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One year

19 May

Italiano

To our friends and family, miscellaneous musings after our first year in Italy. We arrived May 18, 2012.

1. Cats do not need to go outdoors. A windowsill will do.

Dare-devil Janie on the (very wide) window sill. Libby watches from the cat tower. Window screens are a rarity.

Dare-devil Janie on the (very wide) window sill. Libby watches from the cat tower. They traded a Portland garden for a 3rd floor windowsill.

2. When Italians ask “Come stai?” they really mean it. It’s not just in passing, like in the U.S. Here it is a conversation starter.

3. Arugula is fantastic on a sandwich piadina or panino. Lettuce is for salads.

4. A scarf around your neck is really comforting. It keeps the chill off your neck and it looks good, too.

5. Walking is a terrific form of transportation but shoe leather wears out faster than car tires.

6. Parking is colorful: white (free), blue (pay), yellow (restricted) zones are interpreted liberally by drivers.

Here we see a car parked in blue stripes (pay) but overlapping onto yellow (reserved in this case for handicapped).

Here we see a car parked in blue stripes (pay) but overlapping onto yellow (reserved in this case for handicapped).

This car is parking in a free zone, as indicated by the white lines...except this is a pedestrian crossing. "Liberal interpretation."

This car is parking in a free zone, as indicated by the white lines…except this is a pedestrian crossing. “Liberal interpretation.”

If there's no room in the street, just block a sidewalk. Pedestrians be damned!

If there’s no room in the street, just block a sidewalk. Pedestrians be damned!

7. I’d hate to be in a wheel chair in Rome. (See above)

8. Privacy is an American concept.

9. Dinner does not have to be a protein, a starch, and a vegetable. The American “square meal” is no longer a part of our lives.

Risotto all zucca

Pumpkin risotto – one dish meal, no meat, delicious local flavors.

10. Fresh flavors need little help. We have tossed out many of our spices.

11. Starbucks is NOT an Italian experience.

No "Grande Americano" here: a single shot espresso gets us going in the morning. We have a few throughout the day.

No “Grande Americano” here: a single shot espresso gets us going in the morning. We have a few throughout the day. Pastries only on the weekends…or holidays…or vacation.

12. Being a repeat customer is heartily acknowledged. When was the last time your “regular” waiter greeted you with a kiss on the cheek?

Celebrating one year in Italy, here we are in Martina Franca.

Celebrating one year in Italy, here we are in Martina Franca, Puglia.

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A castle and a palazzo

6 Aug

We had a busy and fun weekend. While some would cower in air-conditioned comfort, we headed out to experience more of Rome. The key is to go early, come home by noon-ish, then back out at night. There’s too much to do in Rome in the summer! You can’t curl up under the covers like LibbyJean!

Saturday we always go to Campo dei Fiori, a busy busy market almost any day of the week. We love the bustle and hustle, and access to the best salumi in all of Rome: Antica Norcineria Viola. Unfortunately now closed for ferie, so we have to make do with our stockpile until he returns in September.

Beautiful vegetables and the best salumi in Rome.

We also had our usual cappucino and pastry, this time con mele e crema, near Santa Maria della Pace.

Saturday night, after dinner at our favorite little trattoria, we ventured to Castel Sant’Angelo for Notti d’Estate (Summer Nights), and a special tour including the Passetto di Borgo (secret passage allowing the Pope to escape if the Vatican was sacked — and it was), prisons, and the bathroom of Clement VII.

Castel Sant’Angelo aglow, beckoning.

The English tour, for which we had reservations, was at 22:45. We were there by 22:00, looked around a bit, and then waited for our tour to be called. At 22:50 I asked “When will the English tour start?” Madam it has already left! We never heard or saw anyone claiming to be an English tour guide…. So we joined an Italian tour and vowed to return later this summer and pick up an English version so as to get all the details. Lucky for us, tours continue into September. And with the lovely nights we have in Rome, it will be a good excuse to stay out late once again.

We were able to climb to the ramparts and look down on the Tiber River, the crowd in front of the castle, and the gorgeous moon over Rome.

Playing with water: fun for kids of all ages. There are “nasone” and other little drinking fountains like this all over Rome. Ric demonstrates his technique. Block the flow with your finger creating a stream to drink from.

It really was a gorgeous night. The river was still and Rome glowed like it was lit by torches. That’s St. Peter’s Basilica on the right in the picture.

Bridge reflected in the Tiber; Basilica San Petro on the right.

Sunday we ventured out early to see a photo exhibit at the Museo di Roma in Palazzo Braschi. While the photos were great (Italian movie stars of the 40s, 50s and 60s), the star real was Palazzo Braschi

The art is interesting, but Palazzo Braschi is the star.

Featuring many scenes of Rome as painted during the Renaissance, it is fun to see how things looked to the artists of the time. Palazzo Braschi was the perfect stage for its collection.

The massive staircase was like an Escher painting.

This captivating capital crowns one of the many red granite pillars and is typical of the amazing detail in Palazzo Braschi.

Fabulous detail throughout, this captivating capital is typical.

Residents of Rome get a reduced price, and those residents over 65 with a Carta d’Identia get in free. (There are reductions  for residents at many attractions.) We had the place almost to ourselves. Once you have seen the Vatican Museums, the Capitoline, and the Borghese, it’s nice to avoid the huge crowds and escape to one of Rome’s many lesser-known sites.

You never know who you’ll see in a museum. We thought this papal bust looked like Vincent Price.

Palazzo Braschi exits right onto Piazza Navona.

Sunday afternoon we spent at home, and after sunset, a gelato outing capped the weekend. Perfect!

Have a great week everyone!

Getaway

17 Jul

Taking off for a little vacation to Verona and Ortisei. Libbyjean may have some separation issues. She’s taken over my backpack.

What with the relocation, we haven’t had a getaway since we came home from our last Italy trip on New Years’ Eve 2011. Yes, we had 2 weeks of glorious pre-deployment training, and a trip to the midwest to see family before the move, but this is to be a Ric-and-Laurel-Getaway. Be back in a few days to share photos and stories. Ciao!

It’s here!!!

11 Jul

Our sea shipment of household goods arrived Monday. It was very emotionally rewarding to see our stuff after almost 10 weeks! We had no idea how comforting it would be to see our furniture, rugs, etc. But of course we are once again in chaos as we decide where to put everything. Good thing we “downsized” as much as we did.

It may not look like much, but we already know we brought too much stuff. This is the bedroom with a dresser, nightstands, boxes, and a crappy wardrobe we had removed.

The kitties were so glad to see the furniture! Libby lounged on the couch, they rolled on the carpets, and took turns, reluctantly, in the cat tower. It was clear they felt more at home — as did we — by having familiar things arrive.

Janie in the cat tower.

Tuesday we had IKEA deliver 3 new wardrobes and 3 kitchen base cabinets, all requiring assembly. Today, Wednesday, we had the wardrobes assembled by a crew and we worked on the kitchen. Almost done!

Before and after photos to follow when complete. Don’t hold your breath.

JaneGray Kitty’s big adventure

10 Jun

Janie recreates her escape for the camera.

Our cat Janie turned 16 yesterday. Sixteen!! To celebrate she decided to scare the hell out of us and escape the apartment.Since we arrived in Rome, Janie has shown a great deal of interest in the world outside the apartment door. She always runs to greet us when we come home, and peers into the hallway. So a week and a half ago, Ric let her out under his supervision to explore our little landing. (Libby got a turn too, but she wasn’t nearly as brave as Janie.) We repeated the excursion once since. Nothing wrong with a little stimulation right? Yesterday she took advantage of an opening and escaped. By our reckoning she was gone at least an hour! Here’s how it happened.We went shopping in the Parioli neighborhood, with our cute little rolling cart, and came home with wine, pasta, vegies, laundry products, etc.  I unlocked the door, said “hi” to Jane, the greeter cat, and Ric rolled the cart into the kitchen, leaving the door open as he came in behind me. Seriously, it was just for a few seconds! Apparently Janie seized the opening and made a dash for it.By the time I turned to close the door she was gone, but we didn’t know….

Fast forward an hour or so and it is apparent Janie is nowhere to be found. She’s not one to hide, preferring to be on the bed or couch where she can keep track of activity. After a thorough search of the 840 square feet we call home (with minimal furniture as we await our sea shipment, there aren’t many places to look), I traipsed up three flights of stairs to the top floor looking for her, calling

Our vintage turn-of-the-20th-century elevator. Close the gate, close the sliding wooden doors, hit your floor button. Try doing that with a frightened cat in your arms.

quietly so as to not confirm the suspicions of our neighbors: that we are crazy and noisy. I then went down 3 flights to the piano terra and even down some very dark stairs (couldn’t find a light switch) that lead to the basement. There was only a small landing there, with two closed doors I groped for in the dark. No Jane.

So I circled the building outside, by now frantic that our birthday girl had fled. Coming back in the front door, I heard the jingle of a cat bell coming from the dark and scary basement stairs. Janie peeked around the corner coming up the stairs! It was so dark down there I didn’t see her grey smudgy self. Lucky Jane was treated to a ride in our vintage elevator. Not something she cares to repeat based on the scratches she gave me.

So everyone is safely at home this evening. Libby is too scared to go out, and we are ever-watchful with Janie. Guess she just wanted a birthday adventure.

This handy little cart makes it possible to haul water, wine, and other essentials home. The nearest stores are a 10 minute walk away.

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