Today I began the self-taught course in how to drive stick shift. Turns out it's not that complicated (in theory), at least once I get it into second. That whole dead-stop-to-first-gear thing was kicking my ass all over the place today, but by the end of my hour-and-a-half practice session, I was only stalling out at like one of every five stop signs. And once you're going, it's no problem at all. Of course, I was practicing on base where it's really flat and there's minimal traffic. I was going to take it out in town, but I had to cut the lesson short because I'm almost out of gas and I don't have the tax-free gas vouchers (so I only have to pay like $2.50 a gallon instead of $5 like the Italians) . So tomorrow I get the vouchers, gas up, and take 'er out against the Italian drivers. And the hills. So if you never hear from me again, that's why.
Had dinner with a couple guys from the office and their wives. The Italians take their food very seriously. First, the wine list was about 30 pages long, and really, it just didn't matter to us so long as it was wine. Then, from what I gather, they have about thirty courses during the meal. Bread, of course. We opted out of the salad, but went with the antipasti, which is sort of like appetizers, but they bring you a dozen different kinds of things, and it's really enough to be a meal. It's actually a lot like having tapas--just small plates with a serving per person, but a whole bunch of them. SO good. And then you get primi, which is basically a light dish (or two in this case) which I guess usually has pasta and maybe fish or poultry. By that point we were all quite full, so we didn't get secondi, which is usually some kind of meat dish. Nor did we get dessert (I forget the word for it) or coffee. The other thing that's going to take some getting used to is the hours for dinner. Nobody eats before 8, and even then, that's kind of early. We showed up at about 8:45, and were some of the first people in the place (which by the time we were done, at quarter past midnight, was packed).
On an unrelated note, I'm going to London on Tuesday through Saturday. (Actually, it's not that unrelated--the reason I'm in such a hurry to learn to drive my car is because I'll have to drive myself to and from the airport.) Having gotten most of the touristy stuff out of the way last year when I was there, I'm open to suggestions on things to do. I'm staying at the Thistle Marble Arch, so if any of the three people reading this know any good restaraunts or pubs in the area, let me know.
Had dinner with a couple guys from the office and their wives. The Italians take their food very seriously. First, the wine list was about 30 pages long, and really, it just didn't matter to us so long as it was wine. Then, from what I gather, they have about thirty courses during the meal. Bread, of course. We opted out of the salad, but went with the antipasti, which is sort of like appetizers, but they bring you a dozen different kinds of things, and it's really enough to be a meal. It's actually a lot like having tapas--just small plates with a serving per person, but a whole bunch of them. SO good. And then you get primi, which is basically a light dish (or two in this case) which I guess usually has pasta and maybe fish or poultry. By that point we were all quite full, so we didn't get secondi, which is usually some kind of meat dish. Nor did we get dessert (I forget the word for it) or coffee. The other thing that's going to take some getting used to is the hours for dinner. Nobody eats before 8, and even then, that's kind of early. We showed up at about 8:45, and were some of the first people in the place (which by the time we were done, at quarter past midnight, was packed).
On an unrelated note, I'm going to London on Tuesday through Saturday. (Actually, it's not that unrelated--the reason I'm in such a hurry to learn to drive my car is because I'll have to drive myself to and from the airport.) Having gotten most of the touristy stuff out of the way last year when I was there, I'm open to suggestions on things to do. I'm staying at the Thistle Marble Arch, so if any of the three people reading this know any good restaraunts or pubs in the area, let me know.
posted by Chris at 1:46 PM
2 Comments:
Hello...how do you know only 3 people are reading this? I just figured out that you write often so i'll have to check it every day. I sure would like to help you with places to go...but...ya know us southerners never get to go much past the border ;-)...anyways, I love the car story..but I think I would be afraid to travel around with someone I didn't know hehe. Glad you're having fun and i'll read your emails more often now. Love ya...Aunt Debbie
^-- That's a mushy post up there. Glad to see somebody loves you.
I just wanted to remind you to go running every now and again. If watching the Godfather trilogy has taught me anything, it's that Italians like to eat and tend to get heavy. So watch out for that.
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