Our town is somewhat off the beaten path. OK, let’s be honest, it’s quite a bit out of the way. Most visitors to Italy pass through Rome, Florence, Venice, or the Amalfi Coast, not even coming close to where we are, but, every once in a while we do get some American visitors here in [...]
Posts from ‘May, 2007’
La Serenata
La Serenata (serenade) is still done here in town before a wedding. Typically, the groom shows up one evening before the wedding with some friends (at least one of whom plays the accordion) and they all sing the traditional songs. A ladder is propped up against the house and the groom climbs up it to [...]
Fava Beans – but no Chianti
Not being a big Hannibal Lecter fan, I don’t remember the exact quote, but I do know there was something to do with fava beans and Chianti. Whatever the case, we eat the favas, but certainly not whatever else was on creepy old Hannibal’s menu. Favas are a spring favorite here. We plant them, buy [...]
Puppy Love
I admit it I’m a sucker for animals – especially dogs. We’ve got a few strays here in town and I keep buying food for them at the supermarket. O says pretty soon I’ll be feeding every stray in town, but he just shakes his head, smiles, and we buy the food anyway. First there’s [...]
Something fishy
I’ve always loved to cook and being here is like a cooks paradise. There are always good ingredients available – fresh vegetables, meat, fish, etc. In fact, on Friday, the mobile fish vendor comes. He sets up shop in a small room in the castle with an outside entrance and sells all sorts of fresh [...]
Beans, beans, the musical fruit
Last night was the new moon, so we were able to plant seeds in the garden. And boy did we plant….. Hot peppers, cucumbers, tortarelli, brussel sprouts, spinach, salad, pumpkins, zucchini, and beans, and beans, and beans. By the way, did I mention we planted beans? 3+ rows of beans we planted! 4 different [...]
The Tower
I can’t explain the fascination I have for this tower. From the very first time I came here, I’ve just been drawn to it for some reason. Tribal memory perhaps, who knows… All I know is that I had this compulsion to take photos of it. I don’t know how many I took of it [...]
Red, Ripe, Juicy Tomatoes
It’s amazing to me that you can’t find a good tomato in the US unless you grow it yourself. Just take a look at these beauties. Don’t they just make your mouth water? Guess where I got them….at the supermarket. I know, it’s hard to believe. I paid 2 euros a kilo (about 91 cents [...]
By the light of the moon
Since moving here to Italy I’ve been immersed in the world of planting and harvesting. We plant a garden every year. And, when I say a garden, I’m not talking about 3 or 4 tomato plants and a couple of peppers, etc. This year we planted about 70 various types of tomato plants, 50 eggplant, [...]
On the road again: Almost
Since February I’ve been experiencing an important part of every teenage italian’s life: scuola guida. The fact that I’m not a teenager is irrelevant, I still have to go to scuola guida. Now, why would a (non-teenage) person who already has a drivers license be going to driver’s school? Well, unfortunately, an American license cannot [...]
