Seriously, MORE Festivals?!?! (yes, but this time there’s cheddar!)

It’s hard to believe this is the second holiday season since we returned from Florence. Now that the newness of being home has worn off a bit, the rose-colored remembrance phase has set in. Florence truly was a wonderful place to be during the holidays – the lights, the festivals, the food…. This blog post reminds me of that unique mix of excitement for Florence and longing for home that is still palpable as I read it. Happy Holidays to all!!!

New Mexico to Italy

Ciao Readers!

Okay, if you’re tired of hearing about all of the festivals here, this is not the post for you. Then again, if you’re a festival junkie like me, read on…

It’s almost hard for me to believe how many festivals there are here in Florence. I think I’ve just decided that festivals are a part of everyday life – like little food markets, the passeggiata and cappuccinos (and, “purtroppo,” the post office). Seriously, I can’t remember a weekend in the past several months where there wasn’t at least one festival or festival-like happening. And now that it’s the holiday season…well, you can do the math!

This past week marked the start of the German Christmas Market which runs for about 3 weeks in Piazza Santa Croce (recall this is where the European Food Festival was held). It’s a little like that festival (complete with wurst), but with more…

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InterNations Magazine Article (featuring ME)

Ciao Readers! So, I am trying to write this on an iPad as I am out of town and I can’t actually see what I’ve typed (weird)… So I will make this short…. My friend Bobbi, who I met in Florence through her blog http://www.goal42.wordpress.com, had the idea to write an article about our respective expat experiences, in the form of a series of interviews. She submitted the article to InterNations, an organization that helps expats all over the world (she single-handedly dealt with the editor and all the emails, edits, etc.)….and what do you know, they published our article today!!! Now, fair warning, you will need to subscribe to InterNations to access the article, but when you get the email confirmation with $ choices, just click “no thanks” in the bottom right corner and you’ll be able to access the article (and more) for free! And, yes, we know it’s long – the intent was a 4- part series…. Enjoy!

http://www.internations.org/magazine/conversations-on-day-to-day-expat-living-16220

Balloon Fiesta Fun!

Hola Readers!

It’s been quite a while! As you know, we’re back here in the Land of Enchantment…and one of the most enchanting things about New Mexico (and Albuquerque in particular) is the International Balloon Fiesta! This morning the weather was perfect and there were hundreds of balloons aloft, so I had to share some photos.

For those of you unfamiliar with the festival, hundreds of hot air balloons (many in “special shapes”) from around the world take off every morning from the festival grounds throughout the 9 day event (always the first 2 weekends of October), and then in the evenings stay tethered to the ground while lighting their burners for the “Balloon Glow.” Since the balloons take off at about 7:00 a.m., you have to leave your house very early (we got a late start today – 5:45) and then sit in traffic to park – but once you’re there, there are balloons, food and merriment galore! (I love hearing the excitement in the voices of first-timers – sometimes, like this morning, in several foreign languages.) And, in honor of the gluttonous pleasure of American festivals, yes, that is me eating a giant turkey leg at 9:30 a.m. (YUM)! Enjoy…

11 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on October 6, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Balloon Fiesta, Diversions to Other Places, New Mexico

Tagged Albuquerque, balloon festival, hot air balloons, International Balloon Fiesta, Land of Enchantment, New Mexico

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on October 6, 2013

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2013/10/06/balloon-fiesta-fun/

A Photo-Filled Foodie Farewell to Florence!

Ciao Readers!

Well it has been quite some time! I didn’t think I could leave Florence without one “farewell” post to say goodbye to all of things we have enjoyed about our temporary home. And what better way to end our stay (and my blog) than with a cooking class! Specifically, a hand-made ravioli-making class!

But before we start cooking, a quick update and “goodbye”… Over this past month, we have been trying to enjoy all of the things that drew us here to begin with (in between trips to the post office, the vet, etc.). As the weather has been way too sweat-inducing (much like Hell, it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity) to enjoy the (non-air-conditioned) museums or the gardens, this basically leaves us with…FOOD! We have been going back to all our favorite spots and eating WAY too much – in the form of pizzas and pastas and pastries and bruschetta with fagioli & lardo, and…well, you get the picture! It has also been a time to say “goodbye” to folks we were just getting to know, and to thank those who have helped us during our stay (you know who you are). In an effort to go out on a positive (and delicious) note, we indulged in a one-day cooking class….

We took this class from Food for Friends, which provides small in-home cooking classes (our class was us and two friends from Oslo and London). The “home” is part of a magnificent Palazzo owned by the Chef, Francesca (pictured with Steve, below) and the course is run/translated by her friend Jacqui (originally from England). For our course we made two too-yummy to describe ravioli – a traditional spinach and ricotta with butter and sage sauce and a more modern radicchio and burrata. The class was great fun, especially because Steve put me to shame. After all my boasting to the chef (in Italian, no less) about all of the cooking courses I have taken, my first batch of dough was so rock-like I had to start over! In contrast, Steve’s dough and ravioli were so perfect that Francesca actually put some of his away for herself for dinner! (Lucky for all of us there were only a few of my dense ravioli in the mix). Throughout our cooking session Francesca would whip up little snacks, and there was plenty of prosecco to boot. Overall, a good (and scrumptious) time was had by all! Since there still is no smell or taste-o-vision, you’ll have to make do with the photos (which walk you through both pastas as well as the snacks)…

With these yummy photos from our class, I leave you, Dear Readers, as the Italy chapter of our life comes to a close and the next chapter begins…. It has been a pleasure. Enjoy:

: Steve & Francesca

: dough = egg and flour

: knead and roll the dough

: chop radicchio

: saute leeks

: add radicchio

: fresh buratta cheese

: the fillings for the radicchio ravioli

: gently boil

: use the extra for sauce (plus basil and butter and pine nuts and olive oil)

: the final product – YUM!!!

: spinach and ricotta filling

: make the ravioli

: everyone’s ravioli

: Steve’s ravioli

: butter and sage sauce

: Mangia!

: don’t forget the bubbly

: little fried pizzas

: pickled zucchini

: Lunch!

8 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on July 19, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Food, Italy, here we come!

Tagged cooking class, cooking class in Florence, farewell to Florence, Florence, food for friends, foodie, foodie photos, hand-made pasta, italian food, making ravioli, ravioli

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on July 19, 2013

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2013/07/19/a-photo-filled-foodie-farwell-to-florence/

A Trip to the Italian Emergency Room

Ciao Readers!

Well, as at least one of you predicted, experiences continue to happen that warrant (scream out) to be blogged about. Today was just such an adventure. Lest you worry, everyone is (basically) okay.

You may remember my blog about “The Gaudí House” – a unique looking house not too far from where we live. Well, my parents arrived for a visit two days ago, and today we set out to see the sights. On the way we passed the house, and of course my mom had to take photos. Well, not realizing that the very large dog that lives there is territorial, my mom stuck her camera (and thus her arms) through the front gate (pictured below) to get a better shot. The usually docile (i.e. asleep) dog immediately sprang into defense mode and promptly bit my mom’s arm.

Long story a little bit shorter – no one at the pharmacy minded that we cut in front of everyone in a panic (there was visible blood dripping) while the pharmacist bandaged up my mom’s arm well enough for us to walk to the emergency room. The emergency room was a bit of chaos and I did the best I could in Italian (and also learned the irregular past participle of “bite” – “morso”); they cleaned and bandaged my mom and then sent us to the waiting room to wait for her to get various shots. In the waiting room we met another American with a broken finger (an illegal street vendor pushed her down running from the police) and another American tourist who wasn’t paying attention while walking and fell and broke her leg and ribs. There were many Italians and other foreigners in various degrees of distress – your typical emergency room waiting room, except with more languages. The lady with the broken finger was apparently low on the “emergency” list as we got there several hours after her but got seen before her (she actually took photos of my parents for me on her iPhone, which she’ll e-mail me later). We were all glad for the company to chat with and pass the wait.

In any case, after several hours my mom was seen and I actually had a conversation in Italian with the doctor (or nurse, still not sure) about what shots he was administering, possible side effects, etc. We even joked around (he said that Italy gave my mom a little gift – “regalino”) to bring back. My mom was a trooper, though I had to look away during the shots. We were pretty sure the dog, who we see every day and never leaves the yard, doesn’t have rabies, so the doctor(?) seemed satisfied about that. After we were done it was time for the bill…

Now, how much do you think a trip to the emergency room complete with bandages and shots would be in the U.S.? 500$, 1500$, more? The total bill came to 30 euros (about 39$)(plus another 4 for a prescription I had to pick up at a pharmacy). Pretty impressive, yes? You’re a foreigner with no health insurance and they take care of you and send you on your way for next to pocket change. Funny, I had asked Steve where the hospital was just in case before his mom visited, hoping I would make it till August without ever having to find out how the health care system here is. Well, the best laid plans…but overall, my mom will be okay and feels that she had a “very positive experience” with the healthcare system here. So kudos to Italy where kudos are due!

Until the next (hopefully less blood-pressure-raising) adventure….

10 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on May 2, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Culture Shock, Italy, here we come!

Tagged italian healthcare

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on May 2, 2013

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2013/05/02/a-trip-to-the-italian-emergency-room/

I’m not going out like The Fonz

Ciao Readers! And Happy Birthday Mom!

As some of you may remember (and others of you may have heard about from us elders), when I was a kid there was a very popular t.v. show called “Happy Days” featuring “The Fonz” (or “Fonzie” to his friends). To my 9 year-old self, the super cool Fonzie was all that and a bag of chips – I actually wanted to be The Fonz, mini jeans jacket and all (not leather at age 9). So it is with a sad heart that I acknowledge that The Fonz is the unwitting father of the phrase “jumps the shark,” which Wikipedia defines as “indicating the moment when a brand, design, or creative effort’s evolution loses the essential qualities that initially defined its success and declines, ultimately, into irrelevance.” Just in case you don’t know the actual genesis of the phrase, in an episode in 1977, The Fonz literally jumped a shark (on water-skis). D’oh!

Which brings us to my blog. I think we’ve had a good run, yes? But now I feel like it’s time to end it, before it “devolves into irrelevance,” or “jumps the shark” as the saying goes. I have actually downloaded a ton more pictures and have drafted several more posts, but they just don’t have the same enthusiastic tone as in the past (whether that be enthusiasm for delicious food or for complaining about lines at the post). So, instead of forcing out more blog posts at this point, I think I’ll take a lesson from yet another t.v. character, George Costanza, and walk out on a high note.

I thank you, sincerely, dear Readers, for coming with me on this journey over the past year. I have appreciated your comments, warm wishes, advice and thoughts, and I have enjoyed discovering many of your respective blogs (and getting to meet some of you in person!). If you’d like to keep in touch and don’t already have my e-mail, post a comment and I’ll send you my e-mail (I can see your e-mail address when I get your comment).

(N.B. – For those of you who haven’t had enough, I am still mulling over the idea of turning this blog and other unpublished thoughts into a book, working title “To Italy and Back Again: An Expat’s Tale” ©. And yes, goal42, I am still up for a co-blog post!)

Arrivederci e buona fortuna!!!

12 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on April 29, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Culture Shock

Tagged Blog, culture shock, expats, jumping the shark, leaving Italy, The Fonz, To Italy and Back Again: An Expat's Tale

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on April 29, 2013

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2013/04/29/im-not-going-out-like-the-fonz/

A “Secret” Garden!

Ciao Readers!

Today I am taking you on a outing to the most peaceful place in Florence (which ironically enough is mere yards away from one of the more touristy) – The Rose Garden!

Now a friend of mine who I met here last summer told me about this wonderful place and I am sorry that I waited this long to follow her recommendation. I guess part of me wondered how great can a garden right below the famous Piazzale Michelangelo lookout point be? I mean the view from the piazza is great, but it’s also covered in tourists and hawkers (boxers depicting the bottom half of David anyone?). Well, was I wrong! Just by walking down some stairs off the piazza, you make your way into a beautiful and peaceful (and free!) garden. It seems that from the lack of tourists and tranquil atmosphere that this garden must not be touted in/by many tour guides…

The garden was created in 1865 by Giuseppe Poggi, who also designed the piazzale. In 1998 a small Japanese garden was added through a gift from Florence’s sister-city, Kyoto. I’ve read that there are about 350 varieties of roses in the garden! Unfortunately, the roses at this time are mere buds, so I’ll have to return in a month or so to see/photograph those (all of the green flowerless bushes you see in the photos are full of buds). However, there were plenty of other wonderful plants in full bloom, including the pictured wisteria, as well as many varieties of fruit trees and more. There are also 11 modern art statues by Belgian artist Jean-Michel Folon. And, maybe the best part of all is all of the benches scattered throughout so that you can sit and relax and take in the beautiful scenery and quiet from a variety of vantage points (or, as the man pictured, read a book). Even the neighbors seem to be in the spirit – notice the house literally bathed in flowers you can see from the garden (below). Overall, this garden is a wonderful oasis in a usually chaotic city! Enjoy… (sorry, I always seem to take photos when it’s overcast, and this past week it was actually mostly sunny for a change!)