MARIETTA FARMERS' MARKET

US Journal

Saturday, March 30, 2013

MARIETTA FARMERS’ MARKET

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The Farmers’ Market at Marietta Square was bustling this morning, and I found several dogs there that I knew you would be interested in seeing. They all looked hungry, and one of them actually found a booth that sold dog biscuits! Lucky dog!

We have been to this farmers’ market many times, and this morning, Peter found Bill, who sold tomato plants, and he bought 6 for our pots at home. Our 4 year-old neighbor Micah was at our adjoining fence every day during the last summer we were here, watching the tomatoes grow, and then later asking to have one. We definitely feel the responsibility of encouraging Micah to enjoy tomatoes! He has already asked us when we will have tomatoes again. We brought home one of Paul’s Roast Beef Pot Pies from the market for his family to thank them for taking care of our house this year.

Peter got some farm fresh eggs, cheese, sausage, spinach, and other greens for our Easter Dinner tomorrow night, and some spices, too. As we were leaving, we saw Michael at the fresh pasta stand. He and Peter had a really good conversation, and they both want to find a time to get together to talk about Italy and food. Sounds like fun to me!

It was a lovely day at the Market, and next week this market will expand to be in the Square for the warmer weather months and include a Sunday afternoon market as well. We’re looking forward to that. The weather is getting warmer, so I’ll be finding me a popsicle from the King of Pops very soon!

Ciao!

Colleen

WALKING IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

U.S. Journal

WALKING IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

Monday, March 25, 2013

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This afternoon, I was struck by how Spring has suddenly made all of the flowering plants burst out in color, so I decided to take pictures on my walk around the neighborhood. I hope you like them.

Baci,

Colleen

HOME SAFELY

Italy Journal

Wednesday, March 20, 2013 +

It took 2 of the large rolling carts to get our 5 large bags from the Sheraton to check-in. Even then, all of Peter’s bags were over the allowed weight, so we had to juggle stuff from one to another for 30 minutes. Alas, even after all that, the bill was 410 euro for the extra weight, but at least they let the bags on the plane, and the plane was on time. Che bello!

The flight to NYC-JFK was uneventful; and, except for LOSING 2 BAGS (Che bello!) – we went through NYC in time to get our flight to ATL. Amanda’s car was still running when we met her at the airport in Atlanta. Thank you so much, Amanda!

Our 2 lost bags were delivered to our house the next afternoon. Che bello! It could have been a lot worse.

Anyway, we’re in Georgia now. Cati called to say her year in France when she was in college left her more culture-shocked when she returned than when she arrived there. I totally understand that now. This morning, Peter and I went into a favorite restaurant, and I almost said, “Buon giorno!” right away. Also, our breakfast that we have always enjoyed there was no longer tasty or acceptable. We have definitely turned into food snobs!

Now, as I write, Peter is doing some research on his computer, and he has turned the radio onto an Italian station. We might get better in Italian in spite of ourselves. We also decided to translate the road signs into Italian when we are in the car. In addition, Peter went to an “Ethical Meat” conference at Emory University that he enjoyed very much…it sounded a lot like something from UNISG.

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We are enjoying visits with our friends every day…a lunch with the boys for Peter while I lunched at the Cuban Café with Jennifer, an afternoon visit with Julie while the baby’s asleep, phone conversations, emails, barbecue dinner with Brandi,Richie,Maizie and Vivian Gunn (SEE PICTURES!), and a dinner invitation tonight (Julie asked me if we were tired of Italian food! WHAT! Of course not! Peter is taking his famous roasted tomatoes to go in a farmer’s market salad, as well as strawberries with balsamic for dessert.).

Thanks for the warm welcome, all!

Colleen

LEAVING DAY - A PRESTO, BRA!

ITALY JOURNAL

TUESDAY, March 19, 2013

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We left Bra today for Atlanta.

An early morning “see you soon” visit from Mara and her son Alberto made the day start just right. Mara was not going to be in the Pasta Shop today, so she offered to drop by on her way to SPEND THE DAY SKIING with Alberto. His school was closed in honor of a saint. It was very special to get one more hug and to remember to say “a presto” (see you soon) instead of “goodbye!” Peter and I made a special effort to drop by the shop to say, “a presto” to Valerio, too. We will miss the Grimaldis, but we plan to return at the end of May. See you then, Mara, Valerio, Alberto and Gio!

Peter and I met Enzo for another “a presto,” then I went to put a little more money on my phone account for today. Peter and Enzo went to take the internet machine to be returned. Afterwards, we finished our packing and cleaning in time to meet with our landlord Sergio, his wife and our immobiliare  (real estate agent) Luca for a walk- through and finalizing our leaving the apartment. As we left, we helped Luca take down the beautiful curtains Peter had installed…Sergio decided not to purchase them for the apartment…and Luca said he would send an ad to Hannah at the university to see if anyone wanted to purchase them. Luca has been such a good friend to us this year. He has been the one we called whenever we needed advice or help with our apartment. Thank you, Luca! You are a gem of a friend and a GREAT immobiliare! See you in May, and we’re really looking forward to seeing you and Lisa in the U.S. in August, too. What a great idea!!!

Peter and I had an hour left before he took me to Boccondivino for lunch; so, we of course went to Café Converso for an affagato! What better way to end a lovely year?! The bookend meal at Boccondivino finalized our year in Bra. The first place we went when we arrived in Bra and found Maya and Archangelo was Boccandivino, and it was only fitting that we end the year there, too. It was delicious; as usual, and we were surprised when Valeria came in for lunch with some colleagues. We got to say one last “a presto” to her, too.

Then, off to Milan Malpensa Sheraton to return our rental car and spend the night before our early flight tomorrow morning!

A presto, Bra,

Colleen

LAST APERITIVO

Italy Journal

Sunday and Monday, March 17&18, 2013

Jacqueline, Kenia, Ashley, Francesco and Sara were among the friends that dropped by today for one last visit before we take off for the States. Some were also picking up more flea market items, but that was a good thing, too. We are almost to the end of that project. Anybody want a desk and chair…oops! Never mind, the chair just went out the door with Ashley! The desk is the only thing left! Our neighbors Bianca and Nora have been stuck in Milan because of the beautiful snow we had both Sunday and Monday. They finally arrived back this afternoon, and they accepted the desk, the sheets on our bed, 3 pillows and several bags of miscellaneous items. We’ve enjoyed having them and their kitten Scialla as neighbors.

It was wonderful to take a break from our flea market, packing and cleaning to watch one of Mrs. Marple’s detective stories this evening. Of course, the one that no one expected did the dirty deed. In fact, the original person that was thought to be the intended victim was the perpetrator! How’s that for a twist of fate? It’s still fun to watch.

Luca went with me to EGEA to pay the final bill, and I nearly fainted when I saw what the real bill was. They have been estimating all year, and now we owe…let’s just say a small fortune. They wouldn’t let me pay in cash, so we had to deposit more money in our bank account, where we had just taken most of it our. The bank then did a transfer to pay the bill. Italian lesson learned: Italians don’t read the meters monthly, so if you want the bill to be paid correctly, you have to read the meter yourself and go to EGEA in person to have your bill adjusted! Che bello!

LAST APERITIVO

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On Monday, we worked hard to finish everything, so by the time Alberto, Valeria and Jacqueline came for aperitivo, we were happy for a diversion. Thanks for joining us on our last night in Bra, all of you.

As Andrea Bocelli sings, “Time to say goodbye!” Baci!

Colleen

Goodbyes - Enzo, Sara, Elettra

Italy Journal

Friday, March 15, 2013

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LUNCH WITH ENZO

Enzo came over for lunch with me while Peter was at a conference at the university. We made pasta, and Enzo brought some of his tasty green cheese sprea that I love, and I provided some bread to go with it. He also brought some cream to whip and merangue drops to put in the whipped cream. When I added strawberries, we had a luscious dessert, too. Then, we went to Café Cavour to have some coffee. That’s his favorite café in town.

The big event of our time together was that Enzo discovered how to talk to people at the gate that want to come in and how to open our gate downstairs remotely from our house! This was big news, and I would love to be there when Daniel hears this. At our Suppers this year Daniel was the one who ran down the 2 flights of stairs to open the gate by hand every time someone rang the bell! We could have been opening the gate from inside the house all this time!!! Che Bello!

Saturday, March 16, 2013

LUNCH WITH SARA

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It was a huge relief to get to spend the lunch hour with Sara Matteodo, our friend and former Italian tutor. Battaglino was the restaurant I chose for us to eat lunch, and it was again a wonderful meal – cooked ham, some spinach filled pasta pocket of some sort, and fried fish with broccoli and fried potatoes. Dessert consisted of a scrumptious tiramisu, with coffee afterward. YUUUUUMY!

Sara was relieved, too, when she realized that we would be returning to Bra in only 2 months. I expect by then Sara will be able to report a new job. Good luck with that, Sara! I really enjoyed getting caught up with you. See you on Skype at granmorich!

Baci e abbracci,

Colleen

ELETTRA AND AFFAGATO

I have been missing Elettra on her weekends at home from college, so this weekend I made sure I contacted her early so that we would be able to find a time to meet before we leave on Tuesday. We finally decided to go for affagato (are you seeing a trend?) in the afternoon today, and Bar Cavour had just what we wanted. She surprised me with a beautiful stone necklace that is very comfortable and looks great on me. I like it soooooo much. Thank you, Elettra, for this sweet reminder of a delightful young lady. I really enjoy spending time with you! Hopefully, we can get together again when we come back at the end of May!!!

Ciao, Bella!

Colleen

Valentino&Jeanette Dinner

Italy Journal

Thursday, March 14, 2013

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Today felt like the beginning of the end. Peter has put out a great announcement about items that we have for sale, and people started sending emails and coming today to buy what they needed. It was bitter sweet; but in the end, we were relieved to have gotten rid of everything that we can’t possibly take home.

JEANETTE AND VALENTINO’S INVITATION

What?! Another absolutely exquisite dinner with precious people! This meal with Jeanette and Valentino was a winner from the beginning.  Everything was delicious…salad with greens and smoked salmon, polpo (octopus) with fried potato and a fennel salad, and this beautiful meal was accented by a platter of delicacies from Café Converso’s bakery.

We were so happy to get an opportunity to spend the evening with you two, Valentino and Jeanette. Please keep in touch, and we’ll see you at the end of May!

Baci e abbracci,

Colleen

JUSTIN'S BREAKFAST, DINNER AT ASCHERIA WITH LUCA AND LISA

Italy Journal

Wednesday, March13, 2012

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JUSTIN’S BREAKFAST

We had fun at Justin’s house this morning for breakfast. We got there early (9a.m.), so we had a private time with Justin and just a couple of other guests. By the time others started to arrive, we had eaten a wonderful breakfast, had a great time visiting and said our goodbyes.

Thank you, Justin. It surely has been fun getting to know you this year.  Please keep in touch, and you are always welcome if you come to Georgia.

DINNER WITH LUCA AND LISA

It was sweet of Luca and Lisa to invite us to dinner. We met at Bar Chiavassa for aperitivo, then we were especially pleased that they chose Ascheria as the restaurant. It was recommended to us by several people, but when we tried to go, it was closed. We had a yummy meat appetizer that all of us shared and pasta dishes that were delicious. We always have a super time when we get together with Lisa and Luca, and tonight was no exception.

Thank you for a wonderful evening, Lisa and Luca. We’ll look forward to celebrating Lisa’s birthday with you while we’re here in June!

Baci,

Colleen