Only a few days more (jun. 19th..)

-This last weekend was fun, interesting, but fun. I went to the beach again, to Pesaro, with some friends. Bonnie’s dad came for the last week of our program so he stayed with us the whole day at the beach. It was rainy, but the effect over the bright blue ocean water was beautiful…at least I thought so, Josh complained about the lack of sun, haha. But I enjoyed my self, we swam out to the rocks that encircled the little cove we swam in and explored their crevices to find crabs and live mussels…it was a little sharp though..got some cuts! Nothing new there, haha. Later the sun came out and Bonnies dad got a massage..on the beach, haha. Well, it caught on, and Molly and Kassie decided they wanted one too. Only problem with that was that they had TOPS on….which apparently is not allowed for a beach message…yeah, you get the picture, they were both regretting it the second the masseuse told them, no forced, their tops down, HAHAHAHA, well it was hilarious for the rest of us…poor Molly and Kassie. Later we had dinner at a nice restaurant that was on the beach. We got a deal; two courses (prima e seconda) and wine and coffee came with it, plus a cold-antipasta bar to start. I got mussels con talligette, and the seconda dish was fried cutlet of pork with patata-fritto (fried potatoes). Pretty good. After dinner the waiter brought us shots of espresso and after-dinner wines; lemoncello and a licorice liquor. The licorice was gross, and the lemmoncello is so SUGARY, yuck…its like drinking syrup. Anyway, then we (all 6 of us) squeezed into Bonnie’s dad’s rent car and tried to drive back to Urbania, yes, TRIED. He decided to not take the way we came back…kinda a disaster (men and directions...they are all the same!!! hahaha). Long story short, we made it back…at 11:30 at night though.
The next day me and some friends went to a Osteria (small restaurant) called Cuco…BEST FOOD EVER! We had 10 courses of delicious, seasonal and traditional Italian home-cooking. Donnatella and her husband run it and they happen to be family with the people who own/live in our complex that we stay in here in Urbania. She, Donnatella, is SUCH a character. She puts fresh flowers on every dish from her own garden, and she becomes like a mother to everyone who sits at her table. The restaurant is tiny, and quaint, and there is no menu, they serve you whatever they are making that day…and you can NOT go wrong with their food.
Couses:
1. A salad with balsamic and oil with thinly sliced radish, truffle, parmesan, and greens. This came with a fresh bread plate: almond bread, fried focaccia, bread rolled with basil and prociutto…you get the picture. Yum.
2. The her homemade nectar wine (roses are steeped in it I think…to die for!) with a plater of prociutto cuts and different chesses with a balsamic reduction drizzl on top.
3. Next, baked pasta cups with a filling of fava beans, spinach, and some kind of cheese
4. Baked-spicy eggplant rounds with a meat patty thing, and a soaked bread salad with pepperocino…weird but good.
5. A torte of baked zucchini, basil, and ricotta
6. (now for the pastas) prima: homemade mezzoluna with a ricotta and vedurre filling with fresh pomodoro sauce.
7. Fresh talliatelle with zucchini and peppers in a hearty broth
8. Now desserts: Homemade gelato with sour cheery reduction
9. Rose petal gelato/panna-cotta (real rose petals, so good!)
10. A sorbet of honey and lemon with a fig reduction I think
-o yeah, and at the end they served homemade after-dinner wine…..one of the best eating experiences of my life!

So, you’ll have to wait for the rest of the last weeks stories. Im off for Milan tomorrow morning and then London and Paris with my bestie Greta!!! And I don’t know if I’ll have a chance to blog. But this has been such an incredible experience, God is so good!
Love you all!
Maren