Im officially cultured

The above refers to today's happenings; however, let's cover yesterday briefly as well. Our Layers of Rome class led me to the Basilico di San Clemente, a 13th century church that is built upon the ruins of a 6th century church, which in turn is built upon the roads of ancient Rome. As we entered the church, a gypsy tried to take something out of a girl's bag...quite a scary moment for all of us, but we got past her harm free. The atrium of the church surrounded a natural spring that spurted up from a moderately lackluster fountain-pipe thing. We then walked into the church, and found it looked like many of Rome's multitude of church, with the exception of the staircase leading to a centuries-old excavation site where the old church used to stand. It was fascinating walking through the hallways and chambers buried underground, as well as seeing the frescos and other lasting decorations of the time. After we left the church, I ate my unsatisfying turkey wrap I made that morning and proceded to buy a roll from a premier bakery in Rome. Yummy.

Back to today. Hi (just thought I'd side note with a greeting). Our wine unit followed up with a trip to a place called Ketumbar, located in the late night club district known as Testaccio, where we met our professor, a writer for Gamboro Rosso (famous Italian food critique), as well as the staff of the establishment. We were treated to a hands-on lecture about the process of cultured wine tasting and how to have an educated drinking experience. Until this moment I didn't actually understand what the phrase "educated drinking experience" could possibly mean, but I can assure you that my appreciation for the art has increased exponentially over the course of an afternoon. We tried four different wines; two white wines (one called Muller Thurgau and the other escapes me), a chianti, and a sparkling wine called Moscato. The chef also treated us to fresh focaccia bread, which I also didn't appreciate until this excursion. With much appreciation we thanked both the staff and our professor for this amazing experience.

I'm excited now about my trip this upcoming weekend to the gorgeous city of Siena and neighboring it, the purportedly equally beautiful San Gimignano...and to drink Chianti in its region of origin (properly). I anticipate it being a blast and a half.