Getting Settled

Buona sera,

Viterbo is a little bigger than I thought it would be. It's still small enough that I was able to visit every single bar and internet cafe on Saturday night in search of the Ravens vs. Titans game. Although my mission failed and I walked home terribly dejected, I learned the street names and can now meet people at nearly any landmark they can name. So ultimately, the Ravens won and I know my way around now. Next weekend, I will head to Rome for the AFC Championship game. Kickoff is Monday at 12:30 AM. Gooo Ravens!

Ravens aside, this is a beautiful city. Viterbo is about 1000 years old and is surrounded by a wall that has been built, sacked, and rebuilt a few times. Most of the city within the walls lacks sidewalks and pedestrians have the onus of making sure they don't get hit by cars. Walking is the easiest way of getting around the city as it takes less than 25 minutes to get anywhere.

On Saturday, my roommate Brian (not Ryan) and I moved into our apartment in Piazza della Morte. We each have our own bedroom and share a bathroom. On the second story is a small kitchen, a fireplace, and a sizable area for entertaining guests. Three skylights keep our living, dining, and cooking areas bright with sunlight, as do the windows in our bedrooms, which face east, revealing much of the city and mountains in the distance.

We have no television or internet access, and at the moment, heat nor hot water. Though Brian and I hope we will have the heat working soon, we are both relishing the absence of modern media, occupying ourselves by playing cards, reading books and walking through the city.

Yesterday, we went to an open air market in Piazza del Plebiscito to buy food for dinner. We bought a few types of pasta I have never seen or heard of before, fresh bread, cheese, zucchini, onions, garlic, and red peppers. One group of wine and cannoli vendors hailed from Sicily. I told them we were paisan and they gave me a deal on two bottles of red wine. Then, one of them asked my friend Kristen if she had a fiance. When she said no, he asked her to meet him and his brother for drinks. Kristen politely declined.

-Monday, January 12, 2009 - 5:27 PM