Torino, Italy

Well, I have officially been on my European adventure for just about a week now... The flight over was actually not too bad, I had an exit row seat and sat next to one of my fellow travelers from school. Note, exit rows are awesome - but super cold! I was having a hard time sleeping because that window seat next to the door is very chilly. Anyhow, we arrived at Schipol airport and mad our way to Utrecht. Utrecht is a midevil city that is quite beautiful with canals, old architecture and and tons of bicycles... I mean thousands of bicycles! There are special lanes for them, and everyone rides them. Very cool!

We arrived in Turin on Tuesday morning, and have been walking all over the city. My poor little feet are so sore and swollen, but seriously not complaining - I'm in Italy for goodness sake! Turin looks like an Italian city (probably because it is) and there are many good looking and stylish people all around. My professor has a colleague from when they were doing their Phd who has been showing us all around. He is this big bearded, long haired Italian guy who smokes like a chimney and is awesome! He is very smart, funny and has a great Italian accent.

Last night, our whole group splurged on a local restaurant recommended to us by our guide that was supposed to be really great local cusine. It was fabulous. Just the table alone was covered with breads, cheese, wine, and it looked straight out of a movie. It was a four course meal that consisted of bread and procuitto, raw veal in 3 forms (I tried not to think about the poor little baby cow who was sacrificed for my indulgence), this amazing ravioli with bacon and butter (holy cow, it was the best ravioli ever!), and then veal stomach with potatos and carrots. I hardly made a dent in the last portion, and the raw meat was quite an experience... but it was really delicious! Our bill was 450 euro, but was well worth the ambiance and experience.

Ciao!