We found a loft.

Well, Nicole found it. As you enter our apartment, there are three light switches. One is for the hallway, one is for the kitchen, and one says "loft." How we managed not to notice it the first three weeks, I'm not sure.

Yesterday, Nicole discovered the light switch, and looked up. A secret door! After attempting to climb tall things to open it, Mikaela and I dragged a ladder up two flights of stairs, we swung open the door, and...

we found a loft! It is a small room with white tile floors, and a light. There are three old mattresses and some boxes of old binders and old papers, as well as a larger moka, two fake gladiator swords, and Christmas decorations. Mikaela joked that we let some ghosts out, and that our apartment might be haunted, but today she claims it has a nice vibe. We want to lay the mattresses down and use it as a hangout, cocktail room.

In the non-loft portion of my life, we have been cooking up a storm in "jam sessions." Jam sessions are cooking lessons, but instead of focusing on recipes, they are focused on using seasonal, local food and employing improvisational cooking to make the best you can out of those foods. Yesterday, we spent five hours cooking sesame hummus, a chick pea dish, an apple and onion tarte, a torta rustica with broccoletti (chard like Italian green) and ricotta, stewed meat with tomato, grilled liver (couldn't eat it), a pumpkin mash with cheese, and a fava bean dish with onions. After gorging yesterday, we still had leftovers (and a new stew!), which we finished today. Despite being full all day, we find time for gelato. And time to talk about burgers and fries, milkshakes, and movie theatre popcorn drenched with butter. This weekend might have an American theme...

Tomorrow we leave for an overnight field trip to an olive farm. Hopefully we will get to cook delicious meals and roam the olive trees! Love from Rome.