Buon Appetito

by Luke Archer

So it goes without saying that the Italians take their food very seriously. So serious in fact, my host was not-mildly disappointed to hear that we have ‘pasta pesto’ in England – and was further indignant at the fact that the lasagne she had just made was not the first I had ever seen. I also made a huge faux-pas by thinking that two courses’ worth of food was a buffet-style affair; the chorus of ‘No! No!’ when I went to add salad to my pasta dish were amongst the quickest of responses I’ve seen of anyone in Italy so far.

Regardless, the food in Rome is delizioso. There are a lot of greengrocers selling fresh food at reasonable prices – I’ve even seen ripe oranges falling from the trees in the street, and there is a lemon tree on our balcony.

I am also encouraged to eat cake for breakfast; a land of milk and honey indeed.