Fame del lupo

It means "hungry like a wolf" in Italian, and is a phrase I have bandied about for many years. I get hungry a lot, even before I was biking 70 miles a day (like I did yesterday), so it comes in handy quite often.

Bet you didn't know I studied Italian in college. Yep, I spent a semester in Rome studying film and church architecture and the history of the papacy and a bit of the language. (Officially. Unofficially, I studied the charming carabinieri and stunning cuisine and managed to put on ten pounds that I directly attribute to the discovery of Nutella.) Italy, the birthplace of the Slow Food movement, the home of luscious gelato and spaghetti westerns. And this October I'll have a chance to break out the few shreds of the language that I retain from my semester of Italian 101 because...

I'm going to Turino!!! I found out this afternoon that I have been accepted to the most exciting international food conference in the universe: Terra Madre 2010.

You'd better believe I almost fainted after reading the message from Slow Food USA on the side of the road when I stopped to check my e mail on the way into Charlotte, NC earlier today. Farmers, food educators, chefs, and activists coming together from around the world. Workshops on food appreciation and cultivating biodiversity and building regional food communities. Sounds like my kind of gathering. I'm... speechless. Except... due cappucinos per favore!