I HAVE DIED AND GONE TO OPEN-MARKET HEAVEN.

campo di fiori ( of the flowers ) - one of rome's most famous open-air markets. took a walk there this morning for the first time and about wept for joy. the coLORS of the food...the variety of vegetable and cheese and meats and flowers and sunglasses and clothing! i took a walk around the piazza, which is lined with bars and restaurants as well, of which i will CERtainly be returning to...in the end i decided to pick up things for lunch/other weekend meals, but the goal being to buy for the day, as many of the italians do (these markets are open mon-sat from 8-1). the verdict: paglia e fieno, or hay and straw, a roman dish made with both spinach and regular semolina pasta (hence the name.) i bought the pasta, zuchinni with gorgeous, orange flowers attached (also very tasty), garlic, and a GIANT hunk of parmiggiano reggiano (only 6 euro!) fyi: learned in my class that parmiggiano reggiano (the super stong, salty, crumbly one ) comes specifically from reggio, which is very close to parma in the region of emilia-romanga, which is north of rome and veraciously celebrated for its cuisine. to accompany the meal, purple and white faggioli (beans), tiny strawberries and a bottle of balsamic vinegar (only aged one year..baby steps up to the big stuff). this all cost about 16 euro...or $21. add some anchovies, bread, and a glass of ruffino chianti from yesterday and i am in gastronomic heaven. took a while to figure out how to get the gas working on my TINY stove (pictures coming later), but all in all a great success.

there is an election coming up very soon here, and as a result there are large political posters everywhere. they paste them onto rows of large boards that either line the walls or are put up in the streets. but instead of taking the old ones down, they paste up the new ones over the top. this results in inches-thick paper protruding from the walls. and when it becomes too heavy, they all fall down and litter the streets. fascinating. anyway, there were two street parties last night due to the elections. the first one was the party of the right, with passioned speakers and canned music (either bad american pop or bad italian pop) in the piazza san cosimato, where i had truffle & porcinis in pasta. the other (sinistra liberte, or liberty of the left), was in a piazza with off of trastevere (my street), with live music, drinks, and merchants. we went to a bar called mr. pucce (non significa, apparently...we asked), and drank prosecco in an outdoor area packed with funky chairs and small tables. very cool to be immersed in the political scene.

out now to see piazza nuvona and other sites...ciao amici!