TENNIS, MADONNA, AND CINZIA

Italy Journal

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

TENNIS, ANYONE?

Mara and I enjoyed another delightful afternoon at the indoor tennis court today. She complained that her back was hurting before we started, so I suggested that we not play. She insisted that she would be fine, and she has an appointment for a massage afterwards. We played, but I couldn’t tell any difference in her tennis. She played very well.

After tennis, Mara showed me an apartment that her family owns and wants to rent. Will and Gina are coming next week, and are looking for a place here to rent or buy for vacations, so I checked it out for them and sent them an email about it. It will be interesting to see what they decide to do. They are also going with our real estate agent Luca to look at other places while they are here.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

MADONNA AND CINZIA

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This proved to be a busy day! Enzo and I took the car to have the snow tires swapped back for the original tires so that Peter could return the car to Milan tomorrow (thank you, Translator Man!) While we were waiting, we got a coffee across the street and walked a little ways to the Church of the Madonna of Flowers. Enzo told me the story about a woman who, in December in the 1300’s, was about to be raped by two men. She prayed that they would leave her alone, and the Madonna appeared. The men were so frightened that they ran away. On that same day every year since then, the plum trees in the garden next to the church have bloomed. Every place else, the plum trees bloom in May, so this is a special place where they consider a miracle to have happened. We could still see the blossoms and some fruit on those trees even now.

Later in the morning, Peter and I had a visit from our friend and former Italian tutor Cinzia and her baby Martha. It was delightful to see both of them. The baby was happy and loved her “WOW! I FEEL GOOD!” greeting card with the Georgia Bulldog on the outside! Like our grandsons, she immediately started dancing on her mommy’s lap when she heard the music. It was so good to see Cinzia again and to catch up with her. She’s had a tough year, with Martha’s premature birth by 2 months, her mom’s death and her dad’s surgery; but things are smoother now. She suggested we go to Bercau Restaurant together again when we come back in June. We’ll look forward to that, Cinzia! Thank you for the visit.

Ciao!

Colleen

SUNDAY SUPPER 022413

Italy Journal

Sunday, February 24, 2013

SUNDAY SUPPER 022413

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We started with 12, and ended up with 20! The prodigal son Dan Wilson returned from London to wish FC8 (Peter’s cohort) congratulations on graduating. Valerio and Ale, our new downstairs neighbors came to supper again with the best bean soup around and two future roommates. Lisa took pictures galore – they were GREAT, don’t you agree? Thanks, Lisa! We actually got to meet Konny’s girlfriend Anja, and she DOES speak English, as well as her native German and French! Ashley and her friend Jocelyn FINALLY came in on the late, delayed, missed, broken down and transferred train from Nice. I caught Jeanette sneaking a kiss from Valentino (That’s not really new news!). We had pumpkin pie (thanks, Alex!), and Enzo ate a small piece. He thought it was GGGGREAT! Didn’t you, Enzo???? This (pronounced “tees”) reported a great trip to Scotland. He said hello to Charlotte for me, didn’t you, This? Justin screeched in from Torino a little late, but we’re always glad to see Justin. Daniel wouldn’t repeat the goodbye kisses with Alex for a photo, but he welcomed another kiss without the photo!!  Peter and I felt so entirely blessed by the comraderie among all those close and new friends. AND, the food and wine was out of this world! Really!

Ahhhhh, Sunday Supper!

Colleen

SIGHTS ON A WALK!

Italy Journal

Saturday, February 23, 2013

SIGHTS ON A WALK

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These pictures say it all. EXCEPT, you might not know that the first picture is a very large cabbage we found in next door Café Converso,with sticks stuck in the cabbage. On the sticks are…get ready for this…bread balls cut in half, with raw sausage (Saciccia di Bra is a delicacy here. It’s yummy!) inside and a green olive on top. Talk about delicious decorations!

Click on the caption sign (left hand corner of each picture – 3 short lines on top of each other) to learn about the rest. It was a lovely walk.

Colleen

LUNCH WITH ALEX AT BATTAGLINO'S

Italy Journal

Friday, February 22, 2013

LUNCH WITH ALEX AT BATTAGLINO’S

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What a great idea Alex had for her day off! She wrote me a message and suggested we get together, so today we decided to go to Battaglino’s for lunch. This is one of my favorite restaurants in Bra, and it is a short 4 blocks from our house, right besideon beautiful Piazza Roma.

I took Peter’s suggestion and called ahead for a reservation, but none was needed. It was a snowy day, the street market was over, and there were empty tables. It’s always better to call ahead, though. It’s a very popular place to eat. We decided it would be fun to share our dishes so that we could taste more of a variety. We ordered some delicious lamb pline (tiny pasta pockets with minced lamb inside), brasata di Barolo (roast beef with delicious Barolo gravy, for which we asked extra to sop up with the homemade bread) and an apple tarte for dessert. It was a perfect meal.

The original plan included a nice long walk after lunch, but Alex has hurt her ankle, and she doesn’t want to aggravate the problem right now.  She went and got a good massage from Theo, and Theo identified the problem as having more to do with her Achilles tendon than just her ankle. They looked up information on the internet, and Alex decided to rest her leg for a couple of weeks so that she won’t have long-term damage. Good choice!

Thanks for a great visit/lunch, Alex!

Baci,

Colleen

VALERIA'S PASTA MAKING DINNER

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Italy Journal

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

It’s supposed to snow for the next few days, so I spent as much time outside as I could today. A brisk walk to Grimaldi’s Pasta Shop was perfect to work out my tennis muscles from yesterday, and I was especially glad when I came back with delicious delectables for dinner tonight.

I had promised Lee-Anne to edit her final paper, so we spent some time this afternoon going over my suggestions. She had just left when Theo called to ask if I would edit her paper, too. I’m happy to help them out. It’s one thing that I can do well, and I have plenty of time to do it.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

PASTA-MAKING AT ITS BEST!

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We have wondered this week where our language swapper Valeria was. There was no word from her; and since she’s the one with a job and busy schedule, she is the one to initiate our schedule decisions. We learned the answer at a pasta-making dinner at her house tonight. She returned from her weekend away with a terrible toothache, which she self-medicated all week and plowed through her work activities. I’m glad she’s better, and now we have a date on the calendar for Tuesday lunch.

Oh, did I breeze through a comment about a pasta-making dinner at Valeria’s. There were 7 of us there. Marco and Gabriella both made pasta while we watched and helped where we could. Marco’s tagliatelli were made only by hand, using a goose egg (he raises 4 geese). It was a lesson in being at one with the pasta.  Gabriella’s pasta was rolled out only enough to be able to feed it through her travel-sized machine that you crank while it makes the pasta thin and cuts it to the exact size. Hers were veil thin and very delicate. Both were absolutely magnificent, and we appreciated the evening with new friends and delicious pasta.

Thanks for your invitation to a fun event, Valeria. I’m glad you feel better, and I will look forward to our time together at lunch on Tuesday.

Baci,

Colleen

VALERIA'S PASTA MAKING DINNER

Italy Journal

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

It’s supposed to snow for the next few days, so I spent as much time outside as I could today. A brisk walk to Grimaldi’s Pasta Shop was perfect to work out my tennis muscles from yesterday, and I was especially glad when I came back with delicious delectables for dinner tonight.

I had promised Lee-Anne to edit her final paper, so we spent some time this afternoon going over my suggestions. She had just left when Theo called to ask if I would edit her paper, too. I’m happy to help them out. It’s one thing that I can do well, and I have plenty of time to do it.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

PASTA-MAKING AT ITS BEST!

https://plus.google.com/photos/105096135818321367223/albums/5847825277251158225?authkey=COT8xeuY6e6DmAE

We have wondered this week where our language swapper Valeria was. There was no word from her; and since she’s the one with a job and busy schedule, she is the one to initiate our schedule decisions. We learned the answer at a pasta-making dinner at her house tonight. She returned from her weekend away with a terrible toothache, which she self-medicated all week and plowed through her work activities. I’m glad she’s better, and now we have a date on the calendar for Tuesday lunch.

Oh, did I breeze through a comment about a pasta-making dinner at Valeria’s. There were 7 of us there. Marco and Gabriella both made pasta while we watched and helped where we could. Marco’s tagliatelli were made only by hand, using a goose egg (he raises 4 geese). It was a lesson in being at one with the pasta.  Gabriella’s pasta was rolled out only enough to be able to feed it through her travel-sized machine that you crank while it makes the pasta thin and cuts it to the exact size. Hers were veil thin and very delicate. Both were absolutely magnificent, and we appreciated the evening with new friends and delicious pasta.

Thanks for your invitation to a fun event, Valeria. I’m glad you feel better, and I will look forward to our time together at lunch on Tuesday.

Baci,

Colleen

WOW! I FEEL GOOD!

Italy Journal

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

WOW! I FEEL GOOD!

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How else can I say it? “WOW! I FEEL GOOD!”

Sara, our former tutor came for a visit this evening at 9pm (after she got the kids fed and ready for bed). We haven’t seen her for a couple of months-since she started her full-time job, and we have missed her terribly.  I remember the Italian phrase for “I miss you,” “Mi manche!” by thinking of the words “Me monkey!” This is very close to the Italian pronunciation. This suits both Sara and me perfectly, because we always have such a good, silly time together.  So, we have both started signing our emails “MM!”

We had a lovely time together, with Peter in the next room adding comments whenever he wanted. He had some reading he needed to do, but stayed close enough to hear as well.  We all decided that this period of never getting together would need to end, so Sara agreed to come for another visit next week. We were thrilled

As she left, I gave her a musical card with a cute bulldog (Remember, we’re Georgia Bulldogs in our family!) on the front to take home to her children. When you open it, you hear a very loud, “WOW! I FEEL GOOD!” She said, “Don’t tell Lucia and Leo I have this, because I’m going to keep it for myself! When she left, I could hear “WOW! I FEEL GOOD!” playing over and over as she walked away.

MM, Sara,

Colleen

THANKS TO SPAM!

Italy Journal 

Monday, February 18, 2013

THANKS TO SPAM!

We were excited to get almost an hour long Skype with our unofficially adopted son Steven tonight.

Steven’s family used to live 4 houses down the street from us when he was growing up, and we came to love him like our own children. As time went by, he just started calling us “Mom” and “Dad,” and we liked it a lot! He and his birth parents were very close, so they didn’t feel at all threatened by it.

When Steven would come home from college, he would usually drop by for a chat…and some snack, of course…while he was there. At times, we would drive to his college and meet him for a meal, too. We always enjoyed our time with him.

We have kept up with Steven, even though he moved with his family to Wyoming a few years ago. We swapped emails, and he visited us when he came to town; but, when we left for Italy a year ago, the emails stopped coming from Steven and we lost track of him.

Then, yesterday, I received a suspicious email from Steven. I was excited to see his address, but there was no subject, and there was a URL on the first line that I could see.. I immediately recognized the pattern as spam and deleted the email before I sent him a separate email telling him to contact his email provider. That led to an email back from him, “I’ve found you, Mom! I sent 2 emails months ago before I decided you must have changed your email address! When can I Skype with you and Dad?” We had never received those emails, and he has received over 40 returned emails from the last year in the past 2 days.

Peter and I were so glad to spend so much time catching up with our “3^rd son.” Steven’s doing well.  He is happy in his current job and has paid off his college loan. (We raised you right!) He had a blast going to Denver to help his brother celebrate his 30^th birthday a few months ago.

He wanted to hear all about our year in Italy, and we let him know that he would be welcomed here if he could come over sometime while we’re here. Peter told him all about our upcoming gastronomic tour business, and Steven immediately wanted to start saving up to go on one with us. He was interested in what we had been doing, and we loved catching up with his life, too.

So, when we ended our Skype, we agreed that we should THANK THE SPAM for giving us the opportunity to reconnect with a special young man in our lives. So good to get to spend some time with you today, Steven. We love you lots!

Mom and Dad

LISA & ENZO'S 16TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS!

Italy Journal

Sunday, February 17, 2013

LISA&ENZO’S ANNIVERSARY LUNCH

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Peter and I have been looking forward to today’s lunch at Enzo and Lisa’s house for almost a month. They decided to do it on this date so that we could all help them celebrate their 16^th wedding anniversary. Of course, we were happy to oblige!

We were also looking forward to seeing Enzo and Lisa’s other guests… Lisa’s daughter Alice, Lisa’s mother and father Ella and Gianni and other dear friends of ours and theirs, Nucci and Flavio Russo. It was the perfect group to celebrate their 16^th anniversary!

I was pleased to start the meal with an announcement and a gift for Enzo. I didn’t realize that the Russos did not know yet that Enzo’s daughter had learned recently that she was pregnant.  When I mentioned that Enzo was going to be a nonno, the Russos were very excited! I went ahead to say that our grandchildren would rather have musical cards as gifts than anything else I have found. They love to be able to control them by opening and closing them at will. Every time they open the card and the music starts, they start dancing away! Then, I brought out a favorite musical card of our grandchildren’s, which happens to have an adorable Georgia Bulldog on the front. I presented that to Enzo with the understanding that having this now would get him used to what it would be like when the child is born. Then I opened the card, and we all heard a loud, “WOW! I FEEL GOOD…LIKE I KNEW THAT I WOULD, NOW!” Everyone immediately started laughing and moving to the music as it continued for several more phrases. I was glad that I could surprise Enzo with that enjoyable card. He’ll have fun with it when the baby is here, too.

Enzo was frustrated about something that had gone wrong when he was cooking, but the food just got better and better. I guess he solved whatever the problem was. The aperitivo included some of his scrumptious meat roll-ups and wine from Lisa’s uncle Roberto. Pasta with a new, wonderful sauce was definitely delicious, and the pork loin and potatoes afterwards were the perfect addition.  We had a cheese course that Peter brought before our dessert of Enzo’s Berry Torte. The hot tea or coffee that followed was a great punctuation to an indescribably delicious meal.

We had such a good time with those dear friends, and we shall always cherish being able to celebrate your 16^th anniversary with everyone. Thank you for you friendship and sharing your talents, Enzo and Lisa. Happy 16^th Anniversary!!

Baci e abbracci,

Colleen

LA TORRE WITH ALBERTO

Italy Journal

Saturday, February 16, 2013

DINNER AT LA TORRE WITH ALBERTO, MARLENE AND LEE-ANNE

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We were very pleased to hear from Alberto that he wanted us to join him, Lee-Anne and another friend Marlene for dinner, and Osteria de La Torre was at its finest tonight. We know Lee-Anne, who is a student in Peter’s cohort, and Marlene is also a student at the University but volunteers some time at the Slow Food office. It was nice to get to see Lee-Anne and get to know Marlene.

We all enjoyed watching Lee-Anne try to get the meat out of the boiled snails. Finally, our waiter Gabrielle came over and gave her a quick inservice…and a device that would help her hold the shell while she dug out the meat with her fork. She must have gotten a little bored with that, because she ended up playing with some of the shells as if they were earrings and eyeballs (see photos). It was definitely entertaining for all of us.

I was glad to get a chance to go with Peter to La Torre. I have been several times, but he hasn’t been able to go with me very often. It was a very nice outing. As usual, Alberto, you have designed a delicious meal and a lovely evening for all of us. Thank you!

Colleen