I thought it was going to be EASY!

I was thinking it was going to be easy getting to Florence…
My problems all started at the Edmonton airport. The gentleman beside me on the plane said that Air Canada has always lost his luggage. I thought hmmmmm…that’s not gonna happen to me!
Well it did. It took over an hour to run between 2 of the help desks in Rome and in the end Star Alliance told me it was on its way from Frankfurt to Milan? I wasn’t even in Germany!!!
Tired (as I had only slept 4 hours) and frustrated, I decided to make the trip to Florence. I bought the train ticket and walked onto a train just assuming it was going to the Termini train station in Rome where I was to make the Florence connection. WRONGGGGGGGG. I ended up at Tiburtina station and had to take the metro to Termini which caused me to miss the connection. ARRGGHH!
After a looooong wait in the train ticket line, I got a new ticket went to the supermercato and bought some pears.
Now as I sit on the sleek comfy Eurostar train I look out the window and see the beautiful old buildings and there are wild poppies growing amongst the train tracks. The temperature is a balmy 17 C and the fronds of the palm tress are gently bobbing in the breeze. OK maybe life isn’t so bad after all…
The gorgeous couple across from me is so in love it is amazing. They are all of maybe 25 years old, beautiful, and all they do is laugh and smooch and gaze into each other’s eyes….*sigh*. When we arrive in Florence the lovey-dovey guy says to me, wow that train ride was quick…”well of course it was” I thought. J
Anyways I survived the first few day without my stuff luckily I had a clothes washer – no drier, but the oven sufficed the one morning….really. It did a great job on my jean jacket and yoga zip up.
Florence was just as I left it although I’d say a bit more beautiful. The wonderful colours of spring have scattered themselves on the trees all over the city.
Spring is well on its way here. With colourful flowering trees abound and joyful birds singing their praises of the warm spring days. I am sitting on my covered balcony and the view is nothing spectacular but it is a fresh green one. Below me are freshly planted gardens and scattered are various trees, ivy and shrubs. I have 3 cute flowering succulents hanging off of my balcony – I just love how plants are so lush in this ancient city. I am glad to be back here.
I stated the language class and am really enjoying it and the people I have met are great –most of them are women.
Until next time…

Returning to Bella Italia

It seems surreal to me. Here I am on the plane to Italy and it hasn’t really hit me that I am returning there. I know I will be so happy to return to the comfort of Tuscany.
I am excited to eat the large Italian pears and big, juicy, green muscat grapes (they taste like a combo of peaches and grapes…oh yum). My tongue can’t wait to take pleasure in the 2 bottles of wine I left behind telling my friend Marco, “Save these for me if I ever return!” (I hope he did ;). My eyes are waiting in anticipation to see what exquisite piece of clothing the fine people at Versace have placed in their Florentine store window. And I can’t wait to try it on – hoping that I’ll love it this time.
No, I don’t have money to be going on this trip – never mind buying something Versace. This trip is just something that I wanted to do – a personal development sort of thing - and I thank God that I am doing what I want to do despite how strange it might seem to most people.
I was talking with the gentleman beside me on the plane and he told me the story of his friend who built coffins. His friend was standing at the kitchen sink, large glass of whiskey in his hand and the gentleman asked, "What are you doing to yourself you are drinking away your family's fortunes!"
He replied, " You know I was just thinking, I never built a coffin with any pockets – no one has ever wanted to take anything with them!"
The Gentleman told me in the end, when you are in a nursing home all of your life contents fit into one shelf in a small room. It doesn't matter if you tried to keep up with the Jones'.

I think the fact that I was unpacking clothes out of 3 different suitcases (from my move to the farm) and packing them into one suitcase for this trip had me feeling like I hadn’t unpacked from the last trip yet.
But alas, I am on my way to a wonderful four months under the Tuscan sun and in Tuscan kitchens. This trip is what I would consider ideal: Getting into the heart of the lives of Italian people. Other than seeing the beautiful history of a country I truly enjoy meeting and interacting with the country’s people – ok maybe not to the extent of some of my last interactions :)
This trip takes me to the romantic river city of Florence for 2 weeks of language school. I am staying in accommodation close to where I stayed with the nuns the last time which is a nice part of the city.
I am then on my way to the TINY village of Castelnuovo del’Abate where I will ‘work’ at a locanda (restaurant and hotel) for room and board! I frequented this lovely little restaurant, located near the Abbey of Sant’Antimo (where Gregorian monks perform chants), twice the last time I was there. They make the BEST ribolitta soup. I asked for the recipe but from what I understood the recipe was too long to write out. I was thinking yeah right, they probably just don’t want to give me the recipe...some secret or something. So I wrote them a letter asking if I could come to work there to learn to make the soup and they said yes! BUT Lorenzo, owner of the locanda, said the recipe is secret but he thinks I should be able to get close enough to learn the recipe and he informed me there is a fire oven for making pizzas. Maybe I’ll be throwing pizza dough like a pro by the end of this? How great would that be?
After improving *I hope* my rotten cooking skills, I am off to the rolling hills of the Pienza area of the Val D’Orcia. This time I hope the clay hills will be covered with wheat and who knows, maybe I’ll see the ghost of Russell Crowe the Gladiator walking thought that wheat field. Podere il Casale an organic farm. Here I hope to be perfecting the craft of making cheese – Pecorino cheese to be exact. This beautiful farm makes a lot of other products like pasta from various types of flours including chestnut, jams, cheeses and I will see what else. I am staying in a small trailer and I hope it’s a trailer overlooking the valley.
My 4 month I do not have allotted to anywhere yet but I am hoping it is a hotel in Positano on the Amalfi Coast.
I think this will be my most educational trip yet!

Setting:


It is getting dark. White lights twinkling on old lamppost's. A mist hangs in the air and gently covers the many domes of St. Mark's Basilica and the old clock tower. People are strolling along the waterside snuggled in their cozy winter coats and hats. Some are briskly walking home after a days work. The bells of St Mark begin to ring and a flock of pigeons flies up off of the square...


This is the setting I have been seeing nightly as I am now in Venice! It is VERY beautiful. Just as magical as everyone told me it would be!! I have been here now for 4 days but was only planning to spend 3 days after listening to backpackers tell me that you can see Venice in 1 day. PSHAW i say to that! With so many places to get lost in how could a person spend only one day in Venice?



I must say that arriving here was surely a breath of fresh air - literally! AS there are no cars here the silence, and smells of cold air and water are a delight to the senses. A welcome treat from the honking horns, exhaust and loud motors of Palermo.

Ahhhhhhh....Palermo.

So there is one more story from Sicily.

You know...sometimes it's the journey not the destination?

Being a tired sightseer and kinda bored of museums and ruins, I decided to take the advice of the guy on the bus and I went to where they make the best canolli! Piana degli Albanese - a one hour bus ride out of Palermo.

As the bus system is impossible to figure out in Palermo i resorted to asking a bus driver where the necessary bus was. He told me to meet him back in 1 hour and he'd take me to the right place.

Upon arriving he walked me to the right bus stop and asked a lady if she would take the responsibility of getting me to the right place. She agreed. Yay!

She (I think her name is something like Tiziana) asked if I was French or German to which i replied, "No I'm Canadian and I want to go to Piana degli Albanese to eat the best canollo. Are they good there?" She replied, "Yes of course but the BEST place is closed today but there is another place that is open that you can go to - they are also good there."

This other lady asks her (Tiziana) , "Is she American?"

"No she's Canadian and she is going to Piana degli Albanese to eat a canollo."

I don't know if they were proud of that fact or thought it to be strange.

She kept repeating that make sure I follow her on the bus and sit with her and when the bus arrived she hurried on yelling back at me to get on and sit next to her.

As we drove she pointed out the sights and people got on and off the bus greeting the driver, "Ciao Gianfilippo!"

We arrived at the destination and she decided to drive me to the bar in her car which was parked at the bus stop. How nice!

Upon entering she announced to the bartender, " Here is a girl from Canada and she came here to eat a canollo!" The bartender then pointed me out to some of the patrons as they entered for their afternoon snack. Wow...they mustn't get that many tourists here....

The canollo was VERY fresh - they filled the flaky pastry tube with the freshest ricotta cheese right before i ate it. What a delight! Buuuuuuttttttt.... i do like when the pastry is lined with dark chocolate it's a nice contrast to the sweet ricotta.

I took a walk around the small windy town and came upon an old sweet woman...not too many teeth. We talked and i understood barely anything as they speak a whole new language in that part of the world but she was sweet.

I returned to the bar for a glass of wine before I was to catch the bus at 4:30. I was reading when the bartender said at 4:15, "Signorina the bus". I shot up and ran out into the rain to a bus stop and the bus came right away and I hopped on. I bit into a piece of marzipan (popular in Sicily) and we arrived at the stop i got off at when we arrived.
The bus driver walked up to me and asked where i was going to.
I told him Palermo and he informed me that the last bus left at 4 pm and there were no more buses until tomorrow and no way back to Palermo tonight. I put my head in my hands and just said, " oh no"
I phoned the Hostel where i was booked - they had a car and we were only 30 km out of Palermo. But they told me to stay at a hotel where i was. NICE.
The bus driver (Gianfilippo) said there are no hotels in the area.
He told me not to worry as we drove to another town to drop off a little girl. He made a few phone calls to his aunt the English teacher to see what to do.
Apparently there was a B&B or GF's dad might be coming in for the evening shift to Palermo.
I was willing to stay at the B&B when Gianfilippo parked the bus and said he'll drive me to Palermo in his personal car.
WOW.
Well in true Italian style when we arrived in Palermo he took me for 2 glasses of the best wine i have had in Italy. Of course local Sicilian.
I was willing to walk from the theater close to the hostel but he insisted on driving em to the door which meant he had to drive backwards because the street was a one way. My knight in shining armor!!

Now to discover the rest of Venice....

Change of Heart

OK, so i have changed my mind. It is amazing what a little bit of education and a day of sun can do for a persons mentality.


Talking with locals I have come to realise that yes, Sicily IS different and there is a lot to admire about the people, landscape and culture. First and foremost, people here consider themself Siciliano above Italiano . With that they like to speak Sicilian and some don't even speak Italian - like the man trying to tell me something at the bus stop. I felt so loooost.

There is a great mix of people here after learning of the many different cultures that Sicily formed from and the many invasions that took place within her borders.

And of course there's the mafia...did u know that the safest places are usually the ones with the hightest mafia control? They like to keep their 'regions' in order and quiet so as not to draw attention to any business happening. I think I have experienced 2 mafia 'conventions'.

One happened about 5 pm as i walked into one of the churches. Granted this church didnt look so spectacular from the outside that you'd almost miss it. I walked in to 2 men conversing in the pews. The thing is, i really scared them cos one nearly fell off the pew he turned around so quickly. Now i guess in all reality, maybe one was telling the other of his affair he was having with the local hairdresser and maybe he thought i was his wife or the priest. HE actually scared me - because he was so scared i figured i might be at the wrong place at the wrong time so i said a quick prayer to save me from being at the wrong place at the wrong time and quickly exited.

Then there was the one at the local archeological park. It was the first SUNNY WARM DAY in FOREVER. I entered atop the Greek Theatre to picnic on the grass and get some sun on my retinas to rid myself of 'SAD'. To my left two men were standing close and conversing, then the chipmunk like voice from a taperecorder being rewound is heard. Then I hear the deep voice of a man talking through the speakers...'oooooh what godfatherly-like things are goin on?' I wonder.

Apparentely my genereation of Italians are strong anti-mafia. I had the whole story from the memeber of an anti-mafia group on my bus ride - there are some interesting stories out there.

I seemed to have gained quite the hobby - shopping. Here in Italy there are not so many big box stores. So clothes are usually varried in the stores.

WHile en route from a small fishing village I met what I thought was a nice 'farm boy' . He repaired tractors with his family run business. New Holland is number 1 followed by Case and last John Deere. He took me for a drive around the sea and then we parked for a swig of his home made limoncello then he drove me home. However my phone fell out of my pocket in his car. I didn't realise this until i was ready to set the alarm on it for the morning. I tried phoning him in the morning hoping i could get it before i left for Palermo - 2 hours away. I was unlucky. Santo (from the hostel in Palermo) called this 'farm boy' in the evening to get him to send it on the bus the floowoing morning. The 'farm boy' refused saying he would not give it and that i had to go back to Catania to have dinner with him and he'd give it. I couldn't believe he was holding my cell ransom like that! After much panoic and a treatening phone call to him i received the phone. With a 'love letter' attacyhed. How sweet - blach!

Still a few more days here on the isle of Sicilia - ciao!

What is 'it' that I donìt like?

I must say that I am having a difficult time deciding whether i like Sicily or not. I mean it is very different from the mainland but i can't really put my finger on what it is that is so different and unsettling. For some reason I kind of feel out of place and it might be that it is because it is so quiet here. I came from the touristy Rome to quiet Sicily where there aren't many people here. Tourist season is officially over.

The architecture style is a lot more baroque and arabic. The people here have a different look- i am not sure what the mix is - looks like MAYBE Italian, Arabic and something? This is as much difference i can really pick out. And ok the fact that some areas look a little run down.

Other news: Ricky martin has a big single over here - a duet with an Italian. Ricky is still hot looks a little more buff and has a nice tattoo on his arm i never knew he had. Avril Lavigne is very popular here too - if u think that our radios overplay songs you should see here! Some other english song by I think a man named Cherry Ghost(?), 'People Help the People' is very popular and i love this song.

I think I bought some Sicilian hats from the mafia last night. You know, 2 older guys in suits in a hat shop...another younger one (in training) comes in to hang out and tell me which hat looks nice with my eyes...4 more are congregated at the door when I leave. If I only had a picture. I like the hats though!

Well time to go check something out in this town famous for their chocolate. Unfortunately the choco is horrible - just sugar and cocoa! Wheres the butter and milk i say!?!

A presto!

Mafioso??

I was looking forward to arriving to the beautiful Sicilian blue skys....but alas the rain is here too. And when it rains it pours - not even my umbrella was keeping the rain off of my head and the bottom of my CAPRIS are soaked! Hmm... guess it was a good thing i was late this morning and missed the bus to volcano Mt Etna!
I am in the charming Sicilian town of Taormina - where the scent of jasmine fills the air. It truly is lovely. Of course as in the costal area of Amalfi, there are the flowering plants everywhere - quite the contrast from the frozen impatiens of Rome. The streets are a lot quieter than busy Rome and the people very friendly.
Unlike home, a lot of places-shops are closed here on sundays. Not so fun if you are a tourist or dont have a tv to rent a movie on a rainy sunday. But apparently there is a movie theater open today. I must ask a lot of people about this because i am having a difficult time getting the same answers from people!! This makes planning my days here VERY difficult. Oh well...
I will go back to the hostel for now and read my new purchase of a Greek Mythology book.
Last night i walked around the medieval streels of Taormina and it is very charming in the evening - It gets dark at 5:45 - with the fountains and building glowing in a soft white light and the savoury smells wafting onto the streets from the Sicilian restaurants . So far, i feel quite safe here. Not the feelings I sometimes felt in Naples when I saw groups of men gathered at a restaurant, sunglasses on...i could just imagine all 0f the 'Godfather' like things they were planning. Haha...
But this is only one night so far. Apparently i am close to the town wehere they filmed 'The Godfather' so that has been added to my itinerary to visit. Apparently its easy to visit on a Vespa!! Hopefully i will rent one if the weather holds up.....

Logistically Impaired

As it is raining again i find myself in the 'internet point' with some time on my hands.
I am currently in Rome just back from a 4 day trip to Modena.
Modena is in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy- famous for their traditional balsamic vinegar, Parmesan cheese and home of Ferrari. In my opinion, this seems to be the best region for food and finally good bread (meaning that it isn't dry or stale )!!!
The gastronomic specialties in the area are the tortelloni which are big tortellini filled with squash and topped with the wonderful parmesan cheese refferred to as 'grana' and drizzled with thick syrupy balsamic vinegar. Of course there are the small tortellini - filled with meat or sometimes ricotta cheese and spinach in a cream sauce or in broth. Hmm...something new i didn't know would be a 'local' food were tigelle. A basket of small disk shaped breads that look like small pancakes arrive warm to your table. They are accompanied by various meats - salami, prosciutto and chicken. You then slice the 'pancake' and fill it with the various meats to make a sandwich of sorts. Not something i would expect to see at a supper table but they were good. Different grilled meats are on the menu as well.
So, balsamic vinegar here is a lot different than what we know back in Canada. Of course for those that use it, it is a thin liquid much like a vinegar is. Here in Modena they are famous for the 'aceto balsamico tradizionale' the balsamic vinegar made in the traditional way with only Lambrusco or Trebbiano varieties of grapes.
Like many Italian specialties that fall under strict rules and regulations to be named a certain product like: Brunello di Montalcino wine and the olive oils, aceto balsamico tradizionale di Modena falls under these regulations as well. We got a great tour from the owner of a balsamic 'farm' who explained the process wonderfully. Did you know that the vinegar ages for a minimum of 12 years? The end product is a wonderful thicker, sweeter vinegar than the one used for salads. You are able to use the vinegar on anything from cheeses to meats and fruit. Wonderful!
This region is very industrial and is the region for tile. We looked in one shop and the tiles they produce are gorgeous!! The patterns and designs would cost a fortune to furnish a bathroom at home I am sure. But unique!!
Before i arrived in E.R. i had spent some time in Roma - around every corner there seems to be something to look at ...some ruin, church amazing fountains! It is a beautiful city although it is crowded. I loved the Colosseum and the church of Gesù - one of the most elaborately decorated churches. Today Brian and i were to go to the Vatican but due to the All Saints Day holiday it is closed. :( So i will visit tomorrow myself as Brian leaves tonight.
Before i arrived for the 2 week stint in Rome I was swimming the Amalfi Coast. Ok not literally but wow do they have GORGEOUS waters! The atmosphere was sooooo charming!! So get this, my first morning there I was walking from my B&B to the town of Postianto. It is about a 15 minute walk down the winding road. All of a sudden a vespa stops and the man asks if i want a ride into town!! WOW!! I think, 'just like in the movies'! This is my Under the Tuscan Sun moment. Made me very happy. I spent the week checking out the area flowering trees, beautiful hills and gorgeous sea side towns. Of course this week wasn't without trying to ward off men. One older man presented me with 6 chocolate bars and 2 bags of cookies and asked if i would sleep with him. WARNING: southern Italians should do not normally greet kiss you any different than any other Italian - meaning that they should stick to the two on the cheeks and not throw one on the lips at the end. Stuff i need to learn the hard way...
Sorrento was next on the list where I was able to squish grapes in bare feet!! This was due to the wonderful grape festival in Priora. Typical - white lights strung all over the street, traditional songs being sung and there was a great cake contest to top it all off.
Well off to Sicily in 2 days. I need some sun as i am feeling the effects of SAD. Its the rain....
Ciao for now!