ANOTHER BORING DAY
OCTOBER 27, 2004
Yesterday we walked to the bakery to make an unusual purchase, at least for me….flour! When I had first asked about where to buy good flour for bread, several people asked me if I had tried at my local bakery. Huh? Do they do this in the states? If so, I never knew about it. In Italy this seems to be commonplace, not only for flour but also for yeast. For some reason the yeast used by bakers is stronger, which I guess means more active, than the yeast you can buy at the grocery.
The bakery sold us three kilos (6.6 pounds) of flour for less than €1.50…I’m not sure how much less since Art had a pastry too. I know this is more expensive than flour in the states, but that’s just the way it is. I don’t have a lot of room to store it, or an airtight container to put it in, so I can’t buy in large quantities. And with the bakery just down the street, there really doesn’t seem to be any need to. I can’t wait to see how this flour bakes up.
We walked to the Post Office where I started to mail a package to the states, but it weighed more than 2 kilo, making the price jump WAY up. The clerk advised me to divide the stuff into two smaller packages, which is sort of what I did. Since the most important part of the shipment was Flat Stanley and his souvenirs, I packed that stuff separately, along with some chocolate that Stanley bought for Nicholas’s class. (If this kid doesn’t get an “A” on this project, I’ll feel like a failure!)
The rest of the package had been part of my daughter’s birthday present, but I’ll just send it back with my sister at the end of November. I hope my daughter understands! The shipping was going to cost more than the gift, and I do have one part of her gift in the states, scheduled to be delivered to her in time for her birthday, just so she knows her mom didn’t forget about her!
And yesterday the armadio for our bedroom was delivered! We now have storage space for our clothes!!! Now all I have to do is get more hangers! For some reason hangers seem to be very expensive in Italy…the plastic ones are something like two or three for €1, whereas in the states I can get ten or twenty for a buck when they’re on sale.
Anyway the armadio looks great! The full length mirrors on the center set of doors really help to brighten up the room, and the wood matches nicely with what we already have. The only bad thing about having the armadio is that now the TotalGym has to be folded up and stored in the corner. We barely used it when it was sitting in the middle of the room…what are the chances that we’ll unfold it, drag it out, then re-fold it and put it away every day? I’d better get serious though, or I won’t be able to wear the clothes I have in the states!
In the “everyone needs a Wendy” department, we have a horror story to tell. About a week ago, we received a letter from the bank, and at the bottom of the letter was something that looked like a check, imprinted with our name, and a “pay to” area for a company we couldn’t place. We thought the amount was for €2, and couldn’t figure out what it could be for, so of course we called Wendy.
I read the letter to her, and she said that it was just explaining a service they offered, where you could have a company or store send the invoice to the bank, and the money would be automatically transferred out of your account. She told me to just throw it away, but I told her that the bottom portion didn’t look like an example, since our name was on it, and the name of a company that sounded familiar.
I dug back through my checkbook and discovered that the bill was from the company that put in our kitchen…nearly a year ago! I told Wendy I’d scan the letter in and email it to her. Unfortunately she was unable to open the file, so we stopped by her office on our way home from the grocery today, and thank goodness we did!
First of all, the amount was NOT for €2, but for €2000!!! I hadn’t really paid much attention to the amount, and Art had forgotten that in Europe, they use commas where we use periods, and periods where we use commas, so 2,000.00 in the United States looks like 2.000,00 in Europe! This is almost as confusing as having the date and month reversed in Europe!
Wendy had explained to us that since the company only knew where we banked, but not our account number, we were supposed to sign this document and add our account number in order for this transaction to take place. I don’t know what happens if you don’t sign and return this form. According to the letter, this money would be transferred out of our account on October 31. Not only do we NOT owe this money, as also don’t have €2000 in our account, which could have resulted in fees and fines for an overdraft!
Wendy told the girl at the bank to put a block on this transfer, and called Rosella at the kitchen company to find out what was going on. Rosella was of course shocked and apologetic, and promised to fax a letter to the bank immediately informing them that we did NOT owe this money! Whew!!! What if we had been in the states when this letter had come? What if we had thrown it away? How much more trouble would we have had trying to correct the mistake and get our money back? Fortunately for us, Wendy was able to communicate with the bank and with Rosella much more easily than we could have. As I’ve said before, everyone moving to a new country needs a Wendy. Ours is our guardian angel!
Oh, and more big news….and I just KNOW this bit of information will THRILL those people who think my blog is boring…..today we bought five bags of manure!!! Now we can work it into the garden and let it “cook” over the winter. I plan to find some worms in the spring and introduce them to the new and improved soil in the garden…and hope they stay.
So, as you can see, life in San Venanzo is just one thrill after another. I guess there are people who think our life is boring, but for us, we knew we were making sacrifices and trade-offs to live in Italy, and after one year here, I can honestly say that we would rather lead our boring life here than still be in the rat race in the states. Art was working two jobs…it seemed like he was ALWAYS working, and my job at the Post Office was getting worse and worse…I was about to be transferred to god-knows-where working who-knows- what hours. And with very little seniority, I had little hope of things getting better. Art had seniority at both jobs, but didn’t feel that he could give up one…he wanted to keep building his retirement at both places, and thank goodness he did.
We don’t live a life of luxury by any means, but we live a life that’s relaxed and peaceful. We enjoy the ever changing scenery as we drive to Marsciano. We marvel at the fog as it lies in the valley. We never ceased to be in awe of Assisi all lit up in the sunlight, sitting on the hillside of Subasio. We fill up our fiascos at the local cantina, amazed that we can buy five liters of red wine for less than most US restaurants charge for a glass. We wander the streets of San Venanzo and nod “Buon giorno” to our neighbors. Boring never felt so good.
HOUSEGUESTS
Our first houseguest, Laurie, arrived last Sunday. We went to pick her up at the train station in Perugia, where she was arriving from Florence. As we pulled up to the station, we saw several busses and LOTS of people. At first we were puzzled, but then decided that they must be going to the Chocolate Festival in Perugia.
Once we had parked and walked through the station, we saw that there was a special train set up just to shuttle people back and forth to the Chocolate Festival. A train left Ponte San Giovanni every ten minutes, just after another train had returned from Perugia. The round trip cost was only €2, and we thought this was a great deal.
We had been discussing our plan to go to the festival. We had decided to look for parking near the language school first, then go through the Galleria Kennedy and look in the parking lot near the escalators, and if that didn’t work, we’d look near the bus station before giving up. We knew parking would be hard to find, and we also knew that we could come back through the week when it would be less crowded.
When Laurie arrived, we asked her if she would like to go to the festival right away, and she was as enthusiastic about the idea as we were. We stowed her luggage in the car, bought our tickets, and rode the train into Perugia. Once there it was just a matter of following the crowd to the festival.
And what a crowd it was!!! There was a sea of people as far as the eye could see, and seeing any chocolate was almost impossible. There were three stages set up where people were carving huge blocks of chocolate into busts or castles…and the shavings were being distributed to the crowd. Music was playing, and booths lined not only the main street, but also several side streets.
It was hard to take in all the different varieties and brands, and most of the vendors didn’t seem too eager to give samples, so we bought a few things along the way, but I was mainly looking for the Perugina booth to buy some chocolate bananas for me, and a few treats for my kids and grandkids.
We had a few treats along the way…a cup of the thick hot chocolate, a hot torta al testo spread with a thick layer or Nutella, and a Baci or two. After pushing our way through the crowd from one end of town to the other, we were exhausted and ready to head home. The quick train ride back to Ponte San Giovanni had us back to our car around six, and we headed for San Venanzo, stopping by Ternana’s for a quick bite.
On Monday morning we headed to Marsciano for the market. We bought a few things, walked through the hidden medieval center of Marsciano, and stopped for some fresh pasta. We stuck our heads into the Tecnocasa office and Donatella said she had time to have a cup of coffee with us. Ternana’s had been so busy on Sunday night that Marushka had asked us to pay our bill the next time we came. Not wanting to let it slip our minds, we decided to stop by and settle up now.
After paying our bill and having coffee with Donatella, we walked back through the market and bought our usual market day lunch…porchetta sandwiches, then drove south to show Laurie the city of Todi.
Since it was early afternoon, everything in Todi was closed for lunch, but all we really wanted to do was walk around and let Laurie see the centro and the beautiful views. By the time we arrived back in San Venanzo, I introduced Laurie to finocchio (fennel), and prepared it for dinner. After cleaning and trimming, I parboiled the fennel, then sliced it into chunks and arranged it in a baking dish. I sprinkled it with olive oil and a good amount of grated Parmesan and a dusting of breadcrumbs. I stuck it in the fridge until it was time to be baked.
I planned to have tortellini stuffed with spinach and ricotta and coated with fresh pesto, the fennel, and bruschetta toped with diced tomatoes. Quick, simple, and very delicious.
On Tuesday we woke up to rain, rain, and rain. We had planned to go to Assisi, and since Laurie is only here for four days, we decided to continue as planned. We took umbrellas and hoped for the best. We were disappointed that we wouldn’t be able to show Laurie the beautiful views along the way, but luckily the clouds cleared just as we approached Assisi, so Laurie was able to see the magnificent basilica through the mist.
We parked at the far end of town and walked towards the basilica, window shopping along the way. My grandson Nicholas had asked me to help him with a school project…he had sent me a small cutout figure of a boy…Flat Stanley. A Flat Stanley had been sent by each member of Nicholas’s class to various places…our flat Stanley was one of the few to leave the United States, and our job was to photograph Flat Stanley at different locations. Luckily for Nicholas and Flat Stanley, he had arrived just as we left San Venanzo for Assisi.
We took several pictures of Flat Stanley at various places in Assisi, including the Basilica. The rain stopped and started and got heavier and lighter throughout the morning. Once we arrived at the Basilica we had a chance to dry off and warm up before we ventured out again.
On our way back through town towards our car, we stopped for lunch at a cute little place Art and I had found on a previous visit. We had wanted to try someplace new, but the other two places that had been recommended to us by Rebecca were both closed on Tuesday.
Our lunch was light but delicious. Laurie had green fettuccine with ceci and peppers. Art had spaghetti with pesto, and I had torta al testo with arugula and cheese. We tried to keep the lunch light because we knew we were having lasagna for dinner.
The drive home was the scenic route, past Bevagna and Montefalco, along the Strada del Vino, the wine road. The sky started to clear as we drove, and by the time we arrived in San Venanzo the sun was out.
Wednesday morning was beautiful and sunny…perfect for our planned trip to Orvieto. We wanted Laurie to be able to see Orvieto rising above the valley as we drove the mountain, and we weren’t disappointed. There was a layer of clouds BELOW Orvieto, making it appear even more magical.
We had arrived just in time to take the tour of the caves that had been dug by the Etruscans. The volcanic rock, tufa, is quite soft, and there are over one thousand caves in the area. Art and I had toured the caves before, but since I really like caves, we didn’t mind seeing them again.
We had time to tour the inside of the Duomo before the cave tour, and were especially glad that the majority of the scaffolding has been removed from the front of the Duomo.
After the cave tour we wandered down the shop filled streets towards our restaurant. Orvieto has loads of ceramic shops, and it’s always fun to look. We had a light lunch, then walked backed towards the funicular end of town to stroll through the castle grounds and visit St Patrick’s Well…an engineering marvel!
We drove back to San Venanzo the same way we had come…up and over Mt Peglia. The views are spectacular when it’s clear, especially when you can see Orvieto off in the distance.
Our schedule of sightseeing in the morning, lunch, then a leisurely drive home seemed to work well. We had time in the afternoon to relax or nap, and ate dinner at home every night. We did drive down to Marsciano one evening after dinner so that Laurie could sample Stefania’s wonderful gelato, and none of us were disappointed.
On Thursday we awoke to another beautiful day, and had planned to visit Perugia. We thought we could visit the archaeological museum and then take a quick stroll through the center of Perugia and the Chocolate Festival, since Laurie had seen so little of it on Sunday due to the crowds.
Once we got into Perugia, the traffic was extremely heavy, and parking was nowhere to be found. So much of our time was spent stuck in traffic and creeping along that we decided to leave Perugia and just drive out to the Perugina factory. We hoped that our friend Corinna would be there, since we hadn’t seen her for several months.
Once we arrived at the factory in San Sisto, a suburb of Perugia, we were surprised to see several tour buses parked in the lot. We (barely) found a parking spot, and walked towards the museum. I was sure that during this very busy week tours were not being given, but luckily I was wrong. A school group was just getting ready to tour the factory, and we asked if it was okay if we joined in. One of the employees said yes, and said that we would see Corinna after the tour.
This was our fourth tour of Perugina, and it was the busiest we’ve ever seen it. I think every machine must have been working…Baci were flowing down conveyor belts, being wrapped, and being packed into containers of varying sizes and shapes. Every Baci in the world is produced at this plant, so it’s a non stop job. Elsewhere other chocolates were being produced, wrapped and packaged. The large hollow Easter eggs that contain tiny toys were already in production, and these were being unmolded and packed with toys as we watched.
Since this was a large group of teenaged kids, no commentary was given, but in the past, when the group was smaller, the guide had stopped at various points to tell us about the specific machines and operations.
Once we were out of the factory, we re-entered the museum where Perugina products and advertisements from years past are displayed. Also on display was the world’s largest Baci, weighing in at 13.183 pounds! This one is a copy of the one made last year which was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records. I think they plan to shave this one into small pieces and give it to the crowd on the closing day of the Chocolate Festival.
As we had done in Assisi and Orvieto, we took pictures of Flat Stanley with the giant Baci, and with some of the chocolate displays. Although Art was a bit chagrinned at having to hold up this little paper doll, since this is a project for our grandson, he suffered this humiliation with grace. Everyone else was happy to pose with flat Stanley once we explained the project.
On Friday morning when we took Laurie to Orvieto to catch the train to Rome, Flat Stanley had his picture taken with the trains. He had also been olive picking, seen an Ape, and sat on a cinghiale!
Laurie was headed to Rome for a short one day visit…her plane leaves on Saturday morning to take her back to London, and then back to the U.S. She’s had two weeks of London and Italy, and plans to come back. We had a lot of fun taking her around, showing off our adopted city/region/country. We only had one day of bad weather, and managed to sightsee despite the rain.
saying goodbye to Laurie...
We were happy to find a message on our answering machine from Emmelunga telling us that our armadio will be delivered next Tuesday, and Mauro flagged us down to tell us that our garage door will be replaced on Monday. It seems to have developed a large bubble, maybe from being exposed to the hot afternoon sun.
We had a call from fellow slow travelers Jack and Suzy, and hope to get together with them in the next few weeks. They are here for several weeks to house hunt, although the dollar is taking such a nose dive right now this might not be the time to buy! I hope this poor exchange rate will improve with a new administration, and analysts say that this is a normal pre-election occurrence. I hope they’re right…the euro now costs over $1.26, which means we lose 26% of every dollar we convert. Ouch!
Here's Flat Stanley picking olives...
and sitting on a chinghiale...
and the world's largest Baci...
and Flat Stanely with Sabrina, Corinna and chocolate...
A RECIPE CORRECTION!
For anyone who was interested in trying the wonderful spaghetti sauce recipe I posted a while back, I need to make a correction. I'll change it on the original blog too, but wanted to alert everyone.
Larry forgot to tell me one of the ingredients, which is 700 gr (3 cups) tomato sauce! So the recipe should look like this:
LARRY’S TOMATO SAUCE
20 TOMATOES
PLACE IN BOILING WATER, THEN IN COLD WATER TO REMOVE SKINS
ADD 10 ONIONS, CUT INTO CHUNKS
700 gr TOMATO SAUCE (3 CUPS)
1 PEPPEROCINI, THINLY SLICED
1 PEPPER, ANY COLOR, CUT INTO SLICES
5 CLOVES GARLIC, SLIVERED
PEPPER
SIMMER ALL TOGETHER FOR 90 MINUTES.
ADD ½ BOTTLE OF CHIANTI AND SIMMER FOR ANOTHER 90 MINUTES.
ADD THE REST OF THE CHIANTI AND SIMMER FOR ANOTHER 90 MINUTES
ANOTHER LUNCH WITH ENRICO
As I wrote earlier, we had lunch with Enrico on Sunday, October 3rd. Here are some pictures from the lunch...
Enrico with an Indian head dress...
The group, from left to right...Alessandro, Art, Larry, Enrico, Wilma, Barbara, Alessandro's wife(name unknown). Jill took the picture
Larry, Enrico and Art with Enrico's Texas flag. As the president of the Italian branch of The Texas Longhorn Association, Enrico is VERY proud of this!
GARDENING
OCTOBER 12, 2004
We got a lot of gardening done this weekend. I wanted to get this finished before it starts to rain...and rain...and rain. Our first job was to find something to replace whatever those ugly plants are in the planters along the front of the house. Although I hate the plants that are in there now, at least they stay green all year round, so I'd like to replace them with something else that will be evergreen.
what are these ugly things?.....
The Farnesi's had expressed their dislike of these plants when they were here in August, and told me that whatever I choose was fine with them. Three of the planters are in front of our section of the house, and two are in front of theirs.
On Friday, we drove to the garden center in San Martino in Campo, armed with pictures of the ugly plants and the planters they were in. Antoinella, the girl who had designed our garden was busy, but the young guy who had helped us before was there. He speaks a little English, although I try to speak only Italian. Sometimes he will confirm what I have said in Italian back to me in English, which is good practice for both of us.
After we looked at several different plants, we finally decided on a small bush that stays green all year round, has small flowers in the spring, and requires no maintenance. We bought ten plants, two for each planter. Although the two planters closest to our door are a little longer, I can fill them in with some annuals for color.
We also bought some potting soil, anticipating that the dirt in these planters would be next to useless. We also bought some dirt to add to the soil in Adamo's garden. We'll need about ten bags in all, and I plan to add water holding crystals to the soil in the spring.
Once we were back home, I started to pull the plants out of the planters. The first planter was deceptively easy, but the other four required a hoe and a lot of hacking! Once we had all the plants removed, we found that the first two planters had fairly decent soil, so we took the really bad stuff out of the other three and put in down in Adamo's garden, distributed the good soil from the two planters, then added new soil as needed to each planter.
Once all five planters were complete, we walked down to our local flower shop and bought some pansies to add to the two larger ones. I plan to email the Farnesi's a picture of the new plants, and hope they're happy with my selection!
On Saturday we headed for Adamo's, armed with hoes and a garden rake borrowed from Armando. Art and I took turns hacking at the ground, trying to loosen it enough to be turned. This was NOT an easy job! We removed the stepping stones that cut through the middle of the yard, and plan to use the entire back section of the yard, as well as one small side section.
I'll replace the large stepping stones with smaller ones in order to maximize our planting space. Not that we'll have that much space, but I think we'll be able to have a couple of tomato plants of two different varieties, enough basil for pesto, and maybe a couple of pepper plants and zucchini plants. I have enough herbs in our back yard, so I don't see any reason to take up valuable space with them.
After a very long day, we had successfully amended the soil and had our area prepared for the spring! Our backs were sore, but a hot soak and a few Tylenol helped us a lot. We were glad to have this project behind us...Especially when it rained all day on Sunday and most of Monday night.
The amazing thing about this soil is that even though we had a good bit of rain, the soil is still bone dry just a few inches below the surface. Even more reason to add the water holding crystals. I found these at Lowe's a few years ago, and think they're wonderful, especially for the type of soil we have now. Unfortunately I don't have any more, but will bring more back either in December or in May. I guess I'd better bring them back in December so that we can get them worked in to the soil and have some stuff planted before we go back to the states in the spring.
Today, Tuesday, I finished up my gardening for the season. I planted a honeysuckle vine along the back fence, anticipating the need for some privacy should the park ever get cleaned up and open to the public. I also planted some creeping thyme, since I'm not at all pleased with the way the ajuga has performed. We'll see which one wins out next summer. I also moved two of the small bushes that I had planted back in the spring. As expected, when I dug the holes for the honeysuckle and the new shrub locations, the ground was bone dry a few inches down. I moved the bushes a little further back in the yard, anticipating the need for more space when I plant my McCartney rose next spring.
Antoinella told me that the roses should be in sometime in November, and suggested that I plant it in a pot for now, since I told her that I wanted to add the crystals to the soil first. I also promised to bring her some crystals so that she can see what I'm talking about. They have some sort of a water holding gel to use for potted plants, but it's not the same.
A ROMAN GET TOGETHER
SEPTEMBER 30, 2004
Our quick trip to Rome was a lot of fun. As I mentioned earlier, we hadn’t been to Rome for a long time. Even though we’ve been here for an entire year, we still hadn’t gone to Rome, even for the day. You know how it is…one of those things that you’ll do “someday”, but because it’s so close/easy/whatever, it keeps getting put off.
When Robert from Santa Monica announced on the SlowTalk message board that he was going to be in Rome for his birthday in late September, we decided this would be the perfect time to finally re-visit the Eternal City.
We had missed the get together in Florence in late May because we had only been back from the states for a day or two…I just couldn’t face two long hours on the train while I was still a zombie. The get togethers are always fun…we get to meet new people and reconnect with old friends. So many of these people have followed our journey and given us so much help and support along the way, that they feel like “old” friends even though we’ve only known each other for a short time. Meeting other people who share your passion is a pretty good way to forge a strong friendship.
Robert was organizing a dinner on Sunday evening, and we decided to arrive on Sunday afternoon, then stay an additional two days. We contacted Linda, another SlowTalk regular, who just happens to own The Beehive, a great little hostel just north of the main train station in Rome.
Since The Beehive itself was full, we were booked into an apartment on the south side of the Termini. We shared the apartment with four other couples…we each had our own bedroom and shared a bathroom and kitchen. There was a free computer in the main hallway, although I had a lot of trouble figuring out the Mac computer. Later I discovered that some of the key covers had been put on the wrong keys. No wonder I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t type the characters listed on the keys!
We arrived in Rome around 2:30 Sunday afternoon, and I walked up to the Beehive to check-in, while Art waited with the suitcase at the Termini. We had nested two suitcases so that if we found lots of goodies at Castroni’s we would have plenty of room. Castroni’s is a store that sells all sorts of international foods, and we were hopeful that we might knock a few items off our list for December.
After we dropped our luggage at the apartment, we decided to walk to Campo del Fiori…we had read that there would be an antiques market there until late in the afternoon. Unfortunately, we saw no evidence of any type of market. It had been quite a long walk, so we found a nice little pastry shop, had a quick snack to hold us until dinner, then headed back to the apartment.
Although today had been designated as a “traffic free” day in Rome, we saw very little evidence of this. The road that runs in front of the Forum and Coliseum was closed, but that was the only closed road we saw. The weather was beautiful, and there were lots of people out…walking, sight-seeing, people watching.
We were grateful and amazed at the wonderful weather. When we left Umbria, it had been cloudy, windy and cold. The forecast for Rome had been for partly cloudy, with a low of about 40º, so we had packed accordingly. Not surprisingly, the forecast was wrong. We had beautiful weather, and wished that we had brought lighter weight clothes.
We rested in the apartment, then decided to take a cab to Piazza Narvona. We planned to stroll around this area, then walk over to the restaurant, Taverna Antiche, not far from Piazza Narvona. We walked to a taxi stand that was listed on the map The Beehive had given us. I don’t know if this made it any easier to get a cab, but after about ten minutes we finally found a free cab and were on our way. As expected, the ride was thrilling and scary at the same time. I was relieved to get out of the cab and explore Piazza Narvona.
This piazza is pedestrian only, lined with many restaurants. There are two fountains in the center of the piazza, and many artists had their work set up for display. I swear I could have bought at least three or four, but where would I put them? We enjoyed strolling and looking, and took our time finding our way to the restaurant.
Once we arrived, we discovered that our table was set up, but that we were the first ones there. We thought we might just enjoy a glass of wine while we waited, but then Cesare walked in the door. Cesare is the husband of Stephanie, who participates on the message board, and we had met both of them last September at the get together in Chianti.
He was dropping off some things for the dinner, and invited us to go with him to a nearby bar to have a drink with Stephanie and another couple, Steve and Linda. We were anxious to meet Steve and Linda because they were our hosts in Rome…they own The Beehive!
We arrived at the nearby bar, met Steve and Linda, and found them to be absolutely the nicest people in the world! Stephanie arrived a few minutes later, and before you know it we had to head back to the restaurant.
I think we had about eighteen people there, and the only bad thing about the setup was that we were at one very long table…making it impossible to talk with, or even see, people at the other end. Luckily, someone had the great idea of switching seats, so halfway through the dinner, everyone on the outside of the table reversed ends. Those of us on the other side were boxed in by the wall, so we had to stay put. Anyway, this did allow us to talk with more people, although I still didn’t get to talk to those sitting at the far end of my side. I think there was a couple down there whose names I don’t even know! I hope someone will eventually help me to identify everyone in the pictures! Which reminds me…the pictures of the get together are at http://www.slowtrips.com/photo/showgallery.php?cat=3212
The food was good and plentiful. For the antipasti we had, chickpeas, green peas, beans, prosciutto, tomatoes with mozzarella…maybe more. Apparently the original plan was to have everyone order individually, but of course that would have been a big headache for the staff. The waiter asked us if we would like to have two pastas served family style, and everyone agreed with that. Spaghetti arrabbiata was served, and a penne pasta with a cream sauce. The penne was way too “al dente”, but other than that, both were good.
Robert, the birthday boy, was the only one to have meat and vegetables…I can’t imagine where he put it, but maybe he was better at pacing himself that the rest of us.
Stephanie had arranged for the two birthday cakes, and they were brought out…one even had a candle in it, and we all sang “Happy Birthday” and Robert blew out the candle. Both the cakes were fantastic!
Pauline and Steve had planned to call us during dinner from England. They were spending a few weeks in the Cotswolds, and had even toyed with the idea of grabbing a cheap flight from London to Rome, but in the end, that turned out to be too much trouble. Unfortunately we had NO reception on our cell phones in the restaurant. Stephanie called Pauline once dinner was over and we were outside, but Art and I had to rush off…we had a 9:15 appointment at the Vatican the next morning.
We were lucky to find a taxi almost immediately, and made it to bed around 11:00 I guess. We slept pretty well, but in the morning, once the buses started running, the street noise woke us up. Our bedroom was on the front of the building, and if I had thought about it, I would have requested the bedroom on the backside of the building. With such short notice I had been glad just to get a room at a reasonable price.
Our tour at the Vatican was of the excavations underneath St Peters. A cemetery existed on this site long before Christ was born, so most of the tombs are pagan, but there were a few Christian burial sites, usually disguised so as not to cause problems when Christianity was banned.
This site is also where St Peter himself is supposed to be buried, and the guide made a very convincing argument. I think this site was discovered when a pope back in the 1920’s asked to be buried as close to St Peter as possible, and this site was excavated. The structural integrity of the basilica prevents further excavation, but what we saw was fascinating.
We had hoped to visit the Vatican museums after our Scavi Tour, but the line was wrapped all the way around the block, so we decided to pass. We’ll visit the museum with my sister in November.
On the way from the subway stop to the Vatican, we had seen a café named Castroni’s. Since this is the name of the store I had planned to visit near the Piazza del Popolo, I thought it would be worth a look.
The café also carried a selection of international foods, and there was another shop next door, also a Castroni’s. I bought cream of mushroom soup (€2!!!), pumpkin pie filling, ramen noodles, strawberry jam (from England), oatmeal, something I THINK might be almond extract, and sunflower seed kernels. I saw a little bit of everything there…lots of Oriental and Mexican foods, lots of stuff from England, even Oreos!
We took our stuff back to the apartment and headed back to the Termini to catch a subway to The Hard Rock Café for a late lunch. WE thought that by eating lunch rather than dinner, we could eat more food with less guilt. Art had fajitas and I had barbequed ribs with onion rings!!! It was a nice treat, although we would have preferred refried beans and Spanish rice instead of the baked beans and plain rice served with the fajitas.
We decided to walk back towards Termini and try to find a wine shop that we had read about in the brochure The Beehive had given us. We wanted to find a bottle of Sagrantino wine to give to Steve and Linda. Art and Steve had been talking about wines and Steve had never had Sagrantino, which is produced in Montefalco, not far from where we live.
Unfortunately the store only had one type of Sagrantino, and it wasn’t what we wanted, so we headed back to the apartment, stopping briefly at a neighborhood grocery store for water and a few snacks.
In our previous trips to Rome, we have always stayed south of Termini, and had gotten the impression that the north side was a bit rougher. After walking to The Beehive to check-in, then walking to the wine shop and grocery store, I would have to say that I think the north side is a lot nicer than the south side. The north side seems more residential, while the south side is filled with lots of junky shops, and it just seems dirtier….not really scary, but just kind of seedy and run down.
Since we had pigged out for lunch, we wanted something light for dinner, so we decided to try a little pizzeria recommended in The Beehive’s book. We walked towards Santa Maria Maggiore, and found the UPIM department store. I had read about this chain on the message board, but had never been in one. Only later would I discover that there is one in Perugia, but since it’s located down by the train station, I had never seen it.
I really like the department store, and found a set of dishes that I really liked. Since we’ve had five of our Deruta dishes crack when hot food was placed on them, we decided to buy some less expensive dishes for every day. Once back home, we would go to Perugia and buy a complete service for eight for about €50!!! When you consider that one plate from Deruta costs €20, it’s easy to understand why we changed.
We found the pizzeria we were looking for, and waited for a few minutes for a hot pizza to come out of the oven. While it wasn’t as good as one of Marco’s pizza’s from Ternana’s, it was good. On the walk back to the apartment we stopped for a gelato and enjoyed watching the people as we ate.
On Tuesday morning we had originally planned to go to the market at Camp del Fiore to buy some spice mixes that Art likes. However, when we read (in The Beehive book!) about the covered market just a few blocks east of us, we decided to check that our first. Mercato Esquillno is supposed to be the largest covered market in Rome. This area has a large ethnic population, and we saw lots of Oriental foods and lots of fish. Of course there were also the traditional fruits and vegetables, and plenty of single spices, but we never did find the spice mixes we wanted.
We went back to apartment and finished packing, then walked up to The Beehive to leave our luggage until it was time to catch the train back to Umbria. Since it was still early, and since we knew the market at Campo del Fiore didn’t close until around one o’clock, we decided to head over there. We walked to the nearest taxi stand and hailed a cab. As expected, it was a ride to remember! I can’t imagine ever driving in Rome!
We found the stall where we had bought the spices, and bought a mix for pasta, a Puttanesca mix, and mixes for both meat and fish. We enjoyed walking around the market, then walked to the great little pastry shop we had found on Sunday and had a sandwich.
We walked towards the Tiber, with the intention of visiting Castel Sant’Angelo. I had always wanted to see it, but in previous trips we had never had the time. We walked across a pedestrian bridge directly into the castle. This castle was originally built as a tomb of the emperor Hadrian, and has been used as a castle, a prison, and also as a refuge for popes…there’s a tunnel connecting the castle to the Vatican.
Once we left Castel Sant’Angelo, we had plenty of time for lunch and a stroll before our three o’clock reservation at the Borghese Gallery. We hailed a cab, and asked the driver if he knew of an inexpensive restaurant around the Piazza del Popolo. He said yes, he knew of two, and they both specialized in Bolognese food. He told us that they weren’t too expensive, and that both were places he went to. That had to be a good thing!
Unfortunately, both restaurants were WAY out of our budget…either that cab driver makes a VERY good living, or maybe he just assumed we were rich because we were Americans. We walked a bit further away from the piazza and found someplace that looked good and had reasonable prices. We both wanted the special of the day, which was a dish with salmon, and it was delicious.
Since we had never been through the large park surrounding the Borghese Gallery, a nice walk would settle our lunch and allow us plenty of time to reach the gallery. The Villa Borghese is Rome’s Central Park. There are many paths, open fields, a zoo, benches, just a wonderful space.
As we were walking, a tram pulled up, and we decided to hop on to see as much of the park as we could. By the time we had ridden the complete circuit and come back to the gallery, it was almost time for us to go in. We first had to go to the lower level to pay for our tickets and to check our bags.
Entrance to the Borghese is limited in number and also in length….but the two hours allotted are more than enough, especially for us, since we know exactly what we want to see. Bernini’s “Apollo and Daphne” is always at the top of our list, as well as several other pieces of sculpture that make it hard to believe you’re looking at cold, hard marble.
We caught a bus back to the Termini, but unfortunately the bus that ran directly to Termini had been discontinued, so we had to get off the bus and catch the subway. It wasn’t difficult, but since we knew the number of the (direct) bus we wanted, we had no idea which bus we should take in its place. Luckily there was another couple waiting at the stop, and they told us which bus to catch and where to transfer. Once we arrived at Termini, we saw a very interesting thing: two undercover cops with a drug or bomb dog. Then we saw another guy with a dog, and this dog was hot on the trail of someone!
As the dog finally reached a group of three guys, he put his paws on the shoulders of one of them. Of course the cops were asking all sorts of questions, while the guys readily opened their bags to prove they had nothing to hide. Since we still had to retrieve our luggage and come back to the station to catch the train, we didn’t stay to see what happened. I can’t imagine one of these dogs making a mistake, and wonder what happened.
I was glad that we had purchased our return tickets in Ponte San Giovanni so we didn’t have to stand in line at Termini. Art found a USAToday and we both read the paper while waiting for our train to pull into the station.
The ride back was uneventful, except for the fact that we almost got off at the wrong station! At the time we were due to arrive at Ponte San Giovanni, we pulled into a station. I was talking to Jill on the phone, so I hadn’t been looking for the sign as we pulled in. I just believed Art when he told me to get off the train, but then, just as suddenly, he said “Get back on!”….we were in the station just before Ponte San Giovanni, and luckily he had seen the sign before the train started moving…they usually don’t stop for long in the smaller stations.
Our car was waiting for us at the station…thank goodness. It took us about thirty minutes to drive home and that was it! Home! Nice to go away, but always nicer come back to your own home, your own bed!
PHOTOS FROM ROME
I posted the photos from our 2 1/2 day trip to Rome in September.
http://www.slowtrips.com/photo/showgallery.php?cat=3214
WHAT’S NEW
Just bits and pieces to report…
Fall is in the air for sure. I’m still adjusting to the differences in humidity. Although it hasn’t rained for a while, you can definitely tell that there’s more moisture in the air. It’s not miserable like in Louisville, but when I hang clothes on the line, I have to leave the heavier things out for two days. Yesterday we had a nice breeze and most of the stuff was dry at the end of the day, but without the breeze everything would have stayed out overnight. In the summer, when the air is REALLY dry, I could hang up clothes in the morning and they were dry within hours, even in the shade. It’s really foggy today, so I hope that the clothes that are still on the line will be ready to bring in this afternoon!
Once winter arrives and it gets rainy, then the fun starts…clothes on the clothes rack, on hangers on every doorknob, and on radiators throughout the house. Thank goodness we have plenty of clothes, and especially plenty of towels!
We went to Montalcino with Larry and Jill on Tuesday. The original plan was to stop in Montalcino, visit the shops, have some lunch, then head to the Banfi winery. We had been to Montalcino only once before, and this was Larry and Jill’s first time, so we spent quite a bit of time just wandering in and out of shops. I found the olive wood bread board that I had been waiting to buy, and we also bought a few bottles of wine. Oh, and I picked up Isabella Dusi’s newest book. I’ll have to go back and re-read “Vanilla Beans and Brodo” first, just to refresh my memory about the people and places in Montalcino.
We ate lunch in a cute little restaurant that Art and I had found on our previous visit, and splurged on a bottle of Brunello, which was delicious. By the time we finished lunch and wandered a bit more, it was too late to bother with Banfi. Maybe another day.
I brought some pesto for Larry and Jill, since they had given me the basil plants they had pulled from their garden on Sunday. In return, Larry brought me some of his WONDERFUL spaghetti sauce. I’m going to share his recipe, and hope that he doesn’t mind!
LARRY’S TOMATO SAUCE
20 TOMATOES
PLACE IN BOILING WATER, THEN IN COLD WATER TO REMOVE SKINS
ADD 10 ONIONS, CUT INTO CHUNKS
700 gr TOMATO SAUCE (3 CUPS)
1 PEPPEROCINI, THINLY SLICED
1 PEPPER, ANY COLOR, CUT INTO SLICES
5 CLOVES GARLIC, SLIVERED
PEPPER
SIMMER ALL TOGETHER FOR 90 MINUTES.
ADD ½ BOTTLE OF CHIANTI AND SIMMER FOR ANOTHER 90 MINUTES.
ADD THE REST OF THE CHIANTI AND SIMMER FOR ANOTHER 90 MINUTES
We REALLY enjoyed this sauce! Thanks Larry!
Let’s see…what else is new? OH, we finally talked to Adamo yesterday, and he said we are more than welcome to have our garden in his yard again next summer. I told him I would like to plant a few more things next year, so I’ll probably move some of the stepping stones at the far end of the yard. I’d like to amend the soil this week or next, and remove as many of the rocks as I can. I’d like to add something to help the soil retain moisture. I’m not sure that peat moss is the answer, since that will make the soil more acid. I do want to bring back some of those water holding crystals that I bought at Lowe’s. I need some for the area where I want to plant my rose, so I guess I’ll just have to bring back several containers of it.
Adamo also asked us if we would be interested in attending Italian classes here in San Venanzo. YES!!!!! He also asked us if we would help him (and others, I’m assuming) to learn English. We told him that we aren’t teachers, but that we would be happy to do the best we could.
We haven’t seen any work started in the park behind our house. I’m hoping that if nothing happens in October (as promised), when the Farnesi’s return in November they’ll be able to complain to the right people and hopefully get the work started.
We had lunch with Enrico and Wilma last Sunday. Jill and Larry were able to come, and we went to Maria’s…this seems to be Enrico’s regular Sunday lunch place. Jill and Larry were as apprehensive as we were the first time we drove down the very long and very bumpy gravel road leading to Maria’s. I don’t know how long this place has been serving food, but obviously word of mouth is more than sufficient to keep them very busy. Every time we’re there it’s packed and I would guess that reservations are a must.
After lunch we drove to Enrico’s ranch. This was the first time that Jill and Larry had seen it, and we saw the progress that had been made since our last visit. The first small cottage the Enrico is building has changed considerably. What was going to be a small, three room cottage on one floor has now evolved into a much larger building. The original section, with three rooms on one floor will now house the Living room, dining room, small kitchen, and another room...maybe a more casual living space. And a bathroom.
The bedrooms will now be within the TOWER that Enrico is building right next to the house. The ground floor of this tower will house the cantina for storage, and will also hold another living space and a bedroom on the top floor. I had thought there would be a larger kitchen somewhere, and I thought it was going to be in the tower, but Enrico said the tower is only for the night, i.e., sleeping. Maybe the back room of the other part will be the larger kitchen…I was really confused, since these changes were made somewhere along the way. Why he decided to build this tower is beyond me. He wants to build an additional three or four cottages on the property, and expects to have this Wild West vacation spot ready by next summer! It will be very interesting to see how this works out.
Enrico had called about a week ago and asked Art if he would by a saddle while we were in the states in December! He said he would give us €1000, although I don’t have any idea what a saddle would cost, much less what the shipping costs would be. Of course Art said yes…he figured he could ask some of his friends at the track for advice. On Sunday Enrico told us that we won’t have to do this for him…he’s going to Texas in February!!! Wilma will have to stay home to feed the horses, dogs, donkey and wild boar.
I had a surprise this morning. I keep the large board I use when making bread and pasta between the frig and the end cabinet. Today when I pulled the board out, attached to the bottom of the board was a small scorpion! It was about the size of a penny. Of course I didn’t want scorpion guts on my bread board, so I had to shoo him off with a paper towel, them stomp on him before he ran under something else! A nice “crunch!” let me know that he was no longer a danger!
Things like this make me wonder where ELSE they’re hiding. I wonder what would have happened if we hadn’t walked downstairs one night and seen the scorpion on the wall…or what would have happened if I hadn’t gone into the laundry room when I did to discover a scorpion on the floor…or what would have happened if Art hadn’t seen the little claw sticking out of the vent hole in the bathroom sink? How many more of these creepy little critters are hiding in strange places?! I guess that’s a question I might not want the answer to.
We’re planning to go to a jousting tournament this weekend in San Gemini, which is south of Todi. I need to find a website with info so that I know what time the festivities will begin. I’m hopeful that the very nature of this festa will ensure that it begins before dark, as is the norm!
We need to drive down to Marsciano to get money out of the Postal Bankomat (ATM). My daily limit, set by my US bank is $500 per day. For some reason, certain banks here won’t let me take out that full amount. The bank here in San Venanzo, Cassa di Risparmio di Orvieto will only let me with draw €200, or about $250. Through trial and error, we discovered that the PostalBank will let us withdraw €400, which at the current exchange rate is right at $500. I need to make several withdrawals so that I have a substantial enough amount to deposit in the bank. We keep waiting for the dollar to get stronger, but it doesn’t seem to be happening!
COMMENTS ABOUT THE COMMENTS
Recently, I posted about sending in our absentee ballots. For Americans living abroad, voting requires a bit more preparation than when you live in the states. In Kentucky, you're registered to vote when you renew your driver's license, which I think is a great convenience, especially when you move. Living in Italy meant that we would have to request absentee ballots, and of course we would have to do it early enough so that the ballots could be mailed to us and have time to get back to the states.
I think that we could have contacted the embassy in Rome about registering for absentee ballots, but since we were in Kentucky in May, we decided it would be a lot easier to go to the voter registration office and give them our Italian address. That process was simple, and when we received a letter in August, we promptly returned it. As I said in a previous post, I guess this was to verify that we were where we said we were.
And then, about a week ago, our official ballots arrived. We completed them and mailed them back the next day...giving them a good five weeks to reach their destination.
For us, all of this was a new process, and as always, I document the small things as well as the big things that happen here. This blog is really just a journal for Art and me to read in our old age and remember all the fun (and frustrations!) we had while living in Italy. There are so many little things that get forgotten, and even if I don't record every detail, what I do write will remind us of other things.
And then I had a comment from "anonymous", asking "what does this have to do with living in Italy?" And I thought, well, let's see....I live in Italy...I voted by absentee ballot from Italy....hmmm...yes, this is about living in Italy. Everything I write about is about living in Italy, since this is where I live...duh!
And for whatever reason, this comment just totally pissed me off!!! Many of you know what a quick temper I have, but I did try to restrain myself with my first response. I guess what really bugged me was the idea of someone telling me what I should or shouldn't be writing on my own blog!!! Had the comment been a political rebuttal, that would have been okay, but the idea that someone would have the nerve to say that what I choose to write about isn't relevant to MY blog just really blew me away! I guess it must be that protectiveness that writers have about their work.
And then, once I've made my first comment, this idiot writes back to say, well, they'll probably get lost in the mail anyway, and suggested that I should be back in the states.
Now we do know of people who think we're unpatriotic to live overseas. Somehow they think living in another country is anti-American. For us, nothing could be further from the truth. Seeing the state of the world today should serve as a reminder to everyone how fortunate we are as Americans to have the rights and privileges that we do. To be able to disagree with our government, to be able to publicly denounce a candidate...even if that candidate is currently the president, to be able to live wherever we want...including another country.
As for the getting lost in the mail, I wonder how someone would know that “many” absentee ballots are lost. How would you know this? Unless you know the total number of absentee ballots mailed, and the total number received, how could you make such a broad sweeping statement?
We too worked for the Post Office. Art worked in Statistical Programs, where the mail is tracked, so he would probably have as good an idea as anyone about lost mail. Yes, it’s true that mail is lost…statistically when you handle millions of pieces of mail, some will be lost. I don’t know what the exact percentage is, but I do know that the number is minuscule.
Of course if it’s YOUR letter that’s lost, then of course you’ll always remember that. And I think it would be fair to say that most of the lost letters are due to employee error…a machine not thoroughly cleaned, a sack not turned inside out, a case not moved for cleaning. Statistically, the USPS has one of the best records (if not THE best), and the lowest rates in the world. Don’t you read the bumper stickers….you shouldn’t upset a postal worker!!!
As I have written many times before, we didn't choose Italy...Italy chose us. In all of our travels to fourteen, fifteen different countries, neither of us ever felt any desire to live in another country. Despite my lifelong love affair with all things British, I never felt the pull to live in England or Scotland like I did for Italy. I guess unless you've experienced something similar, it's just impossible to explain. But the bottom line is...we are still Americans...still proud to be Americans...often not proud of what our government it doing, but still proud that we have the options and opportunities that only Americans have.
Anyway, after restraining myself, eventually my temper got the best of me. If you don't like my blog, don't read it. It's really not written for you anyway...it's for ME, and I'm just sharing it with you. If you want to post your opinions, start your own blog. Disagree with what I say, but don't tell me what to think, where to live, or what to write. If you do, I can pretty much guarantee that my response will be the same…f#*! off!!
ANOTHER ARTICLE ABOUT KERRY
The Union Leader in New Hampshire published this article, in which the son of Dwight D. Eisenhower explains why he will be voting for John Kerry, NOT George Bush. I changed this to a link in case there was a copyright violation in printing the article itself, even though credit was given.
http://www.theunionleader.com/Articles_show.html?article=44821&archive=1
AN EDITORIAL FROM GEORGE BUSH'S HOMETOWN
Check out this editorial from the local paper in Crawford Texas...
http://news.iconoclast-texas.com/web/Columns/Editorial/editorial39.htm
VOTING
We mailed in our absentee ballots yesterday. The process to get them wasn’t difficult. When we were in Louisville in May, we went to the voter registration office and notified them of the fact that we would be in Italy during November. We gave them our address in Italy, and in August we received a letter from them. I guess this was just to verify that we were here. Anyway, we had been wondering when the ballots would arrive, and on Thursday we found them in our mailbox.
We voted for Kerry, of course. I truly believe that Bush is not capable of getting us out of this mess. I don’t understand those who argue that we should retain the same leadership. When it was that leadership who said that war would only be a “last resort”, yet rushed in without a plan? Without waiting for the inspections to be completed? When that leadership failed to listen to the military and political advisors who warned of all the dangers and problems we are now facing?
By invading Iraq, Bush has given Osama Bin Laden exactly what he wanted. He has given every Muslim in the world an even more compelling reason to hate us. This in addition to the fact that we have lost the support and sympathy of the world. After 9/11, we did have the support and sympathy of the entire world….we were united in our war against terrorism, yet somehow Bush has managed to alienate our allies.
In my opinion, not only was Bush wrong to invade Iraq, but now he is too stupid/stubborn/egotistical to admit it. Isn’t that what being an effective leader is? Being able to recognize changes, recognize what needs to be done and just DO it? Why is Bush unable to recognize that this war is going very, very badly, and that changes need to be made?
To me, this is the reason that Kerry voted against the money to support the war. Initially, Kerry believed his president, supported his president. When it later became clear that Bush had misled not only Congress but the entire nation, that’s when Kerry said “no more.” I don’t see this as a flip flop. I see this as an individual who assesses each situation on its own merits…who has the intelligence and flexibility to change as the world changes. This is what we need in a president, not someone who blindly leads us to a war that can never be won.
So we voted for Kerry. We didn’t get to see the debate, but we have seen a lot of commentary about it, and bits and pieces. I think that Kerry came off much stronger and more decisive than he has in the past. Personally I think his campaign has been WAY too laid back all along, and I just hope he hasn’t waited too late to kick it into high gear.
|
Spina Bifida
