Buon Natale!!

 

I hope you all have the most wonderful holiday season.  Merry Christmas and many wishes (tanti auguri) for the new year! Miss you all! Love, Meghan  [100% made in Italy]

here is my Christmas card to all of you.  I would send real ones but that would require a large sum of money that is not in my possession, but I promise that I made this one with each of you in mind.  It is even made out of Florentine papers so here is sending a little Italy to you this Christmas!  Merry Christmas everyone and I promise I'll write about my trip to Rome soon.

Day to Day

Amazingly it hasn’t been too terribly long since my last post. You all should be thrilled!
Tuesday the 24th I went for a walk into town- it was a nice day so I took some pictures of windows and things to draw when I got to the park.  I would draw them from life but it would be rather uncomfortable and there wasn’t much that interested me around the park.  I picked up Mattia from school and then got my iPhone back that night!  I was so excited.

Chopping limbs off the tree that had fallen over in the forest.

Wednesday I went to Prato Nevoso and helped chop limbs off a tree to use as garlands over the shops in part of the village.  Well I didn’t do any chopping but I did carry the limbs around.  I was happy to have something to do instead of feeling useless while everyone else worked around the office.  I also went to meet another girl who is a nanny for one of Simona’s friends.  She is from Germany but has been working in the States for the past couple of years.  We had a coffee and chatted for a bit.  I think we will be meeting up with the kiddos from time to time so they can play together a bit in the snow and we can have someone else to talk to.  I know another girl from Vermont is getting here this weekend so it will be good to meet her too. 

View of Prato Nevoso from the Bar/Cafe - View from the bottom of the slopes

Thursday-  We went to Mondovi to do a couple of things and while we were parked there was a Gelateria near by named ‘Sweet Balls’  -- this is by far my favorite thing that has happened all week.  I laughed for the longest time and took one photo from the car but HAD to get out and take one up close. (you can note my previous post for more information)  Also probably the most ‘I’m American’ I could have done.. oh well it made me happy!  So the other reason to go to town was to meet another girl who is working near by.  She is here from England and is Megan too.  We chatted over tea and hot chocolate then went to find out more information about the busses.  Now I know how to get to Mondovi without having to ask Simona to drive me or wait until she is going.  I just need a bus ticket (not too hard to come by).  OH yeah it’s Thanksgiving.. I made an apple pie!  The crust wasn’t as flaky as it should be but it was still good.. I had to use all kinds of different conversions to get the ingredients right.  I had dinner here but downstairs at Gian’s parents house b/c Simona went out for work.  Fresh pasta and sauce.  Then I waited until around 10:00pm so I could be skyped in to Thanksgiving Dinner at home with the family.  It was nice.  Maybe we can do the same for Christmas too-- that is if they don’t mind eating a little early again.

Apples! - Apple pie..

Saturday we went back to Prato Nevoso and I saw a Saint Bernard in person-- HUGE!!!  I don’t think I had ever seen one in person before.. it was awesome.  We took care of a few things at the house there and then had lunch.  Later Mattia and I played in the new Ski School office--- a lot of playing.  And sometime in the middle we went for cake and hot chocolate.. the cake was wonderful-- tart like with jam in the middle and my hot chocolate was divine-- the whipped cream was homemade.  Then more playing: spinning in circles and playing with flashing lights= a good time!  During dinner Mattia asked me if I would like a mandarin (he had just given his mom a piece of his) so I said yes of course thank you and he said that I could go and get one from the bowl.  It was hilarious… and he didn’t ask if I wanted part of his -- my assumption.

Light toy we played with for hours - my hot chocolate with cream looked better before I drank half of it.

Sunday- I didn’t feel so well and woke up too late to go to Prato Nevoso again so I watched a movie here and did some laundry.  It was yucky outside so it was nice to lounge a little bit.  Mattia and I played when he got home-- my water bottle squirts water so that was pretty fun.

 New hiding place!

Monday- cleaned and planned for my upcoming trip to Rome and Florence.  I leave Wednesday for Rome to visit my cousin there.  I haven’t seen her in about a year and a half when I left her in Rome- so it’s perfect really.  Then back to Florence because I like it there and to do a few things I didn’t get to do the time before PLUS I can do some Christmas shopping in the markets.  I’ll write more about that later but for now I have to go… someone is coming for dinner and I should probably clear out my stuff from the kitchen!

p.s. I'm sorry but I am lazy and have not edited any of the photos...

Sweet Balls

It always brings a smile to my face when I read bad translations.  Well unless I am trying to get actual information.  If it is just a menu or shop name and the translation from Italian to English is a bit off or very literal it can be the funniest thing in the world.  Like this shop.  A Gelateria-- Sweet Balls!  Scoops of ice cream are indeed sweet and ball shaped, however naming your shop Sweet Balls may not be the best idea. Made me laugh for a good while and still brings a smile to my face so maybe I should thank them.  I think I even have my new favorite cuss word (not really cussing but fun to say when trying to edit out bad words)  Here is a photo so you know what I saw was real!  I hope it brightens your day as well!  Ciao!

Snow & Chocolate

I was thinking last night while I couldn’t go to sleep… last year when I got home from Florence I was sleeping one night and suddenly in the morning I was awoken.  My immediate response was ‘What the f*%k is that noise?!?’ I came to realize that it was nature outside my window- birds and crickets.  I had gotten used to the sound of cars and scooters buzzing in the street below along and occasionally my rude neighbor that enjoyed the late night phone call and sharing the conversation with the neighborhood by  standing in the street while talking, but birds and crickets I hadn’t heard in over 6 months.  Where on earth did this come from you ask.. well I may live in the country here-- it smelled like cows this morning when I went out side, but there aren’t birds chirping in the morning or crickets talking all night (thank God).  There is a rooster that i occasionally hear in the afternoon (I think he might be from the States and still hasn’t grown accustomed to the time difference), but at night it is silent except for the very random car driving by.  It’s kind of strange… so I came to the realization I am ok with traffic noise or no noise.

Mattia playing with my luggage stickers

Wow all of that and I haven’t even told you what I have been up to.  I left last time ending with my trip to Florence.  I will skip a couple of days.  Saturday the 14th Mattia and I spent most of the day together playing.  He has gotten in a pretty good habit of taking a nap.. oh excuse me .. going camping after his afternoon cartoons.  Camping seemed like a much better way to take a nap in the afternoon.  We climb in his igloo and bundle up on pillows and under blankets and sometimes tell stories or just lay there until finally he falls asleep and I am about to.  Since there are several other things occupying space in the igloo I generally am only half of the way inside and with the sheet over the top to make a door over the front i think it is a pretty strange sight from anyone coming into the house.

The ski lift, lights for night skiing, and the snowy mountain. - Mattia trying on a new hat at the store

On Sunday we went to PratoNevoso - the ski instructors went skiing for some photos for the website.  It was fun to see the villages.  We went to Gian’s parent’s for lunch (they have a tiny flat above the shop in Prato for the winter)-- lunch was great and I saved the garlic.  Apparently none one likes to eat cooked garlic so they keep it in whole cloves and just take it out of the dish when they are serving.  They eat it raw, which I have never tried, but not cooked..  so it works out well b/c I don’t have to share! 

The fog in PratoNevoso. - A very happy 'juice box' for grownups!- espresso and chocolate with a straw

Monday I took a walk into town since sadly hadn’t been before.  Cute and tiny- most shops were closed b/c it was Monday but I got to take a few photos.

ivy on the wall in beautiful fall colors. - I really like this door/balcony- both from my walk into town

Tuesday I finished the hat I was knitting- it’s too small, but it looks good!  At least now I know I can knit a hat.  Simona took me to a yarn shop in Mondovi so that I could get some supplies for my next project.  (this next portion of the story is taken from another message I sent please bare with me) I had the most awful time at the yarn shop. I didn’t know all of the words but tried to use the ones that I did know and pointing. Well the lady apparently didn't appreciate me trying. A girl walked in and she was like 'you know some english right? this girl only speaks english and I can't understand her.' I only used like 2 english words while I was in there and I understood exactly what she was telling everyone else! Which is how I can tell you what she said. So I tried to talk to her again and by now I am nervous then another lady comes in and she asks her if she can help b/c she took an english class once. Ok if you take an english class you probably didn't learn knitting terms if you did then I would probably know them in Italian by now and we wouldn't be in this mess!!!! Finally after I got my needles (which i don't need half of them now and the other isn't quite right which I told her I needed a longer circle needle but she didn't believe me) I asked about some cotton yarn and asked in Italian.. she showed me where it was but it was behind the counter so I didn't think I could go back there. She went to help someone else. I just bought some wool/lama yarn instead.  Next time I will take a list with me and make sure everything is right in advance.  It was good for me to try.  The lady at the pharmacy the day before was much more helpful- patient and understanding.  Oh well everyone is different. 

beautiful mounds of chocolate and all the wonderful flavor-creamy goodness but at a discounted price!

Wednesday I went to a wonderful place called Mondovicino-- vicino= close, Modovi is a the town near by and this place is near Modovi.  Also if you don’t know that it is near Mondovi- mondo= world so the world is close.  The place is a shopping outlet!  Very clever people made the name I think although they had a good base to start with.  They have all kinds of shops (not high end designers but that is fine b/c this is more affordable), nike, puma, bialetti, lindt!, and many more.  There were piles PILES of chocolate in the Lindt shop-- don’t worry I included a photo for your enjoyment.  OO speaking of chocolate we now have a 5 kilo jar of Nutella, that equals about 11 pounds of chocolately goodness.  The date on the top says we have less than a year to eat all of it but I was told that it won’t be a problem. 

5 kilos of Nutella- please keep in mind that the fork is the average adult size and I think the jar looks smaller on here.

The lifts at in Prato opened this weekend so I picked up Mattia from school yesterday and we walked home (he wanted to walk!! we were offered a ride from a friend going in our direction)-- we talked about how it smelled like cows, and there was a big tractor that drove by, and we made sure to stand really close to the buildings when a car came near.  It was a good walk.  While he was camping Simona’s parents got here-- they are helping out this weekend since she and Gian are busy with work-- opening weekend means Prato goes from 30 people to probably a few hundred… I hear it gets into the thousands during the holidays.  Anyway they brought focaccia from Genova (since that’s where the good stuff is) which made me quite happy!
Thanksgiving is this coming week and it generally isn’t celebrated here for obvious reasons.  I actually am not a big fan of Thanksgiving dinner- I like the theatrics that go along with it (from the family all being together) a bit more.  I am, however, going to try to bake an apple pie.  I really hope it works-- it’s my favorite part of the meal anyway.  OH… humm I got called away and now I have forgotten what I was going to say.  What are your holiday plans?  Anyone have a favorite dish they want to share?  I hope this finds you doing well and I love hearing from all of you!

From the Sea to the Center- Genova, Modena, Florence, Prato

I am going to start by skipping a couple of days partly because I don’t remember what happened and also because I think the weekend was probably more exciting.  On Thursday the 29th of October I headed to Genova with Simona and Mattia.  We went to stay with her parents for the weekend in the famous port city.  Friday I went down to the Dinghy Club by the sea with Mattia and his grandfather.

 Rocks on the Beach, Big Rock in the water where I sat, Sunset and birds, Not sure but it's pretty

Mattia and I played on the beach and tried to find all the little pieces of glass.  The beach is composed of what in the States is considered ‘River Rock’, the smooth tumbled stones and in this case marble and glass too.  Later that day I went for a walk by the sea and took some pictures.  On my way back I sat on a giant group of rocks in the water and watched the sunset for a little bit but it was getting chilly and I wasn’t dressed like everyone else (in a heavy coat and hat because it wasn’t nearly that cold) so I headed back to the house.

 Ski slope, Bikes, Me trying to ski

Saturday I went with Simona and another ski instructor to a Ski Expo in Modena.  It seemed like everyone in the region was there and the traffic was a little complicated so we got turned around.  It was quite worth it once we got inside though.  There were 4 sections.  The largest was for skiing, then there was a shopping section (didn’t go in that one), and outdoor section for biking, skateboarding, snowboarding, skiing, and lots of loud music, and then the snowboarding section inside which also comprised of lots of loud music and some skating.  It was fun to go from the more ‘refined’ skiing section where the music was a little calmer and people were dressed rather well to the snowboarding section with the loud music, crazy hair, probably people who hadn’t bathed in days… def. a party area.  While we were in there we went around and visited with a bunch of people Simona knew so that was fun and then I went skiing which was hilariously embarrassing.  Great day.

 House of Christopher Columbus, Narrow streets, View from the harbor.

Sunday Simona showed me the city center of Genova which was great.  It was a holiday and a Sunday so everything was closed.  The streets are narrow and the buildings are tall--- I think it is probably more friendly when the shops are open but I still wouldn’t travel around at night by myself.  Some parts aren’t very safe but the city is beautiful.  We went out on one of the docks and could see the main section of the city from the harbor view.  After dinner and we headed back home.  I just realized that i didn’t mention anything about food which is very unlike me.  Well it was good-- tortellini in broth, fish cooked with carrots and potatoes, pesto (perfect since it is from Genova), plenty of focaccia which is also from Genova.  And then there was the learning of a new word: ‘Belin’  a word that can be used with everything- good and bad, used in pauses or just added in the sentence.  It’s used by everyone… well almost.  The older ladies tend to refrain from saying it.  Oh and it’s literal translation: penis. 

The fall colors, Dandelion, Cat in a tree in the garden, Pear tree on my walk, Down the street, The goose that yelled at me while I tried to see the goats.

Monday I spent the day with Mattia and we had a wonderful time playing, drawing and ‘pretending’ to sleep.  Tuesday I went to Cuneo with Simona and we shopped in the market a little.  I even tried on some clothes which i never thought I would do- the dressing room was in the back of a van.  And I got two dresses on sale!!  Mom should be proud.  Wednesday I made lasagna and it was pretty good.  I was told it was better than Lala’s which I figure is a pretty big deal since she is the one who loves to cook around here.  Obviously no one will mention this to Lala.

 Jane Fortune speaking about her book Invisible Women, The Duomo, DaVinci museum invention, DaVinci journal page and sketches

Friday Florence.  I headed to Florence and it only took about 6 hours… The trip was fine  and one of my friends met me at the train station so that was nice.  There was a speaker that I wanted to see at the Uffizi Library.  Jane Fontana is the author of Invisible Women a book she wrote after doing research in Florence about the female artists that we never see.  There are so many and it is her quest to restore the works of art and make them seen.  I bought a copy of the book of course and will read it soon.  If you would like to read more about her or the book visit The Florentine.  I stopped in the a favorite restaurant of mine and they gave me and Rit. a coffee then we went to dinner and of course had some gelato.  Saturday was nice at first and great during lunch at Il Porcospino.  Then it rained.  We took a vespa out to Gigli a mall type of place just outside Florence-- nice place but I didn’t feel well so I went to bed early.  Sunday was nice with pizza and then watched a soccer game and a movie.  The theater was awesome.  Each room holds about 500 people and they give you a seat number so you are sure to get one… you can request a general area so that’s nice too.  We watched Public Enemies with Johnny Depp.  I understood most of it- not word for word but basically everything.  I was really tired too so I fell asleep for a few min.  (SPOILER maybe) The last line was in English and was kind of the punch line.  I totally understood the reference.. it seemed like everyone else was confused -- I could overhear their conversations when I was leaving the theatre.  It was in Italian, I took a nap and I still knew what was going on.  It was kind of funny.  I had to explain that it had to do with a song earlier in the movie to the two people I was with. 

 Rit & Me in the San Lorenzo Market, River Rat eating, Pizza w/Hot Dog on top (at the movie), Picnic in the park

Anyway, Monday was beautiful and I had a picnic in the park then Rit took me to Prato b/c he lives there and we walked around the center for a few min., I got to see the chinese area.  It’s so strange.  The addresses are in Italian but everything is in Chinese and I am sure I stood out even with a helmet on on a scooter.  Then we went out to where he works and visited the horses!  Lots of horses!!  Everywhere I wanted to go that night was closed so finally for dinner we ended up with Kebabs and on sushi roll and some leftover wine from lunch.

Duomo in Prato, Cat on a scooter, Horses in the stable, Me and a horse

I left Tuesday morning for Genova.  Simona picked me up at the train station to drive back home.  It was faster and since she had a meeting it worked out really well.  I don’t have many photos from Florence b/c, well, it rained.  Also I used my film camera so those are still a mystery.  You will have to deal with the ones I took with my little camera.  I’m back home now and there is snow all over the mountains… the lifts at the ski resort are opening early so there is a lot going on around here.  I should go so you all don’t hate me for the length of this post. A presto!

2010 Calendar For Sale!

I know I said that I would be considering selling a calendar for 2011 BUT I have the one for 2010 printed and ready to go.  visit my Etsy page for more details. You can also read my previous post if you'd like.  By the way this makes the perfect Christmas gift- it lasts for the whole year!

Lots of Food

Sunday was great!  Mattia and I played in the afternoon for a while and then went on a walk with his great aunt-- the one that LOVES to talk about food.  We walked through the countryside for awhile and Fofi (the dog) followed us-- it was quite an ordeal since she wanted to talk to the other dogs.  Anyway the countryside was beautiful and exactly what you would expect- old buildings, mountains in the distance, green fields and some muddy ones since the corn was harvested, houses with large gardens with so many kinds of fruits (kiwi too) and veggies, and winding roads through it all.  We stopped to talk to everyone we passed-- I’m pretty sure Lala knew them all not that there were many people but we didn’t leave anyone out.

 

Once we got back we went to Lala’s flat to make pasta for the family dinner-- well Mattia helped make it and I watched. It turns out that folding the pieces after rolling them out makes the pasta softer and then you roll them again.  While we were working (or rather they were working) the cows came down from the mountain.  They live on one of the mountains during the summer b/c the grass doesn’t grow as well down here then.  They were coming through the streets and we watched from the balcony.  Not long after Lala’s husband (his name escapes me right now) came in to get us to go see the cows-- they were in a field across the street and seemed quite happy.  There is one photo of a baby-- it was born the day before.  We didn’t touch the cows or anything, just watched them for a few min. 

I rested for a bit after that and before dinner.  Dinner was across the courtyard at one of the cousin’s houses.  Beautiful house!  I was told it was where the three sisters grew up but Alessia (the daughter of one of the sisters and cousin I mentioned) renovated it when she got married and now it is a wonderful mix of old and modern.  The table downstairs was big enough for 21 I think is what they said.  We started the meal with thinly sliced pork (I think) and a mayo tuna sauce and carpaccio (raw beef I believe) with truffles and oil on top.  Then we had little cheese tarts-- more truffles [note: someone had a truffle and it was going to go bad in a week or two so we put it on nearly everything that night).  On to the pasta- this was the pasta that Mattia helped make-- it was so delicious and had a light meat sauce on top.  Then we had pork that was cooked in a cream sauce with mushrooms and probably more truffles.  I had a bit of wine at some point-- it was red wine but a little sweet and slightly sparkly then I switched to water and was commanded to finish the water for more wine -- well not really commanded but I couldn’t say no.  After the meat course came the cheese.  I thought there was only one cheese and I could hardly eat anything anyway but I looked up again and there were four or five more cheeses that had appeared.  I tried a bit of one on some bread but couldn’t eat anything else. I sipped on my wine and then dessert came.  Dessert was a combination of about 5 different things and they asked if I would like some and I couldn’t say no and i did want to try a little.  A different wine was served for dessert and I was getting mixed instructions about what to do with the wine I had-- drink it, toss it down the drain-- but soon a new glass appeared with the Moscato (homemade I might add) and I was now able to drink both… still with mixed instructions of what to do with the red wine.  I think I was the only one who didn’t finish my dessert but I did eat a little of each one.  Aside from the food the family was great-- the kids were running around and playing under the table and everywhere.  It was loud and everyone was having a great time.  I was happy I could understand some of what people were saying and I watched the kids some too.  I am a little sad that family dinner is only about 2 times a year.  After all of that I went to bed I was full and exhausted but fell asleep happy. 

Monday was nice but I woke up early b/c the time changed here.  In the mornings Mattia goes to preschool so it is quiet around here.  I went with Simona to Mondovi (it is about 5 min from here) because she had a meeting and so I walked around town and looked in the shops.  The town is known for it’s sundials so I saw a bunch of them on buildings.  It was pretty cool.  Everything was closed so I got to take a lot of pictures and not worry about too many people staring at me like I’m a tourist.  I kept Mattia in the afternoon but he was so tired from the night before and waking up early that we didn’t have the best time.  He fell asleep during dinner and then I went to bed early as well.  

Today (Tuesday) I woke up a little later and edited some photos.  Mattia and I played in the courtyard this afternoon and moved a giant pile of fire wood from one person’s pile to another.. it was all moved back when we came back from town.  I saw the mountains turn pink and purple tonight-- it was beautiful.  I don’t know if it shows up in the photos though so I may not be able to share but I’ll try.  Ok I think this is long enough for now.  A Presto!