Food, Glorious Food

OK....so the guy from the gym in the States was right. When I told him I was moving to Italy, his response was not to tell me about all of the amazing things I would get to see over here. It was "You're going to get fat." He must have known about the food over here.

Let's start with the good for you stuff. It's not like all of the food over here is the thick, hearty, cream-infused pastas (although there is plenty of that). The vegetables and fruits are AMAZING! This is coming from a girl who grew up just outside Lancaster County, where the Amish had a never-ending supply of fresh produce. Here, the Amish vegetables have NOTHING on the Italian ones. At the local market, there are vegetables I had never even seen before in the states. And the tomatos? Mama mia...

Then there are the meats. When I return to the states, if you see a leg of prosciutto sticking out of my carry-on, don't be surprised. There is a little deli in our town that I frequent. The owner speaks very little Italian, but I have been in often enough that he knows what I want. I threw him off when I used my "poco Italiano" to ask him if I could take a whole prosciutto on a plane to the states, and how much would it cost. He threw a ham on the scale (not our American wimpy hams...these suckers are the whole leg of the porker), and informed me that it would cost roughly three times what we paid for our Fiat. (which was only $100, but still).

Have you read those articles that say red wine has cancer fighting agents? Well, I consider my wine consumption to be a pre-emptive strike against cancer. American wine for me = a guaranteed headache. Italian wine, not the case. I am no wine connoiseur, but I know what I like. I like Soave, Prosecco, Rosso, and the list goes on and on.

So to Buddy from Gold's Gym, I say, "Good call." But let me tell you, it was worth it.