Sure, Park There! (A photo anthology)

Ciao Readers!

In light of the upcoming election in the U.S., I had two choices – write about the surreal experience of voting and watching the election from abroad (for the second time; in 2008 we were in France), or post a total “fluff” piece. As any good party host knows, you should always stay away from politics and religion, so I chose the latter!

In Friday’s blog I made the following statement: “…we have learned that street signs, signals, barriers, etc. don’t mean much here (one day I’ll have to post a photo of the cars parked all over the street downstairs).” Right after I wrote that, I thought “good idea,” and leaned out a window with a camera. I also shot a few pictures of cars parked in and around Piazza Beccaria (the end of the main street in the neighborhood). The thing to keep in mind as you see the photos of cars literally parked in the street, behind other cars, and in front of clearly marked “no parking” signs is that it took NO effort to take these photos – I didn’t have to wait for the shots – this is how people park ALL THE TIME.

Happy Election!

7 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on November 5, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Culture Shock, Italy, here we come!

Tagged culture shock, italian culture, parking in Italy

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on November 5, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/11/05/sure-park-there-a-photo-anthology/

Lunch & “Spontaneous” Art

Ciao Readers!

So, when we first arrived here we had lunch at our local osteria – Cocotrippone; I mentioned that I didn’t take photos as it was the first time we were eating there and I knew we’d be back. This is a real “mom & pop” place – simple tuscan food (complete with tripe and rabbit if ya want it) at affordable prices, with a complete staff of 2 (the husband does the cooking while the wife does everything else). We decided to go back a couple of Sundays ago.

I love eating outside in Italy (and everywhere, really) – somehow it makes it even more of an “event” to me and I can spend all afternoon people watching and relaxing. The weird thing was, the entire street on which Cocotrippone sits was blocked off and deserted (notice the street behind Steve in the picture), as were several other streets in the neighborhood. We couldn’t figure out what was going on – maybe Sunday street cleaning? In any case, while it cut down on the people-watching factor, it was really nice to have some quiet for a change (neither of us has ever lived in the middle of a city and still haven’t adjusted to the constant level of noise). I ordered the same bruschetta with fagioli and lardo I described last time (but this time you get to see photos!). I had a simple but yummy salad with that and Steve had the fresh pasta with radicchio and bacon (pictured below).

While we were eating, someone moved the street barrier and drove their vehicle into the street and parked – at first we thought nothing of it as we have learned that street signs, signals, barriers, etc. don’t mean much here (one day I’ll have to post a photo of the cars parked all over the street downstairs). But it kept happening. Finally, we saw the reason – the folks who parked started taking out easels and tables and ART from their vehicles – they were setting up for an art festival! We hadn’t read anything about this and were totally surprised. By the time we finished our lunch, the deserted streets had turned into a HUGE crowd (pictured below). In addition to folks selling art, they had rolls of paper on the ground on which kids could draw – pretty cool! (A few photos, below). As I have mentioned before, at times (times you are not in line at a government office) Italy does feel like one ongoing festival… I wonder what will pop up this weekend…

5 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on November 2, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Art, Food, Italy, here we come!

Tagged art festival, bruschetta with fagioli and lardo, Cocotrippone, Festivals in Italy, italian food, tuscan food

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on November 2, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/11/02/lunch-spontaneous-art/

Foodie Heaven! (Mercato Centrale)

Ciao Readers! (and Happy Halloween!) (and Happy Birthday Henry!)

Wow – I just got back from a trip across town to Mercato Central (the central market) – wow! I can’t believe we’ve been here almost 3 months and I just “discovered” this (well-known) gem!

So here’s the scoop – in my effort to not be a tourist in my adopted home, I have been going to Sant’ Ambrogio market (which I have blogged about). It is the “real” market for locals – and don’t get me wrong, it’s great and where we get most of our fruits and vegetables. The Mercato Centrale, from what I had read, is where the tourists go (it’s right by the big outdoor leather market in the center of town) – so up until today I avoided it like the plaque. Big mistake! While some of the food is obviously geared towards tourists (fancy bags of multi-colored pastas at equally fancy prices), the market is a foodie dream and has lots of “normal” amazing food on offer. (And, compared to the usual “tourists,” the venders thought my Italian was “benissimo.”)

I actually went in search of yet another weird ingredient to replicate comfort foods (dried cranberries [for granola], which I found in the dried fruit stall pictured), but ended up discovering an entire new food-shopping haven (as an aside – I often write several posts on days when inspiration hits me – I wrote this one before I read the articles about culture shock – no more wild goose chases for now!). Not only are there all of the beautiful prepared foods pictured below, there are numerous fresh-looking meat and fish stalls. I had kinda given up hope finding any foodie markets as cool as the ones in Bologna, until today! YAY!

Bon appetit!

9 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on October 31, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Food

Tagged central market florence, food, food markets, foodie, markets in italy, Mercato Centrale

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on October 31, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/10/31/foodie-heaven-mercato-centrale/

10,000 Views (from 61+ countries)!

Ciao Readers!

Today I am being totally self-indulgent (like a blog focused on me and my adventures isn’t self-indulgent enough already). This past week my blog past 10,000 all time views! How cool is that?!?! To be fair, “views” do not equate with visitors, let alone different visitors; “views” refers to how many times people click on pages, etc. on my blog – so for instance, if you have clicked through on half of the e-mail notifications you have received to individual posts, then clicked on more pages while you were visiting, you alone may be 100+ of those 10,000 views. Some people land on my blog totally by accident – interestingly, the most popular search terms that get people here are things having to do with scarves – “why do Italians wear scarves” or “how to wear a scarf like an Italian.”

In addition to being tickled at the number of views (and by the way – THANK YOU ALL!!!), I am really tickled by how far my blog has traveled (way further than I have). I think it’s cool, so I am sharing with you the country views report, below (fyi WordPress, Puerto Rico is actually a commonwealth). Thanks for coming along for the ride and please stick around for the next 10,000!

Country	Views
United States	6,912
Italy	1,218
United Kingdom	810
Australia	312
Sri Lanka	145
Canada	93
Germany	89
Spain	69
Denmark	39
New Zealand	31
Japan	28
Singapore	20
India	16
France	12
Belgium	9
Slovenia	8
Philippines	8
Croatia	8
Finland	7
Greece	7
Turkey	7
Switzerland	6
Egypt	6
Serbia	6
Brazil	5
Malaysia	5
Republic of Korea	5
Russian Federation	4
Indonesia	4
Lithuania	4
Mexico	4
Netherlands	3
Bulgaria	3
Portugal	3
Saudi Arabia	3
Czech Republic	3
South Africa	3
Thailand	3
Hungary	2
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2
Austria	2
Sweden	2
Poland	2
Taiwan	2
Ecuador	2
Puerto Rico	2
Pakistan	2
Israel	2
Hong Kong	1
Montenegro	1
United Arab Emirates	1
Lao People’s Democratic Republic	1
Estonia	1
Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic	1
Ireland	1
Syrian Arab Republic	1
Mauritius	1
Tunisia	1
Romania	1
Libya	1
Peru	1
Chile	1

6 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on October 29, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Italy, here we come!

Tagged blog views, blogging, wordpress

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on October 29, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/10/29/10000-views-2/

Texbook Case of “Culture Shock”

Ciao Readers!

So here I’ve been – thinking I am so unique and special and all that jazz. I have witty observations about my new country and I go on wild quests to find ingredients to make comfort foods (or to join non-existent organizations). I blog about it for your entertainment (and my need to vent). And, unbeknownst to me, all this time I have just been experiencing a textbook case of culture shock. Not even a scientific-journal worthy case, just a normal ol’ case. There are like umpteen million articles out there on this, but I had never read one until today.

Apparently there are 5 stages of culture shock. Depending on the source, some of the stages vary a bit. However they all have the same first stage – the “honeymoon” phase. Now, all I have to do is look back at my own blog and my adoration of the food and the culture when we first arrived to recognize that phase.

Phase two, depending on the source, is either “rejection” or “distress.” This is where you feel isolated and start getting seriously annoyed by and judging your new culture (descriptions of trips to the post office, anyone?). I think I am still partially in this phase (I’ve been grumpier than I let on as I realize no one likes a grumpy blog) – but now that I know I am just reacting “normally” I don’t feel quite as badly (though being “normal” has never really been appealing to me….). Phase three involves regression – such as seeking out food or t.v. shows from home (am I really that predicable?!?!). We don’t even need to discuss if I’m in this phase (yesterday I spent about 5 hours searching for ingredients and then making California sushi rolls; we already know I caved and got internet access to t.v. from the States)! It’s weird having yourself described to a tee – especially by some list of common stages. While having my uniqueness myth dispelled isn’t fun, I do appreciate one theme in all of the articles – “IT WILL PASS.” And that’s a relief – because I was starting to wonder about whether I will ever adjust (and also because the lame sushi rolls were nowhere near worth the effort I put into them). Hopefully, I will soon move on to stage 4:

Stage 4 has many variations – “recovery,” “acceptance,” “emergence,” “assimilation” (I like this one – it has a Borg ring to it), and so on. The main point is that you are adapting and feeling okay about being in your new culture. I’m glad to hear that that stage is next because the thought of packing everything and 2 cats back up and heading “home” sounds ridiculous (and tiring!). I’ll worry about stage 5 (reverse culture shock) some other time.

But, have no fear readers, I am sure just enough of stages 2 and 3 will hang around that I will never run out of witty (i.e. smart-aleky) observations about which to blog!

Delicious dinner or cry for help?:

7 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on October 26, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Culture Shock, Italy, here we come!

Tagged 5 stages of culture shock, adapting to a new culture, culture shock, sushi

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on October 26, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/10/26/texbook-case-of-culture-shock/

A Trip to Bologna

Ciao Readers!

As you may recall, I spent this past Spring in Bologna studying Italian and traveling to Florence via train to apartment-hunt. While there I met a lovely couple from New York, pictured below (the husband was in my Italian class). Not only do I have them to thank for looking out for me while I was in Bologna, but for turning me on to blogging with their own blog (here). They had the good fortune of being able to travel back to Bologna recently (after a stay in France) and Steve and I went to Bologna to meet up with them (and eat, of course!).

Now, for those of you who thought the pictures of food in my “A day by the Sea” post looked good – truth be told the seafood, pictured below, from Michelemma leaves that lunch in the dust. This was a restaurant I had eaten at with one of my Italian teachers and it is fantastic! I had the appetizer of various raw/pickled seafood as well as the rissotto (photos below, though I had already eaten some of the appetizer!). Steve devoured his salmon pasta before I had the sense to take a photo. I also missed the opportunity to photograph his whole branzino before the waiter expertly de-boned it for him (pictured covered with tomatoes). All in all, it was a lovely lunch with wonderful company and delicious food.

After lunch I was STUFFED. But….everyone insisted that our day was not complete until we took a trip to our mutual favorite gelateria – La Sorbetteria! (yes, of course I was not going to pass up gelato, I just thought I’d wait a few hours as our return train didn’t leave until 9:00 p.m.). Below is a photo of my gelato – chocolate and “dolce di ‘mu'” (dolche de leche).

I also accomplished 2 more things while in Bologna (not that visiting, eating and drinking are “accomplishments”). First, I have been trying to let my hair grow out. But, as those of you who have known me for a while know, I usually give up every time I try (how is it I can change my home, my country, my language – EVERYTHING – except my hairstyle?!?). So, when we walked by a cool-looking hair salon I thought “what the heck” and got my hair cut. (Luckily, this was not a repeat of my experience in Barcelona a few years back where I ended up with a complete army-style buzz-cut, and I now look like me again.) It also dawned on me that pharmacists can prescribe medicine and instead of having to wait until Monday to see a doctor about one of my eyes (which had been red for days), we popped into a pharmacy, the pharmacist asked me a few questions, prescribed some antibiotic drops, and voila – the next day it looked much better! I finally found something easier and cheaper in Italy – dealing with minor ailments!

We ended the trip with a stroll around town to see Bologna’s (more “modern”) version of a Neptune statue as well as to admire the shops on the foodie street (pictured below). After a quick 37 minute train ride we were back…into the throngs of tourists in Florence…

A: Huevos Rancheros, Faux Pho & Chocolate Chip Cookies

Q: What are three things I made last week?

Ciao Readers! After my unsuccessful attempts to do something productive, I thought I’d get back to something I know – cooking! While we have been enjoying all of the wonderful Italian food here, I like the challenge of trying to “recreate” familiar dishes. So, I set about making huevos rancheros, pho and chocolate chip cookies (not all in one day mind you).

In all fairness, I cheated a bit on the huevos rancheros (pictured in first row) as the New Mexican-made tortillas and green chile sauce arrived in a care package from my folks (thanks!). The cheddar cheese came from Pegna, and of course potatoes and eggs are no problem. They were missing the taste of freshly roasted green chiles (as opposed to jarred sauce), but they were pretty darn close!

I also made what I am calling “faux pho” – real pho being our favorite Vietnamese dish we would get back at May Cafe in Albuquerque. I actually managed to create this dish (rows 2 into 3) entirely from ingredients sourced here (or grown on our roof terrace). I got the pho paste and noodles (though I picked the wrong kind and these absorbed ALL the soup liquid) at Vivi Market, the small hot chili (was like a cross between a serrano and a jalapeno) and the Sriracha sauce from the lady at Sant’ Ambrogio market, and (surprisingly enough) accidentally came across the bean sprouts at Conad. It definitely didn’t taste like the “real” thing, but was spicy and yummy nonetheless.

The most spot-on thing I made was chocolate chip cookies (balance of row 3, duh!). Again, I cheated a bit with chips sent from home, though I have since seen a variety in the stores here. The rest of the baking ingredients were sourced from various places (and I apologize for the atrocious photo on the vanilla extract, but this is THE only vanilla extract I could find and it took some hunting). I wasn’t sure what kind of flour to buy and I had to play with ratios (and use walnuts as there are no pecans here, which I usually use), but they came out PERFECT. They were yummy and delicious and warm and crispy but gooey and all the things chocolate chip cookies should be. I was so proud I wanted to share, so Steve brought some downstairs to the guy who owns the Rosticceria (he’s always so nice and rounds down, so I wanted to say “thanks”). When I passed by the next day he went on and on about how delicious they were; I asked him if he had ever had them or knew what they were and he hadn’t/didn’t. Interesting to think that a regular ol’ chocolate chip cookie can be an exotic treat!

Next time we talk food….seafood and gelato in Bologna, then an Italian meal in at our neighborhood Osteria Cocotrippone (complete with photos)… Bon Appetit!