Life lessons from living in Italy...

Links I like...

2011-12-31T19:00:00Z

Blogs:

Bleeding Espresso
Cross-Cultural Moments
Dove mi porta il cuore (where my heart takes me)
Italy for Visitors
Italyville
Rubber Slippers in Italy
Sunday Sauce

Products:

Buitoni (fresh pasta and pasta sauces)
Monini (olive oil)
San Pellegrino (sparkling water)
Tenuta Vannulo (organic dairy products)

Travel:

Fonteverde (natural spa/resort in Tuscany)
Italia Rail (3rd-party rail ticket site)
Trenitalia (Italy's national rail ticket site)

Other:

Learn Italian with free Podcasts

Where did you go Joe DiMaggio?...

2008-05-20T19:00:00Z

I started to experience some rather severe abnormal computer behavior (delayed read and write failures, unwarranted computer resets, memory errors, etc.) so I decided that it was critically important that I move everything over to the new system I'd been putting together. So, I've been moving and organizing everything (six terabytes of stuff) to this new computer which has kept me off-line (hence the missing posts).

In the mean time our Google search rankings have slipped a bit. What does any of this mean?... who knows! The vast majority of visitors to this Italy blog come from links from other sites and not from Google searches. Still, I was pleased when we started migrating up the rankings (we started on page 127) and especially pleased when we landed near the top of page one (for several high-traffic key words/phrases) in a relatively short period of time and without spending a dime. I wonder how long this ranking can remain without daily postings--an interesting experiment in SEO (search engine optimization). Well, back to the grindstone!

Rebel with a cause...

2008-05-09T19:00:00Z

Don't take pictures here the sign says. So what did I do... I took out my camera and took a picture of the sign that says no pictures. Sometimes it's a concern over flash photography... other times it's a protected image (like the David statue)... other times it's just to annoy. Nevertheless, if you see this sign you'd better turn off your flash and/or conceal your attempt to take that picture or be prepared to have someone speak to you sternly in really fast Italian while making animated hand gestures. By the way, they're not really angry... it's just their way (you rebel you).

A wife and mother's view of life in Italy...

2008-05-08T19:00:00Z

I decided not to leave Anne-Marie out of the mix so I asked her the same five questions about our family adventure living in Italy and here are her responses:

Q: What is your favorite thing about living in Italy?
A: Getting to know the Italian people and the beauty of the Italian countryside.

Q: What is your least-favorite thing?
A: How complicated it sometimes is to do simple things.

Q: Would you do it again?
A: Yes!... tomorrow.

Q: What is your favorite Italian food?
A: It's not possible to say one... there are so many things that I like... strangozzi con fave e pancetta, bruschetta, pecorino cheese (from Piensa), bread, olive oil, lentils... basically (other than pizza), everything we ate at Osterìa del Trivio in Spoleto.

Q: What is your favorite memory of Italy?
A: Walking the little girls to and from school and saying "Ciao!" to our friends in the shops.

Anne-Marie's Italian language skills blossomed when we moved to Spoleto (since there were many more opportunities for her to speak with Italian natives). The Italians just loved her. And, according to my ever-so-true "trickle down love" theory, on many occasions I was the beneficiary of that love because I was nearby.

A first-born daughter's view of life in Italy...

2008-05-07T19:00:00Z

I asked each of our children the same five questions about our family adventure living in Italy and here are Rebecca's (almost age 24) responses:

Q: What is your favorite thing about living in Italy?
A: The people, the culture, the small shops, the small streets... and definitely gelato alla nocciola (hazelnut) and inexpensive pizza (that tastes incredible).

Q: What is your least-favorite thing?
A: It's hard to find a legal place to park.

Q: Would you do it again?
A: What kind of question is that?... PREGO!.

Q: What is your favorite Italian food?
A: That's a hard one... all of it... but especially tagliatelle with Mom's special red sauce, or Mom's lasagna al Ragù, or Mom's... OK, all of it.

Q: What is your favorite memory of Italy?
A: Driving around Tuscany in a beat up car and "sledding" on garbage bags in the snowy mountains.

Before moving to Italy, Rebecca had visited a number of countries in the Americas and Asia. She was not only delighted to experience Italy (and the rest of Europe) but also to learn Italian. She worked as an English tutor, a babysitter, and from time-to-time at the local pizzerìa where Craig worked.

A first-born son's view of life in Italy...

2008-05-06T19:00:00Z

I asked each of our children the same five questions about our family adventure living in Italy and here are Craig's (almost age 21) responses:

Q: What is your favorite thing about living in Italy?
A: A chance to see what life is like outside of the United States and the opportunity to learn a new language.

Q: What is your least-favorite thing?
A: It was hard to make friends again.

Q: Would you do it again?
A: Without thinking twice.

Q: What is your favorite Italian food?
A: Bistecca di maiale and tagliatelle dei Pini.

Q: What is your favorite memory of Italy?
A: My job at the local pizzeria (especially when people would ask me where in Italy I was from and how I learned to make pizza).

Craig had the best Italian of all of us. And, like Hannah, Craig used his innate sense of humor to break down barriers and build lasting friendships with sometimes the unlikeliest of people. I couldn't believe it when he scored into the third year on his Italian university entrance exam (never having studied Italian)... the kid is bright.

A young man's view of life in Italy...

2008-05-05T19:00:00Z

I asked each of our children the same five questions about our family adventure living in Italy and here are Trevor's (now age 18) responses:

Q: What is your favorite thing about living in Italy?
A: The pace of life... it's slower, more relaxing and gives you time to enjoy life.

Q: What is your least-favorite thing?
A: The pace of life... it's slower...

Q: Would you do it again?
A: Heck yes.

Q: What is your favorite Italian food?
A: Gnocchi, pizza diavola, and any pasta with tartufo (truffles).

Q: What is your favorite memory of Italy?
A: Camping & boating at Lago Trasimeno with Brendan (Trevor's Australian friend).

I was proud of several things that Trevor did in Italy, not the least of which was how he stood up for his values and beliefs when many around him were lacking in some pretty core areas. And, during the summer when he tested out of an entire year of scientific high school by passing the year-end exam in each course... impressive!

A teen boy's view of life in Italy...

2008-05-04T19:00:00Z

I asked each of our children the same five questions about our family adventure living in Italy and here are Andrew's (almost age 15) responses:

Q: What is your favorite thing about living in Italy?
A: The sights, the food, the people, and the culture.

Q: What is your least-favorite thing?
A: Feeling ignorant when I didn't understand.

Q: Would you do it again?
A: Sure.

Q: What is your favorite Italian food?
A: Spaghetti alla carbonara and anything with seafood (but not too salty).

Q: What is your favorite memory of Italy?
A: Savannah covered in toothpaste.

Andrew is an unbelievable trooper. In the face of adversity (a congenital hearing loss that made learning Italian more difficult), this kid just plugged along and was a friend to everyone (he was especially loved by his teachers). Andrew has a heart of gold.

A teen girl's view of life in Italy...

2008-05-03T19:00:00Z

I asked each of our children the same five questions about our family adventure living Italy and here are Hannah's (almost age 13) responses:

Q: What is your favorite thing about living in Italy?
A: The food--especially gelato.

Q: What is your least-favorite thing?
A: People smoking in my face going in and out of buildings and on the sidewalk.

Q: Would you do it again?
A: Yes, because it was fun seeing different things and being with the people (but not as a tourist).

Q: What is your favorite Italian food?
A: Gelato, tagliatelle dei Pini, and pizza con wüster.

Q: What is your favorite memory of Italy?
A: Living in an Italian farm house with a pool in the summer.

Hannah has a real facility for languages. She not only learned to read, write, and speak Italian but also some local dialect as well. She demonstrated a great sense of humor in Italian and easily crossed social and cultural boundaries (which is not the easiest thing to do).

A young girl's view of life in Italy...

2008-05-02T19:00:00Z

I asked each of our children the same five questions about our family adventure living in Italy and here are Paige's (now age 6) responses:

Q: What is your favorite thing about living in Italy?
A: Gelato, the swing set and castle toy (at the farm house), and nebbia (farm dog)

Q: What is your least-favorite thing?
A: When Luca killed the pigs.

Q: Would you do it again?
A: Yes and I like to talk to the people.

Q: What is your favorite Italian food?
A: Spaghetti al ragù, pizza margherita, kebab, and pizzette (mini pizzas).

Q: What is your favorite memory of Italy?
A: Going to the Tebro pasticerìa after school, making biscuits with grandma, making pizza with Paolo, winning the gummy art contest, traveling around and seeing so many places.

Paige would melt the heart of any store owner she spoke to and was constantly being asked if she and her little sister would like a treat. Her Italian language skills were developed purely by speaking with others so she has no accent... fruciatta!

A young child's view of life in Italy...

2008-05-01T19:00:00Z

I asked each of our children the same five questions about our family adventure living in Italy and here are Savannah's (now age 4) responses:

Q: What is your favorite thing about living in Italy?
A: Fragola (or strawberry gelato).

Q: What is your least-favorite thing?
A: I broke my tooth.

Q: Would you do it again?
A: What?

Q: What is your favorite Italian food?
A: Pasta.

Q: What is your favorite memory of Italy?
A: Night stories.

Savannah was fearless in Italy. Whether it was playing with others her age (initially not understanding a word) or approaching people seated at a restaurant, she was at home. I was surprised by how well she sang Italian songs from the local Catholic preschool.

The good, the bad and the ugly...

2008-04-30T19:00:00Z

Last night I was watching an Italian epic spaghetti western "Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo" (filmed in Spain, directed by Sergio Leone and starred Clint Eastwood). What does this have to do with an Italy blog and our family adventure living in Italy? Let's see...

The good...

Life in Italy is amazingly beautiful but many times you have to slow your pace to appreciate (or even see) it.
Italy is filled with art and culture that dates back forever.
Italians are not only friendly but are good friends.
The Italian language is fun to learn and speak.

The bad...

School that's six days a week.
Cost of living is expensive.
Too many people smoke.

The ugly...

Anything to do with the infrastructure of Italian life (government, schools, utilities, etc.) is unnecessarily and overly complex.
The all-to-often "passing the buck."

Is it worth it, you might ask? The answer is a resounding, "Si, certamente!"

First Spitaliano then Itilish...

2008-04-29T19:00:00Z

Today Anne-Marie and I returned from a week-long vacation in sunny Cancun, Mexico... OLE! When we first arrived in Italy, I was the only member of the family that was fluent in another language (i.e., Spanish--having lived in South America for three years). Italian and Spanish are pretty close (the roots of words, grammar, and pronunciation are substantially similar). I was surprised by how much Italian I could initially understand because of my Spanish.

Those early days in Italy were filled with a lot of Spitaliano (i.e., Italian sprinkled with Spanish). It wasn't long before my Spanish disappeared entirely as my mind became completely consumed with Italian. I remember more than a year into our sojourn in Italy calling to Spain because both Rebecca and Craig would be serving voluntary missions for our Church there and I needed to make a few arrangements for them... I could barely construct a sentence in Spanish (how is that possible!).

Last week's vacation was somewhat the opposite. At first I spoke a lot of Itilish (i.e., Spanish sprinkled with Italian). Within days, however, my Spanish returned and this time I didn't loose the Italian. I now find it much easier to go back and forth between the two languages. YEA!

Italian fashion gone wild?...

2008-04-28T19:00:00Z

No, this is the uniform of the Swiss Guard in Vatican City. Vatican City (formally the "State of the Vatican City") is the smallest independent state in terms of population (approx. 800) and area (approx. 110 acres) in the world. Unfortunately, you can't see the majority of Vatican City (other than St. Peter's Square, St. Peter's Cathedral, and the Vatican Museum) because it is closed to the general public.

Anne-Marie and I met an older gentleman and his wife at Fonteverde (an exclusive health & beauty spa in Tuscany) who was from Milano. He invited our entire family to come stay at his house for a week but we were never able to get our schedules together (when the children weren't in school, he was always vacationing). I only say this because he casually mentioned to me that the previous week he had had an audience with the Pope on some matter and that if we wanted to see the "closed" portions of Vatican City he would be happy to arrange for and accompany us. I thought he was kidding but others who knew him said that he was serious. Later, he mentioned that he was the owner of the world champion German shepherd (which I verified on the Internet). I guess you never know who you're going to bump into.

Stufato alla Gió con Tre Carni...

2008-04-27T19:00:00Z

This month's second is really a meal unto itself (and it's a good thing since the preparation takes a little time--but well worth it!). Stufato all Gió con Tre Carni means Gio's three-meat stew (in honor of Giovanna, it's creator).

Ingredients:

3 TBL olive oil
2 TBL butter
3 medium yellow onions
2 bunches parsley
5 cloves garlic
2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
2 cups water
1 lb 2oz Italian sausage (mild with no fennel)
1 lb chicken breast (2 breasts)
1 lb 8 oz beef stew meat
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb 2 oz potato (peeled and cubed approx 1 inch)
8 oz carrot (peeled and cut 1/4 inch diagonally)
6 bell peppers (2 green, 2 red, 2 yellow cut into bite-sized pieces)
1 lb zucchini (quartered lengthwise then sliced into bite-sized pieces)
5 oz eggplant (peeled and cut like zucchini)
1 cup chicken broth

Preparation:

Mix onion, parsley, and garlic in a food processor on slow speed.
Combine result with 1.5 TBL olive oil and 1 TBL butter in a 6 quart stock pot and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
Add meat pieces (lightly salted) and cook an additional 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
Increase heat to medium high, add tomato sauce and water and cook until mixture begins to boil. Reduce heat to low and cook semi-covered for 1.5 hours.
While cooking, add 1 TBL butter to a fry pan and cook chicken (lightly salted and peppered) over medium heat until golden (turning once). Reduce heat to low, add 1/2 cup chicken broth, and cook for an additional 10 minutes turning occasionally. Remove chicken (and any juice) and set aside. When cooled, cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.
While chicken is cooling, wipe fry pan with a paper towel, add 1.5 TBL olive oil and cook sausage over medium heat turning occasionally until well cooked. (While cooking, poke sausage with a fork to remove excess grease.) When complete, remove sausage (and any juice) and set aside. When cooled, cut into diagonal bite-sized pieces.
After 1.5 hours, add potatoes and carrots to stockpot and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
Add peppers, zucchini, and eggplant to stockpot (add salt and pepper to taste) and cook 10 minutes.
Add sausage (with juice) and chicken (with juice) to stockpot and cook 10 minutes. (If stew is too dry, add remaining chicken broth.)
Serve immediately. Buon Appetito!

Suggestions:

Although this dish is a complete meal, bread and wine are always welcome (if you're Mormon you can drink grape juice).

Gemelli al Gorgonzola con Mandorle...

2008-04-26T19:00:00Z

This month's first is Gemelli al Gorgonzola con Mandorle (which translates to gemelli pasta with blue cheese sauce and almonds). It's quite good and easy-to-prepare.

Ingredients:

1 lb gemelli
4 TBL butter
5 oz bleu cheese (creamy and not too strong)
4.5 oz heavy cream
1.5 oz sliced almonds
white pepper

Preparation:

Boil water for pasta (include 2 TBL salt and 1 TBL olive oil in water) and cook pasta al dente (not soft). Drain water and set aside.
At the same time, combine butter, blue cheese, cream and a little pinch of pepper in a large skillet over low heat stirring constantly until creamy.
Add almonds and cook for 1 minute stirring constantly.
Add pasta and stir until well combined. Transfer to a serving plate. Buon Appetito!

Suggestions:

Short pasta like gemelli, farfalle, and rotini should be stirred with a wooden spoon.
If you want, you can freeze this sauce for later use (refresh with a little milk when warmed).

Uova alla Mimosa...

2008-04-25T19:00:00Z

In each of the last three months we have presented three recipes from our Italian chef friends for each of the three main categories of Italian dishes (i.e., starters, firsts, and seconds). I purposefully left out the dessert category because that's Anne-Marie's specialty (and will be presented by her at a later date). This month, I thought we would offer one dish from each category. Here is a delightful starter--Uova alla Mimosa (or stuffed eggs).

Ingredients:

10 eggs
1 tsp anchovy paste
1 can tuna (smaller can with oil removed)
2 tsp capers (squeeze to remove liquid and set on paper towel)
mayonnaise (to make creamy)
parsley (finely chopped and small bunches)

Preparation:

Boil eggs (10 minutes), cool with water (and ice), remove shells, and dry/place on a paper towel.
Cut crosswise and remove the yolk and place in a small bowl (set aside the yolks of two eggs).
Slice a small amount from the top and bottom of the egg so that the halves can lie flat on the serving plate.
Pass tuna, egg yolks, capers, and anchovy paste through a wire mesh strainer using a spoon to force accomplish the task.
Add mayonnaise sufficient to make it creamy (but not too soft).
Spoon mixture into egg halves. Cover each half lightly with mayonnaise. Grate remaining egg yolk on top of egg halves and sprinkle lightly with parsley. Buon Appetito!

Suggestions:

Instead of using a knife, use sewing thread to cut the eggs in half.
Don't mix the ingredients with a food mill or Cuisinart.
To sprinkle the parsley, place the parsley in one hand and cover with the other. Move hands back and forth evenly over serving plate.

Some things can drive you crazy...

2008-04-24T19:00:00Z

Many of you may not know that the Devil referred to by John in Revelations (that's in the Bible for you heathens) is actually Italy's Telecom (phone/Internet service provider). Now here's a company that hasn't learned (or probably ever heard of) the term customer service. In fact, I would never have believed that a company could be so bad at it. Silly me... I thought they would want me as their customer. Oh how naive I was as to think that I could simply call them, that they would establish my service (phone and Internet) in the "up two weeks" they said they needed, that the service would actually work (after two months of waiting), and that it wouldn't cost an arm and a leg (I'm now paraplegic). Sadly, when it comes to Telecom Italia, you need to set your clock back 50 years and then go to sleep.

Now you hear it, now you don't...

2008-04-23T19:00:00Z

When we first moved from Città della Pieve to Spoleto, one difference we noticed immediately was the noise of living in the historical center vs. a farm house in the country. The bell tower ringing (on the hour and half hour), the vehicles driving by, the conversations (and sometimes arguments) of people walking by, the workers tearing down stage/seating from community events at nearby public squares, etc.

At first, it was difficult to sleep (as it seemed we could hear everything). Within weeks, however, the sounds dissipated and we slept comfortably through the night. My grandmother (who lived to be 99 years and 10 months) had a house near the railroad tracks and the same thing happened to her. The mind is an interesting thing. Now, if I could only consciously control which sounds to block out!

How much with the American discount?...

2008-04-22T19:00:00Z

One of my favorite things to do when told how much something cost in Italy was to respond saying, "È con lo sconto Americano?" (which basically means "And, how much with the American discount?"). Since I would speak in Italian and pause before smiling, the facial expressions I would get were priceless. The thing is that in many instances the response was a discounted price (and sometimes a significant discount). At the end of the day, who doesn't want a discount?

Shopping in Italy can be both beautiful and frustrating... strangely, for the same reason. The Italian way is so different from what we were accustomed to. I often found myself repeating the words of my father (when our family was living in South America)... "Isn't this great!"