Mia Famiglia!!!!

First and foremost MY PARENTS ARE HERE!!!!!! They made it here in one piece and, despite extreme levels of exhaustion, they made it through their first day in Italy. Second, and nearly as exciting, the peanut butter made it safely to Rome. It is as delicious as one might expect.

The first order of business upon my parents arrival, after copious amounts of hugging was taking them for a cup of coffee. I took them to a little place next to my apartment, we call it Giovanni's (the name of the owner and a man that I want to be my grandfather). Mom thinks the coffee is strong (shocker) but after two packets of sugar she proclaimed it to be drinkable. Dad drank his with no qualms.

After coffee we traipsed the whole five feet back to my apartment to meet my roomies. My parents, wanting to make friends, brought them pastries. They promptly made a pot of coffee and became fast friends with the parents (who also brought them gifts from the land of Minnesota: wild rice soup mix, fish pen, "you betcha" card deck).

Fortified by large amounts of caffeine I then took them around Trastevere (my neighborhood). They instantly fell in love with the cute little streets, shops, and darling charm that it has to offer. I also showed them the market in Campo di Fiori. It was actually the first time that I had been to this particular market and it was really cool. There are little stands everywhere. They sell things like spices by the kilo, kitchen-ware, shirts, veggies, and fruits. Both locals and tourists flock to this market. It is the quintessential European experience.

Hungry after all of our walking we went out to lunch at the pizza place next to Giovanni's. We did discover, much to our chagrin, that no pizza is served at lunch. So instead we opted for delicious pasta dishes. First meal in Italy, check!

Then we went back to my apartment to ready ourselves for our journey to Venice. Spiked your curiosity? You will have to read the next post to hear all about it! Buonanotte!