Let's Play Catchup...Italia, Part I

Happy New Year, Bonne Année, Buon Anno & Feliz Ano Nuevo!

I spent Christmas break in Italia, as some of you may know, and it was... umm... I guess I can't really sum it up with one adjective. So let's try 10:
deliciousssss,
GRANDIOSE,
enlightening,
hilarious!!!,
stressful,
diverse,
...astonishing...
ridiculous,
perplexing??
AWESOME.

For the first leg of the trip, my roommate's family hosted Desiree and me in their cute little Italian apartment with a dinner table that can easily sit 20 people, or 50 different dishes, or both. Most of our time there was spent at this table, as the meals were painfully long and arduous (averaging 2.75 hours). Don't get me wrong--the food was delicious, hence my first adjective, but it was just too much at times (scratch that, ALL THE TIME). A normal human being cannot possibly stomach a full appetizer (with drink), antipasti, a huge plate of pasta, tons of bread, then a huge plate of meat and vegetables, then dessert, then the espresso, and to top it off, the fruit. Even at the restaurant, they bring you a basket of fruit at the end of the meal! Needless to say, I gained some weight in Italy, and this hard belly is a very much unwanted souvenir from the trip.

The south of Italy is really a hidden gem and I would love for it to be kept that way. Rosangela's region is the Puglia. You know how Italy is shaped like a boot? Puglia is the heel. The Puglia doesn't see many tourists since it's so far south so it's more authentic. We visited:
Bari- The big city in the south, has an Oriental/Mediterranean vibe, by the sea, lovely
Matera- A town carved out of rock, truly breathtaking, The Passion of the Christ was filmed here!
Alberobello- a small town known for the trulli, which is a sort of house that is cylindrical in shape, they look like little white teepees but people actually live/work in them. Cute!
Lecce-The furthest south of them all, lots of baroque churches, kinda reminded me of Miami on a smaller scale, but less flashy and more modest.

Rosangela's town is called Santeramo in Colle. The population is just under 30,000 and everyone knows each other. Nobody ever really goes there, so when these two Americans showed up, it was quite the event. We constantly had a crowd, as if we were celebrities or something! They would stare at us when we spoke (or didn't speak) with this look in their eyes like, "Wow, they're real! Real Americans! This can't be happening!" And would ask us countless questions to see what we had in common. It was endearing.

The specialty of the town is horse meat. If you've never tried horse meat before, you're missing out. It's really flavorful and has a special kick to it like no meat I've ever tasted. Yummm.

I learned some Italian and how to play with Napolitan cards, which is traditional during Christmas time.