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!

No Pants

[Photos: 1. view in the morning 2. the plane they expected me to get on in Munich to Torino-- it has propellers WTF? 3. The view before we landed.. note the mountains :) ]
I finally made it to Italy!  The hurricane in Mexico messed up my flights and then Chicago decided capture my luggage, but it should be here soon.  Oh and I must say that Lufthansa is by far the best company to fly with.  They even had real silverware for meals and the food was rather tasty.  My flights went through Munich instead of Frankfurt but I had a pretzel anyway and juice instead of beer. 

Everything here is great.  I live upstairs from the family and have my own room and bath which is wonderful oh and sitting area too.  So they are downstairs and then the rest of the family lives here too!  That part I was unaware of before I got here, but the WHOLE family lives in the house-- well it is like 5 houses all connected together and the 3 older sisters are in charge (which was expected).  I met some of the family today but will meet the rest tomorrow at the family dinner.  I'm pretty excited.

[4. my morning view 5. to the right of my morning view]

A little more about today-- I woke up late :) and then got ready and had lunch with the fam.-- pasta with truffles.. not the normal thing but someone in the family had one that was going to go bad (perk of living with the whole family).  Then I tried to get my phone to work which it doesn't want to-- stupid phone, but I will not give up!  After a while we went down to the courtyard and met some of the family.  I got to see the garden and eat some grapes (they were great).  Mattia and I played with a ball for a bit and one of his cousins brought her English book down for me to see.  Then to one of the 3 sister's houses for a snack and coffee.  After that we went to Cuneo to a sporting store to get a couple of things and to an electronics store to get a hairdryer and see if they could help with my phone.  Yes to the hairdryer and no to the phone... so we tried another store that sells everything Apple (also saw a sushi restaurant so I am excited to go there).  I saw the new 27" iMac and magic mouse and fell in love.  Then home for dinner... Soup and bread and cheese... and playtime after dinner...good day!

[6. basket of grapes in the garden 7. Mattia eating grapes on the tractor]

Now I am off to bed... I will be with Mattia tomorrow while his parents go out followed by a family dinner so I will need my rest!

Where I'll Be...

I leave today!  I can't really believe that I am actually leaving today- I've been so preoccupied with so many other things that I have pretty much just been in denial about actually leaving.  Probably why I haven't been as sad as I would normally be about missing everyone.  Oh and packing was nearly a disaster-- I think all of my things are now in every room in the house (sorry mom and dad).  I kept wondering how I had too much stuff when it looked about the same as when I traveled before and then I remembered... they changed the weight limit last year from 70lbs per bag to 50lbs.  That is a total of 40lbs!!!! and the suitcases tend to weigh so much that you usually only get about 50-75% of that weight in actual things that you need.  Thankfully I had some light weight suitcases and a helpful set of parents.  Narrowed everything down over and over again.  So now I am all packed and probably over the limit a little, but I am hoping for sympathetic people at the airline desk.  Anyway, I'm headed to a teeny tiny town in northwestern Italy (about an hour south of Torino/Turin) and by teeny tiny I mean about half the size of Arkadelphia!  I tend to forget that you can get smaller than this but I will be reminded soon.  I will be an au pair/nanny for a family there with one 4 year old boy.  I think we'll have a pretty good time playing and learning (both of us).  I am supposed to be helping him and his family with their English but since no one else in town really knows any my Italian should finally get better!  I should have more information soon so I'll update when I get there. A Presto!