a black stallion named Sarah.  We went up into the valley and when ever we got vast land I would make my horse gallop which turned into a fast run.  It was so fun feeling the wind against the your face and moving that fast.  After that we left the ranch and walked around the city for awhile just exploring.  The island of Ortigia is extremely small I felt like I knew my groundings and knew my way around quickly.  The small quaint town was fun for the weekend but I also realized I loved the busyness and size of Rome.  We were then so exhausted by that point and still full from the dinner the night before, a good breakfast, and a huge lunch!  We found a rooftop terrace wine bar and just relaxed.  We watched the sunset and we were at one of the highest points in the city.  As we were sitting there another wedding couple came in with a photographer and came and sat down and had a drink.  Out in the harbor there was a cruise ship that was leaving and the water was peaceful.  We then had another dinner at a restaurant called Spizzoca.  The restaurant in particular specialized in fish.  Once again it was another four course meal with delicious appetizers, a pasta dish, and fish and then finishing with a canoli which is a Sicilian specialty.  The way they stack the dishes is a particular way.  They put a plate on the bottom, then a bowl on top of the plate, and then an appetizer plate that fits on top of the bowl.  So for every new course they simple just take the top layer off.

On Sunday morning I woke up a 7 am and no one was awake.  I decided to go down and get breakfast and then I went to 8:00 am mass at the cathedral which every calls the duomo.  The cathedral is beautiful inside with three different alters.  There a handful of tourists along with local people at the mass.  It was clear I was not very Italian as I tower over all Italian men and women by a good 4 or 5 inches.  There was also a group of nuns or sisters I am not really sure.  They were really passionate and I hope someday to find something that I can be that passionate about.  After mass I walked to the Marina and just sat and watched as fishermen getting there boats ready for the day and men were just hanging out and cleaning their boats.  The water was so clear I could see fish swimming at the bottom and the water was like glass.  I wanted to go out on a boat and go waterskiing and do a little damage to a the perfectly still water.  I headed back around ten when everyone was waking up and we all got on a bus to go to go to the Siracusa Archeological Park.  Sounds boring right?  It was actually really interesting.  It is actually the biggest tourist attraction in Siracusa.  This archaeological park centers on the city's Greek and Roman amphitheatres, both built before the turn of the last millennia to stage entertainments for the people. Today, the Greek amphitheatre is still used to stage performances of Greek classics.  It is cool because the amphitheatre is acoustically perfect.  When they have play in May and June a microphone is not needed because of the echoes.  I learned about more history of the Syracusa national park.  After that we hoped on the bus to get to the airport and my arrival home went smoothly and arrived back in Roma at about 9 at night.  That is my weekend trip!