Dinner with Mara and Valerio

US Journal

Oct. 20, 2014

Dinner with Mara and Valerio

It’s very interesting how a small idea can turn into a big plan, all in one night. I knew that Valerio and Mara only had one day each week off, so I suggested that we get together on Monday night, and Mara turned it into a lovely invitation to dinner in their wonderful home. Monica was with me when they invited us, and Mara wanted to include Monica in the invitation. Then, a few days later, I received an email from Mara saying that Ricardo, Lella and their twin daughters, all of whom were present the last time we were invited by Mara and Valerio to have supper in their home, asked if they could join us. What another great idea!

Our delicious 4-course meal made a perfect venue for speaking English and Italian, getting caught up with each other and…this is very important…planning for the twins and Giovani to visit Monica and us in Atlanta next Summer!!! What a delightful idea. Plus, Giovani thought it would be fun to have his good friend Philipe to come along, so now there are 4. Monica and I stopped by the Pasta shop the next day, and Mara verified that all 4 of the young people were very excited about this adventure. We’re excited about their visit, too.

Then it occurred to me that there was really no reason to leave out Valerio, Mara and Alberto, so I put some pressure on Valerio to think about a trip to Atlanta for all of them some time soon. How’s that for more good news!?

Thank you so very much, Mara and Valerio for sharing your home, wonderful meal, family and friends with us! You are truly dear friends. We’re looking forward to hosting you and all of the young people! Oh, please bring with you Ricardo and Lella!

A presto!

Colleen

1st Days in Bra

US Journal

Oct. 15, 2014

1^st Days in Bra

https://plus.google.com/photos/105096135818321367223/albums/6071118550835628657?authkey=CMf76ZCHucHgugE

Bra is as we left it… plenty of great gelato, and lovely friends that we haven’t seen in too long!

Lisa has left to go to Milan for work, and we decided it was our responsibility to take care of Enzo until Lisa returns on Friday night. So, since he had already had lunch, he came with us to Bar Chiavassa, and we talked and talked while Peter and I ate our favorite lunch salad there. As we were finishing, I looked out the window only to find our Monica with her friends the twins walking by. I called to Monica, and they came in to welcome us to Bra. The twins are Lisa and Enzo’s nieces, and Monica has been eating most of her meals with their family while she is staying in Bra with their grandparents Ella and Gionni. What a nice surprise. Monica and I met for affogatto later in the day to start our vacation in Bra in style.

After a quick stop at our favorite pasta shop to say hello to Valerio (You should have seen his surprised eyes when we walked in his shop!), we continued our care of Enzo in the evening by joining him for a delicious meal that he made for us at his house…all the goodies that I love from Enzo’s kitchen! Monica joined us for that meal, which was very nice.

Monica took me for a traditional walk to the Big Store Thursday morning to leave Peter’s shirts to be laundered and to buy some supplies for later. We again stopped by our pasta shop, and Mara was there with Valerio. We talked a long time and arranged a dinner at their house on Monday night, their night off from pasta making. That will be such fun! As we travelled on to the Big Store, we were gravely disappointed to realize that my favorite gelato shop was closed, but we will look for more gelato later!

I heard from her later in the day that she and Rosella, the twins’ mother, wanted me to join them for a walk along the river. It was so very good to see Rosella and get caught up with her family and all that they have been doing.

In the evening, we took Enzo for yet another fabulous meal, this time at Il Fiore Restaurant, where our friend Gregoire is owner. We were also treated there when our Italian tutor Sara came by, and Francesco and his girlfriend Sara met us to say hello. So good to run into great friends in Bra.

Peter’s spending lots of time working on the details of the Italian Students’ Stage with us in Atlanta in November. He and Francesco are working hard to make it really special for the students.

More later, Ciao!

Colleen

Day 10 Bra: Lisa/Mara

Italy Journal

Monday, May 12, 2014

Day 10 Bra:

Walk with Lisa

https://plus.google.com/photos/105096135818321367223/albums/6013225432410397025?authkey=COmj-Z-67KH01QE

Lisa took a break from her work and I took a break from my play today, and we went on my favorite walk over the hill, then back over the hill and around back to Bra. We passed her sister Arabella’s house, where Emily greeted us with ferocious barking, but we both knew she was tame. We found a friend of Lisa’s, who has the same birthday as she, May 15^th! We passed a lovely B&B, but it’s probably too far out of town to take Peter’s tour groups there. We also passed a honey producer, and Lisa called Enzo and Peter to recommend that place as perfect for the tour group. My friend Mara passed us in her car and stopped to say hello on her way to a massage. I’ll see her tonight for supper. We avoided my favorite gelato shop on the way back and felt very proud of ourselves because of that! Thanks, Lisa, I thoroughly enjoyed our walk together!

Dine with Mara

We wanted pizza, but the new pizza place was closed because it was Monday, so Mara and I went to her favorite pizza place where the chef is from Naples. The gorgonzola/ham pizza was outstanding, and we so enjoyed our supper together. Thank you for a lovely evening, Mara, and for being such a good friend! See you in September!

Colleen

Day 3/4 Bra: THERE’S A WHOLE LOT OF GOOD EATING GOING ON!

Italy Journal

Mon/Tues May 5/6, 2014

Days 3/4 Bra: THERE’S A WHOLE LOT OF GOOD EATING GOING ON!

https://plus.google.com/photos/105096135818321367223/albums/6010573548464583009?authkey=CI7O89--vvOcKg

I can only say that we are on vacation and in Italy. This is what Italians do…eat, drink and be merry!

Monday night was extra special. Our pasta friends Mara and Valerio invited us to have dinner at their house with another family that wanted to get to know us! We were honored to join all of them, and the supper was superb! Everyone should have the opportunity to eat such a delicious meal at least once in his/her life! We all spoke whatever language that came out of our mouths, and it seemed to work out just fine. It was so very good to be with all of you! Grazie mille!

Tuesday’s special treats included eating, too. Our dear friend Elettra, who is Lisa and Enzo’s niece, met me at Bar Chiavassa, a favorite café in Bra, for lunch.  We shared one of their dinner salads and a sandwich, then took a long walk to the Big Store to take Peter’s clothes to the dry cleaner. On the way, Elettra told me all about the physical therapy center by the Mediterranean Sea, where she is doing an internship. She is really doing well, and I so enjoyed the gelato that we got on the way back home. By the end of the afternoon, we had talked and walked all over Bra! Thank you. ,Elettra, for a wonderful day. I’ll see you in September!

 Which leads us to yet another memorable meal! Alberto, our former neighbor and the wine expert for Slow Food, invited us and our friend/his colleague Elisabeth to his condo (in the complex where we used to live!) for a wine tasting dinner. Alberto knows more about wine than I know even existed, and he loves to host events where his guests taste a wine, then try to guess what kind of wine it is, how old it is, where it is from, etc. It’s called a “blind tasting.” I am no good at that at all, but we all had fun with Alberto guiding us through each wine with a happy glint in his eye. We had so much fun! Thank you, Alberto! We so enjoyed this evening!

Enjoy the extra pictures of Valerio, the student whose apartment we are using while he is gone (WITH his passport!)! An extra picture of Konny, the chef and student at UNISG is there, too! And, don’t miss to hopscotch from the sky to the earth.

Ciao!

Colleen

Day 2 Bra: Walk Around Town

Italy Journal

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Day 2 Bra: Walk Around Town

https://plus.google.com/photos/105096135818321367223/albums/6009550309220970449?authkey=CP-W3vLf_L-HgwE

We have really struck it rich! Valerio’s apartment is wonderful! Thank you, Valerio, for sharing your place while you are on vacation!

When we left the apartment, we heard lots of noise in the town and found over 1,000 bikers preparing for some race or event of some sort. It was amazing to see that many people lined up in the street just outside of Bar Chiavassa! Just in front of the waiting bikers was a group of police and others who were having a final huddle to make sure the bikers would be safe. As the day progressed, we saw bikers all over town! It was such fun!

We went on about our walk and immediately ran into our friend Alberto, who is our most famous wine guy ever. We may have dinner with him tonight! Peter can hardly wait to pick his brain about the wine producers to contact this week!

As we continued, we did a long walk around the hill and ended up at our favorite pasta shop where we greeted Mara and Valerio Grimaldi! We were all so glad to see each other, and they have invited us to their house tomorrow for supper. We’re super excited about that! We bought some pasta for tonight, then went on our way.

We took home the pasta we’d bought, then took off again to the Gastronomic Society for lunch. It was delightful, and of course there we saw Silvio and Gael cooking and Antonio eating with some friends. We got a recipe for wonderful nocciola cookies made with sunflower oil from Gael, enjoyed a luscious meal and walked back home for  Peter to take a short nap while I contacted Konny (German) to go and get gelato with us. He was all for it, and we learned that he is now the head chef at a restaurant in town La Bocca Buona. We spent most of the afternoon catching up with him while we ate gelato and drank coffee (them, not me!). We were so pleased when he invited us to arrange a dinner for our last night in Bra, to be held at his summer house that he is renovating in Pocopaglia, about 6 km from Bra. We jumped at the chance and immediately started making a guest list. We know the food will be delicious, and won’t that just be more fun! Later, we went back to La Bocca Buona for a magnificent supper alla Konny! Thanks, Konny. Have fun on your stage this week, and call us when you return.

Ciao! Ciao!

Colleen