hira: carbed-out

current location: torino, italia--semester abroad

is there such a thing? i'm starting my second week in italia and i have to say--they eat A LOT of breads, pastas, and cheese. obviously, its soo delicious but geeez, put a carrot stick in my mouth that isn't covered in olive oil. fortunately, there are multiple outdoor markets going on every day from 8am - 1pm, featuring local vendors with a plethora of colorful vegetables and fruits, wheels of cheese and all kinds of breads. the best thing about shopping for food and cooking in my tiny apartment is that i can go every day or every other day, pick up small amounts of fish and bread and produce instead of a bushel of apples or an entire loaf of bread. just the perfect amount.

don't worry dear--all in moderation. we've been creating lovely meals with amici including:

on sunday, a group of us decided to take a train to a nearby town called Asti for the famous festival delle sagre, a foodie and wine lover's paradise. following my usual paradoxical personality, while i don't really care for large parties and drunken fiascos, i do enjoy wandering around various vendors and sampling local specialties. something about very genuine energy is mesmerizing. it pulls you in, makes you taste life.

savoring moments with new friends and indulging in gelato. yes, i walked all the from porta nuova, way down via roma and over to via garibaldi to visit my favorite gelaterria GROM--when a friend pointed out there was a GROM location right in front of my face.

and every day, i look out my balcony to find this:

yes, a shirtless man singing a variety of american acoustic songs, inclusing jason mraz and jack johnson. he's quite entertaining, waves back at me, and lets me take awkward pictures.

new challenges: use my outdoor running times to explore more of the city, take advantage of my balcony for some daily yoga. (you're welcome for introducing you to yoga darling--i share only the things that are closest to me). daily salads. obviously, i have to balance all of the gelati.