Italian Food

I fear that my years in California, especially Berkeley, have ruined me as far as food goes. When I go to Italy, I am astounded by the amount for food people eat. There is no way I can eat that much.
You start with the bread, then move on to a first, maybe carpaccio, or a caprese salad ( mozzarella and tomato). Then comes the pasta course. After the pasta comes the meat or fish, vegetables on the side if you order them. Then there is the dolce, the dessert, and an espresso...and perhaps a lemon cello . Who can eat all of that?
Even the pizzas , they eat a whole pizza. How is that possible?
People think Americans are fat, but I get looks of surprise when I just order the pasta only.
Do Americans come over here and eat all of these courses?
I remember when I first came to Italy. I did not like the food. I don't like the different kinds of meat, veal, rabbit, assorted organs with sauces. ( I should say that the is the restaurant in Firenze that I love. I had the best beef stew there the last time...but that is cooking from The Maremma, which I think might be different that Tuscan)
In California, I was used to buying the fresh ingredients and not mixing everything up. So, I struggle with the food in Italy. For lunch, if I have pasta, I feel like I've eaten too much and tend to skip dinner.
I guess Americans eat more processed food and that's what makes them fat, like mc Donald's and prepackaged stuff. Would they be thinner if they ate unprocessed food in quantity like the Europeans?
Maybe. I think the poor people here eat whole foods and don't resort to processed, it's just not in their culture. You can get wonderful fresh fruit and vegetables cheaply in the weekly markets in every town. You can't do that in the US and I guess that is why they are trying to bring the fresh markets to small towns in the US...what do they call them...fresh food deserts?
Why don't they just start up a market day, like they have here.
But, I think you are fighting the culture. Too many people would prefer fast food, processed food, than fresh now in these communities. They would balk at fresh ingredients ...

I digressed...back to Italy...
Do you remember the scene in Eat Pray Love, where J.R. Sits down to a plate of spaghetti marinara?
The scene is memorable as she so lovingly eats the plate of pasta....in the beautiful outside cafe. Do you think she has a course before, and some veal after, and then a dolce and an espresso? It would have ruined the whole beauty of the simple dish of pasta.
Later in the film there is a scene where she is with a group of people and she shows of her Italian by ordering all kinds of things, but for the table. ...after all, Eat is in the title of the movie.
Thanksgiving is coming and even though the celebrate Halloween now over here, I think there will be no thanksgiving turkeys or celebrations. Perhaps I could get one organized on meet up or international so it won't be so sad on that day.

The wind has been really strong the last 2 days. Things have been blowing around, pots are breaking. When I woke up this morning, I let the dogs out into the enclosed area...I put the kettle on for coffee and went and checked on Emile. The wooden door to the enclosure had blown down and he had escaped. I was still in my blue with white pika dotted pjs. I had to grab sneakers out of the car and ran down the hill to M. L's house to retrieve him. It was 7 am, and I didn't want to wake anyone up...I also didn't want any one to see me. Of course, he was all the way on the other side of the house. I grabbed him by his flea collar and dragged him back up the hill, crunching as we walked through fallen olives from all of the olive trees.