The trip was to two different places- first, Montepulciano. The wine cellar we toured used to be a torture chamber. It was a bit creepy but ultimately the woman who led the tour wasn't as informative and mostly allowed us to just look for ourselves- therefore we didn't take much away from it other than that many past torture weapons look like modern day kitchen supplies. We tasted three different red wines and a few cheeses- the one I particularly remember was the pecorini. We also tasted the salami they make in house which was very good as well! This is a few of my roommates, Meghan, Kelly and Olivia tasting the wine! We in no way learned anything factual about wine but we had a great time tasting nonetheless.
We also had some time to walk around in Montepulciano which was gorgeous. The views were magnificent, and absolutely not captured by a camera in the least. We looked out at them as we walked up, and I truly mean up it was incredibly steep, to the Piazza where part of one of the Twilight movies was filmed- which was not too exciting for any of us as we all agreed that Robert Pattinson could not have even been as attractive as this view.
We then got back on the bus and traveled to Montalcino, which is actually the only place in the world that produces Brunello di Montalcino. Apparently having tasted this particular wine at the actual vineyard is supposed to impress wine experts- unfortunately the closest I have to wine experts in my life are my Mom and Mrs. Pratt- who would rather spend time drinking it than being impressed by it. Regrettably I did not buy my Mom a bottle, although I did waver. Either way- it was a wonderful experience and we got to see how and where they make the wine. This is our whole group of girls tasting the wine there-
The bus ride itself was very scenic- Italy has some beautiful mountains. Tuscany was every bit as beautiful as I expected it to be.
This same weekend I went to dinner with a few new Marquette friends that I've met since being here. We went out for dinner and were quickly shuffled to the basement of the restaurant- something we were laughing about as we were headed down the stairs and found it even funnier that there was another group of Americans who had been seated in the basement as well. The dinner was so much fun- Meghan and I quite literally laughed until we cried over a fighting for dessert moment, and the food was so good, as it always is. We always make these plans to take pictures of our food when we order, but we never remember to take the picture until all we have is an empty plate in front of us.
We also tried the chocolate bar- something everyone who comes does and for good reason. It was far and above the best shot I've ever had in my life- and definitely something my sister would love. The glasses are pure chocolate and then you can fill them with whatever alcohol you want and they add chocolate syrup, whipped cream and sprinkles. The bar is meant to be inappropriate as well- which made putting an entire glass made of chocolate in your mouth at once even funnier. Definitely something that my sister would love. I actually don't think you that you Jess could take any other kind of shot again if you ever tried this one. So maybe stay away for a bit.
Ultimately I love my study abroad experience so far. It is so much fun- I have met so many incredible friends in such a short amount of time. The University keeps telling us that two weeks is the time that this wears off and you suddenly realize you're actually here for four months. However we're quickly approaching the three week mark and I have no desire to be anywhere near Marquette or Illinois and its freezing cold temperatures! I'll take my run in shorts and a t-shirt this morning with some light rain over that anyday.
No comments:
Post a Comment