Welcome to my first "Little Things I Love About Italy" post! I believe that when most people think of Italy they picture leaning towers, Roman ruins, gondolas, pizza, the Sistine Chapel, and the list could go on. And although those are all things that I love about Italy (especially the Roman ruins and the pizza!) they are not the only great things about this beautiful country. I hope to write "Little Things I Love About Italy" posts every once in awhile so I can show you some of the small, day to day things that I think make life here enjoyable. So, for the first time, here are five little things I love about Italy:

1. Ciccolato e Nocciola! Living in Italy allows me to indulge my love for the combination of hazelnut and chocolate on a regular basis. Here are a few of the products that I currently use to satisfy my addiction: Nutella, Kinder Bueno candy bars, and this yummy granola cereal from Kellogg's that contains both hazelnuts and little pieces of chocolate. (And now, having admitted all of this, I would just like you to know that I have been here for almost three months and I have only gone through one and a half jars of Nutella -based on previous experience I should be up to at least four by now- and I have only had my other chocolate/hazel nut fix -in the form of gelato- six times in three months. Hooray for me and my willpower!)

2. Green shutters! These are found in some form on many, many homes and buildings in Italy, and I am not sure exactly why they make me happy, but they do. Maybe it is because they are useful for so many things: you can open them wide and get full light through the window, or you can open your windows inside and leave the shutters closed or half-open to control the flow of air (and bugs!) into the house, and keep it cool in the summer. Plus, they look pretty! This is a picture of the house I am currently living in; my apartment is on the top floor. (I'll get around to posting pictures of the inside on of these days!)


3. This next one might sound a little strange to some of you (especially my mother who tried for years to get me to eat tuna casserole and like it- I still think it is yucky!) but I really enjoy tuna. I eat it for lunch all the time at home so I was thrilled to find these wonderful little cans of tuna in the stores here. They are a perfect, one-person serving size and easy to carry around and open (there is a pull tab on the other side), plus you can get the tuna in oil, water, or natural (which is what I go for). It inexpensive and healthy- I love it! (Do we have tiny cans like this in North America? I've never seen them!)


4. The Farmacia! I love the pharmacies here in Italy, and especially in Siena. For one thing, they are their own little stores (not hooked into some big superstore like WalMart) and you tend to receive really personal attention. I actually go in and ask them questions about what to take or to buy for certain things and I never do that at home- the atmosphere just doesn't seem to be conducive to that kind of interaction. There is one particular pharmacy I go to here in Siena where they wrap up your purchases in paper before they send you on your way and I love that- it is a lovely, old-fashioned touch! Pictured below is a box of chewable Vitamin C tablets I bought recently and the paper they were wrapped in so you can see what it looks like. (p.s. These vitamin C tablets are some of the best I've ever had- really good flavor and not chalky at all!)


5. My keys! Not only do I love them because they enable me to get into my apartment, but I love they way they look and the mix of new and old-fashined locks that they open. I actually use all four of these on a daily basis: one for the gate to the house, one for the front door of the house, on for the apartment, and one for my bedroom. As my Mom put it, whenever I am home I am safely locked away!