We drove the 30 km back to Viterbo with the giant jug bouncing in the back of Anna's VW Golf station wagon, finished up the days work and then Emanuel and I headed out for a beer with some of his friends. Don't be fooled like I was into thinking that Italy is all wine, prosecco and grappa. It has a pretty intense up and coming craft beer scene as well. I opted for a style called 'hell' beer which is asimilar to a white Belgium beer (it is not 'hell' as in the place, it's some abbreviation for something Italian which I can't remember). It was delicious. There were plenty of American beers in bottles there as well and as Emanuel and his friends happily informed me, there are bars in Rome that only serve American beers. Beer Shock, the bar we went to, was fabulous and if you're in Viterbo definitely check it out. They even had panino (like a panini sandwich) with cheddar! Everyone had to tell me how much they liked cheddar and believe it or not, you basically cannot buy cheddar cheese in Italy. The bar even had a popcorn machine just like America. It was so funny and reminded me so much of home. It was interesting to see and I wonder if the owner travelled to America to get the craft brew aesthetic and culture just right for the bar, or if craft brew beer has it's own aesthetic that transcends place and nationality. I don't know, but I do know that Italy and America both know how much people who love beer, love free popcorn to go with it.
Emanuel and I were the first people to leave the bar, and we were the first to even give an inkling of being tiered. And that wasn't until 2am. At 8am I was up and preparing for work on the farm when Anna met me in the kitchen announcing that there was fresh, warm yogurt in the dairy. She took me down with her to see it ( which she made at 5am), ladled me out a big bowl, and I was ready to start my day. Happy Italy.
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