Through the eyes of a tourist

Salve! So today Pepe and I decided to walk downtown and pretend like we were tourists in order to get a feel of how it might be when we are in Europe. Pepe brought a backpack filled with miscellaneous stuff and I just brought my camera. While walking around we paid special attention to our surroundings as if we were seeing them for the first time. I have to say that I actually had a lot of fun and truly felt like I appreciated SLO more than I have in a very long time. I took pictures of noteworthy and attractive sites so I could get a feel for how many pictures I might take in a given day. We walked into a store that sells olive oil, called We Olive, and we tasted several types of olive oil and vinegar for free! I was surprised with how flavorful some of them were. The types of olive oils in increasing order of powerful taste were buttery, fruity, and peppery; and the vinegars tasted sweeter the older they were. I decided I prefer vinegar to olive oil and my favorites were the older balsamic vinegars (10 and 12 years old). I learned that balsamic vinegar comes from a special grape (Trebbiano) in Tuscany and is made with 14 different wooden drums. This tedious process is the main reason why balsamic vinegar is only made in Italy (I guess only the Italians have the patience and passion it takes to make superb vinegar... the way it should be made =) ).
Then we went to Barnes & Noble, and read and bought some guidebooks. We decided to finish our European-like visit by sitting down in a cafe (Linnaeas Cafe) to read our new guidebooks. It turns out the outside dining area through the back door was beautiful (surrounded by brick walls but very peaceful and covered with plants), so Pepe and I started taking some pictures and a girl (Bridgette) asked us if we wanted her to take a picture of us. It turns out that her parents were from Italy and we spent over an hour talking about what to see in Italy, especially the Amalfi Coast.
Today was one of the best days I've had this summer... and I can only imagine how much fun I will have when I am actually in Europe. However, I want to be sure to bring a pen and something to write on with me from now on so I can write down everything interesting that I learn and put it on here. I might even try sketching in my journal since I did plenty of sketching in my architecture classes.
As far as preparation, we are mostly done planning and making reservations for our European trip. We recently bought large backpacks in which we will fit all our belongings for our trip, and our Eurail passes just arrived in the mail. Mine covers 10 days of travel in France, Belgium/Netherlands/Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, and Italy. I also reserved a hotel for Oktoberfest, which a few of my friends are intending on sharing to cut down on the cost. I leave for Europe three weeks as of tomorrow... I can't wait. =) A piu tarde!

Me and Pepe at Linnaeas Cafe