Gimme some of that Top Cheese!

At La Locando del Lupo (the place where we eat lunch and dinner everyday), lunches are the big meals with two courses and dinners are usually just one course. The first course at lunch is usually pasta and the second is some sort of meat and veggie combo. The pasta is always christened with a layer of grated cheese. Julia and I happen to be the cheese lovers of the group so whenever the waiters bring sliced cheese, grated cheese, pasta with cheese sauce, or anything else involving cheese, everyone turns their head to either me or Julia and raises their eyebrows. When the pasta with grated cheese is being dished out for everyone, Julia and I say, "Can I have some of that top cheese?" By now, everyone knows to save some 'top cheese' for us.

While we're on the topic of food, I guess I have told a lot of people here about gnocchi. Over the past month or so, I've ranted about how delicious it is and that if people go out to restaurants and see gnocchi on the menu, they should get it. I've had people come to me with their testimonies of their first experiences with gnocchi, all very good stories. Unfortunately, I had only had one dish of gnocchi myself a long time ago at a restaurant... until last night. La Locando del Lupo served us gnocchi with THICK, steaming cheese sauce (something I'd never had before with gnocchi). When it was brought out, I happened to be at the head of the table, and everyone turned their head to me. They knew. I took a few deep breaths, stood up, walked around a little, shook my hands, and sat back down. I ate that bowl of gnocchi slow. Real slow. The cheese was so strong and so thick... I wanted it forever. Afterward, I laughed, "I almost cried over that gnocchi!" The girl sitting next to me said, "You did cry. Your eyes were red and watering."

So there it is. I cried over a bowl of gnocchi.

Okay, so to sum up what we did for Easter. It was somewhat of a weekend-long celebration, starting with Good Friday. Almost all of Orvieto was involved in a walk through the town where there were stations that represented the stations of the cross. Everyone had candles and it was pretty beautiful. The next day was a perfect day for a party, with crafts (like dying eggs) for the little kids of the friends of the Orvieto of program. We students planted eggs and candy out in the court yard of the monastery for the kids to find. It was precious watching the little kids joyfully run to their chocolates.

On Easter day, it was dark, cold, and rainy. Julia and I went to a service at the Duomo, which was packed with Orvieto people and tourists. That was pretty much the only Eastery thing we did on Easter, but later in the day we went to a small indoor chocolate festival where we could see how a giant chocolate egg is made. There was art there made of chocolate. Meaning, there were canvases painted with colored chocolates. They were real paintings. Real chocolate. And there was a man making sculptures out of chocolate. It was close to being Willy Wonka's chocolate factory in there. I wish it was my house.

Anyways, I guess that's all I can update you with. I've been really busy with drawing the past two weeks. Drawing homework has become my life, but I'm not complaining. For the first time in a long, long time, I feel like I'm doing something with my life. What's there to complain about?