last week

This is our last week in Ascoli. We havent been doing much just getting ready to leave taking all the pictures we can. Weve also been visiting the river alot more and jumping offf everywhere.
hope to see every one soon back in the US
Ciao
Chris

Ascoli 4

We've been having a great time with quintana they had archery contests which was pretty cool. Also we went to a cheese factory and learned how mozzerela is made but i did'nt pick up on much because of the noise of the machinery. We tried fresh mozzerela ,mozzerela in cream suace, Ricotta and some type of spiced cheese. For lunch we had core after course of raw fish(tastes like ham), mussels, shrimp, pasta and gnochi in clam sauce, crawfish, calamari, and other fish and then we went to the beach :)

Ciao from Italy
Chris

Ascoli 3 and Rome

We went to the river near us twice and jumped off the waterfall near the stream and swam up the rapids (we'll have pictures soon. We also went to rome for a day for the students and toured around sites such as the Colloseum, The Pantheon, The Forume and the triumphal arches (We'll als ohave pictures of this). My dad and I actually stayed overnight as did some of the student's. The next day we went to some museums and walked in the Markets of Trajan. We also had amazing meals. Day 1 fetucini with pesto for lunch and canelonni for dinner (huge pasta shells stuffed with meat and cheese. Day 2 Lunch fetucini with a cream sauce,ham,and peas for lunch and Pizza! for dinner

Ciao from Italy
Chris

The Herimtage in the Mountins

 

Ascoli from the mountin

 

 

Ricotta

 

 

 

 

Ascoli 2

This week we went to the beach -the Adriatic Sea. The water is amazingly warm and the weather is beautiful. We all got badly sunburned but it was still pretty fun.

We climbed up 516 stairs (we counted) to the top of a mountain near us to see a fort used in the Renaissance. We also went over to the Morells and had pasta with tuna for dinner. On Saturday night there was a jousting tournament as part of Quintana (with a long hour and a half parade before hand. That's standing in place an hour and a half of people walking past us!)In the joust they only joust dummies so we're not quite sure how they determine who wins. Tomorrow we are going swimming in the river near us.

Ciao
Chris

Ascoli part 1

Everything here is great. We been exploring the town and culture around us. Sampling local foods such as the wide variaties of pizza, pasta, the amazing fresh fruit, the salads, and of course porcheta (pronouced Porketa) wich is a entire pig roast on a spit flavored with spices and herbs. Ive been taking Italian classes and that has been going well since now the locals dont think were complete idiots. Yesterday we went up into the mountins to a large cheese making area and had a large lunch of handmade (literaly, you have to compact the cheese with your hands as we learned) parmesean, ricotta, assiago, gorganzola, and many other wonderful cheeses with home made bread. After we learned how cheese is made first of all the milk is mixed with renet. Renet is a powdery substance made of ground cow stoumach! Of course back in America they dont use real cow stomach that why your cheese is so flavorless. Because everyone in Italy knows that you cant have good cheese without ground cow stoamach. After this the cheese is compacted into a shape which is how it gets it italian name Formagio from the Latin word forma meaning shape. The cheese is then left to sit for several minutes until its solid. Fresh cheese can be eaten right away put if you want to age it it can be kept for up to several years. The first story of cheese is of a man carrying milk in a cows stoamch on his way to acity a month away to sell it. When he arrives he tries to pour it into a container but instead a big sloppy pile of cheese comes out mmm mmm yummy.

Also there has been a local festival called Quintana which is a celebration of the local history. There has been flag juggling(better than it sound) parades, tonight magicians and fire spitters, and this weekend jousting. All pretty amazing.

Ciao from Ascoli Italy
Chris

 

 

 

Sesto and Ascoli

On monday we took a 4 hour bus trip from Venice to a Town called sesto near Austria.
The next day for break fast we had scrambled eggs, meats and cheese and of course Nuttela. Latter that day we went for a short hike up to a small resturant where we helped the chef to make a form of bread and meat dumplings. For dinner we had torrtelini and pork. The next day we climed up a 4500ft Italian Alp. and then returned to the hotel. The hotel we found had its own pool and we spent the time to dinner in the pool. for dinner we had Chiken. The Next Day we took a 50 km Bike trip into Austria to a town called Lienz. We spent the affternoon their and on the bus and the back into the pool. For dinner we had Winershnitzel (someone tell me if I spelled that wrong) and fries. The Next day we took a 4 hour bus trip to a town called Revena where we hung out for a couple of hours and then another 4 hours to Ascolli where we will be staying for the next month. Our apartment is amazing we have a kitchen, a bed room for my parents, their bathroom a living room with TV and my own room on a seprate floor with its own bath room. This morning we went out and had pizza for breakfast and the got Porcheta for Lunch we toured Around Ascoli. and then went to the new Office where I am typing this from.

Ciao
-Chris

Venice

VIVA! la VENEZIA

Yes, we have arrived in Venice. The weather is perfect (except for the one thunderstorm we had last night) ; the food is amazing, and we are having a great time exploring the streets of Venice.
We flew in On Swiss Air. The planes came with personal screens in the backs of the chair in front of you. With the remote you could watch movies, listen to music and even play games such as battle ship and chess and you could do multi player games with other people on the plane. We connected to another flight in Zurich, Switzerland and flew to Venice. We arrived in Venice and took a private Water Taxi to our Hotel. We are staying at the Hotel alla Salute De Cici. We crashed and then explored the beautiful streets of Venice. For dinner we went to a beautiful restaurants near the water and had pasta with meat sauce. Yesterday For breakfast we had croissants and rolls with coffee and cheese. It was Amazing! So simple, but so good. Then we went for another longer walk through Venice. In the afternoon we went to Saint Mark's Square. For lunch we had Pizza at the restaurant next to our hotel. For dinner we went to a small family restaurant and I had Lasagna with Pesto. This morning we went out with the students to the Fish Market. They had everything from octopus tentacles to squid covered in their own ink to live eels. It rained all along the way.

On the way back we picked up a lunch of bread, cheese, meat, and fruit. We ate lunch and then Alex Morell and I took the younger children Joe, Matteo, Allesia, and Allesandro out to play in the Piazza. (these are all children of Professors Garafolo and Morrell) Now I'm sitting in the hotel garden listening to traffic go by, and with boats the traffic sounds nice.

From Venice, Italy
-Chris
CIAO!

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