Christmas lights in Milano - Vittorio Emmanuele

Christmas lights in Milano - Vittorio Emmanuele
Inserito originariamente da caspian_anastacia

Wow! Christmas lights in the beautiful indoor/outdoor mall in downtown Milan.

Albero di Natale

Albero di Natale
Inserito originariamente da Gingio

Un'altro albero di Natale....questa volta a Milano!

Buon Natale * Buon Anno

Buone feste ragazzi!

Ecco una foto dell'albero di Natale a casa nostra quest'anno. E' bello, no?

La foto l'ho scattato poche ore prima della festa che s'era organizzata da noi ieri sera.

Era molto divertente! Come sempre, ho fatto ascoltare ai miei amici musica italiana, compreso il disco di musica tradizionale pugliese che ho comprato durante le ferie. Abbiamo bevuto qualche bottiglia del prosecco di Valdobbiadene, abbiamo mangiato tanto e festeggiavamo fino alle ore piccole -- era davvero bello, ragazzi.

Mi auguro che voi passiate un bel Natale, che Babbo Natale vi dia tanti bei regali, e che possiate mangiare, bere e rilassare alla grande. Quando le feste si finiscono, i stessi problemi che affliggono il nostro pianeta ci saranno li ad aspettarci.

Un abbraccio forte forte soprattutto ai miei cari amici a Firenze!

Natale- P.zza Repubblica - Firenze

[ last day ] - P.zza Repubblica - Florence
Inserito originariamente da CiuPix

Bell'immagine dell'albero in Piazza della Repubblica l'anno scorso.

Ragazzi, com'è Firenze ora? Tutto bello bello per Natale?

Natale in America!

No, non è casa mia, ragazzi! E' una casa che non sta lontana da dove vivo io, quindi si trova in una zona del Pennsylvania, uno degli stati nel nordest degli USA. Guarda come si festeggia Natale in America.

Siamo ossessionati dalla festa di Natale!

Per precisare, non siamo sempre ossessionati dal desiderio di aiutare chi ha di meno o di stare con i nostri cari. Invece a Natale, siamo spesso ossessionati dal consumo e dall'usanza di apparecchiare le nostre case con delle luci e anche figurine dalla Bibbia e dalla storia.

Caro lettore, forse in questo momento ti chiedi: perché si parla ora dell'America quando questo blog si dedica a tutto ciò che ha a che fare con l'Italia? Vabbe': questo blog è anche uno scambio culturale. Ogni tanto inserisco un'argomento solamente per far vedere ai miei amici in Italia come si vive qui in USA (ovvero per fare capire quanto siamo matti!).

Vedete un po' queste foto.



Ecco Maria, Gesù, Babbo Natale e Rodolfo, la piccola renna dal naso rosso.



Il bolletta per la luce? Non se ne parla nemmeno.

Grazie a Jane Therese, la quale ha scattato le foto delle case di notte.

Anch'io sto preparando le cose per le feste. Sto scrivendo i biglietti di auguri per Natale (un'usanza Americana che è ancora molto diffusa) e sabato sera si organizza un cenone da noi per i nostri amici quindi ho anche un sacco di altre cose da fare (tipo: bisogna creare il menu. Mi auguro che Il Nostro Inviato sia in grado di preparare qualche bella pietanza sabato; oggi lui stava un po' maluccio con un raffreddore).

Vi lascio un'ultima immagine.....the Christmas wreath on the front door of my house (ma come si dice? Corona di fiori da Natale? Aiutatemi ragazzi!).



Un abbraccio!

padre_figlio_logu

padre_figlio_logu
Inserito originariamente da logu

Il fotografo ha scritto sotto la foto: 'Padre e figlio, i migliori lampredottai di firenze!'

That means these men are the best tripe vendors in Florence...now there's something you don't see everyday in America!

I saw him again!

I saw Roberto Benigni on television again last night. Just as our faithful reader, Lucy, said, they are broadcasting episodes of his tour TuttoDante now every Thursday night.

As I said last week, this is one of the few times I am enjoying my subscription to the television channel RAI International to the fullest. Seeing him perform in Piazza Santa Croce in Florence, with the square's statue of Dante over his shoulder, is an absolute joy.

Last night's episode showed him reading Canto I of Dante's Inferno. That's one of those cantos that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita, mi ritrovai per una selva oscura....

In the show, first he reads through the canto with explanations. This part is quite funny and takes up the majority of the program. It reminds me of countless discussions I've had with friends in Florence. Why? Because Benigni is the consummate Tuscan man. He has all the characteristic mannerisms and sayings, and of course he's got the Tuscan accent and sense of humor! What a package!

Then at the end he reads the ENTIRE canto from MEMORY. From memory, folks!

And the emotion he feels when he reads Dante is evident in his delivery, his tone, his face.

Era stupendo ragazzi!

Quando guardo queste trasmissioni, penso: quant'è bello conoscere la lingua italiana. How great is it knowing Italian.

I think the same thing when I listen to the aria "Casta Diva" from Bellini's opera, Norma or for that matter, "L'America" di Gianna Nannini.

What an incredible language it is.

"Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate"

DANTE MOMENT OF THE DAY IS BACK!

The last time we enjoyed verses from Dante was July 26. Soon after I went to Puglia and when I came back, all I wanted to talk about was Puglia!

But now that's over. We left off at the end of Canto II in the Inferno. Let's begin Canto III, which contains the immortal words: "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate."

That means: "Abandon all hope ye who enter here." In this Canto, Dante, with his guide Virgil, begins his official descent into the Underworld. Godi!

"Per me si va ne la città dolente,
per me si va ne l'etterno dolore,
per me si va tra la perduta gente.

Giustizia mosse il mio alto fattore;
fecemi la divina podestate,
la somma sapïenza e 'l primo amore.

Dinanzi a me non fuor cose create
se non etterne, e io etterno duro.
Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate."

Queste parole di colore oscuro
vid' ïo scritte al sommo d'una porta;
per ch'io: "Maestro, il senso lor m'è duro."

Ed elli a me, come persona accorta:
"Qui si convien lasciare ogne sospetto;
ogne viltà convien che qui sia morta.

Noi siam venuti al loco ov' i' t'ho detto
che tu vedrai le genti dolorose
c'hanno perduto il ben de l'intelletto."

Dante's Inferno, Canto III, 1-18

(My thanks again to William Johnston who kindly posted all of the cantos of the Divina Commedia on the Web. You can find the link at right in the list of links.)

Ho visto Benigni!

Era una trasmissione dal tour TuttoDante. Ha letto l'ultimo canto del Paradiso in Piazza Santa Croce a Firenze, due passi dall'appartamento dove vivevo con Il Nostro Inviato.

Benigni era favoloso! Ad un certo punto mi sono venute lacrime agli occhi. Quanto mi sarebbe piaciuto esserci!

Mi stava sempre simpatico Benigni ma ora stento di trovare le parole giuste per descriverlo! Era come hai detto, Lucy. La Divina Commedia lui la conosce a memoria!

Poi sapeva spiegare le parole e il significato delle rime! Mi ha insegnato tanto tanto!

Mi sarei dovuta fidarmi della Rai International! Ogni tanto dà qualcosa di straordinario (ad esempio, quando è morto il Papa, l'abbonamento alla Rai mi stava molto comoda.) Ieri sera, c'era qualcosa veramente speciale.

Ilaria: voglio sempre vedere lo spettacolo che hai registrato tu!

Il prosciutto crudo...

prosciutto crudo
Inserito originariamente da sid_napo_orso_capo

...è bello!

Quante uova avete in casa?

Una nonna di 98 anni, è sul letto di morte e fa un'ultima confidenza al marito di 99 anni che è schiacciato dal dispiacere.

- Gerardo, mio piccolo Gegè, prima di chiudere per sempre gli occhi voglio rivelarti un segreto. Vai nel granaio e sulla terza traversa di sinistra troverai un cartone. Và, cercalo.

Il marito sorpreso, sale a fatica nel granaio e dopo 5 minuti ritorna in camera con la scatola. La apre e trova dentro 2 piccole scatole: una contiene 3 uova e l'altra 250.000,00 euro.

Alla vista dei soldi gli occhi si illuminano.
"Dimmi dolcezza, cosa significano le 3 uova?"

"Sai Gegè, da 78 anni che siamo sposati, ogni volta che facendo l'amore io non arrivavo all'orgasmo, mettevo da parte 1 uovo."

Gegè resta soddisfatto nel sapere che in 78 anni di matrimonio ha sbagliato solo 3 volte, e allora domanda, "E i 250,000 euro cosa sono?"

"Beh, ogni volta che raggiungevo 12 uova, le andavo a vendere."

Qual'è il caffe italiano più gustoso?

Sembra che sia Illy, dando un'occhiata ai resultati del sondaggio (sono solo in quattro a dirlo!).


Io ho scelto il caffe Quarta, chiaro!


Ora si fa una pausa perché voi non siete amanti dei sondaggi!

6 in motorino!! RECORD!

cinque su un motorino !!!è un record

Umberto Boccioni at auction: I love him!

Una tela di Umberto Boccioni ha venduto all'asta per 1,8 milioni di euro, il prezzo più alto che è mai stato pagato per le opere.

Boccioni, che fece parte del movimento futurismo, è il pittore italiano che mi piace di più. Forse è per quello che amo Milano, dove alcuni suoi capolavori si possono vedere alla Pinacoteca di Brera.

Ecco il brano dal Corriere della Sera:

MILANO - Una tela del pittore futurista Umberto Boccioni, dal titolo "Studio per footballer" del 1913, ha segnato un record mondiale per l'artista ad un'asta di arte moderna e contemporanea italiana organizzata da Christie's a Milano.

Un collezionista privato, che per il momento ha richiesto l'anonimato, ha pagato il quadro un milione e 866.950 euro, contro una stima di 800 mila euro. Nella stessa asta milanese sono stati registrati altri due record mondiali per altrettanti artisti italiani.

Un quadro di Emilio Vedova, dal titolo "Documento 2 - Aggressività" del 1958, è stato aggiudicato da un collezionista privato per 622.700 euro (la stima oscillava da 250 mila a 350 mila euro). La tela "Settembre nella Mancia" (1960) di Giuseppe Santomaso è stata battuta per 273.915 euro (stima 100-150mila euro) acquistato anche in questo caso da un collezionista privato.

Voi italiani siete così fortunati!

Perché giovedì sera da voi basterà accendere la tivù per vedere Roberto Benigni in diretta. E forse qualcuno di voi l'ha già visto durante il tour TuttoDante. (Non si sa mai quando la Rai International ci farà vederlo qui in USA!)

BEATI VOI!

Ecco il brano dal Corriere della Sera sul programma che va in onda giovedì, compreso la lettera di Benigni agli italiani:

ROMA - Roberto Benigni affronterà giovedì sera su Raiuno, ne Il V Canto dell'Inferno, in onda in diretta alle 20:30 subito dopo il Tg1 temi come l'amore, il sesso e la politica.

L'amore, ovvero «il regalo più bello che ci è cascato addosso», il sesso, «il motore del mondo» e la politica, «da Voltaire a Silvio Berlusconi».

Lo annuncia lo stesso premio Oscar in una lettera in cui dà appuntamento agli italiani. La serata evento - che culminerà nella lettura del canto di Paolo e Francesca - riporterà Benigni in tv dopo il grande successo della trasmissione del 23dicembre 2002, L'ultimo del Paradiso, e dopo il trionfale tour TuttoDante, che ha avuto oltre 100 repliche in 48 città diverse e più di un milione di spettatori.

LA LETTERA AGLI ITALIANI - «Cari Italiani - scrive Benigni - con immensa allegria e col cuore che cinguetta come un fringuello appena nato, il 29 novembre in diretta su Raiuno, staremo un paio d'ore insieme a parlare del regalo più bello che ci è cascato addosso. Dobbiamo capire cos'è l'amore.

Ne tracceremo la storia. Dal primo libro della Genesi, all'ultimo libro di Bruno Vespa, dalla lettera di pace di San Paolo ai Corinzi: "per quante cose io assuma in mio conto se non ho l'amore io non sono nulla", alla lettera di scuse di Berlusconi a sua moglie: '... E dai Verò, stai buona, sò bagattelle...". Dalla rottura della Pace tra Greci e Troiani secondo Omero: "Causa ne fu la Divina femminilità di una Donnà, alla recente rottura della pace tra AN e Forza Italia secondo Vittorio Feltri: "La causa è una sola, problemi di gnocca". Vedremo gli enormi passi avanti fatti dall'Umanità su questo tema».

SESSO, DA CASANOVA A SANDRO BONDI - «Sì - continua l'attore nella lettera agli italiani - parleremo del sesso, il motore del mondo, percorrendolo nei suoi aspetti più estremi. Dalla libidine sfrenata alla totale repressione. Insomma da Casanova a Sandro Bondi.

Parleremo di politica, da Voltaire: «Non sono d'accordo con quello che dici ma sono pronto a morire purchè tu lo dica", a Silvio Berlusconi: "Chi vota a sinistra è un coglione". Parleremo della grandezza dell'Italia cercando di capire che cosa abbiamo fatto di bello per meritarci città come Milano, Firenze, Roma dove sono nati uomini come Manzoni, Michelangelo, Cesare e cosa abbiamo fatto per meritarci città come Arcore, Ceppaloni, Montenero di Bisaccia e... non mi ricordo dove è nato Buttiglione».

L'AMORE DI DANTE - «E poi - conclude Benigni - lasceremo parlare Dante. Ci faremo dire da lui cos'è quella nostalgia dell'infinito, quella ventata di annientamento che ci precipita addosso quando ci si innamora e smantella tutta la nostra vita, quella sensazione felice, pericolosa e rara che unisce sensualità e tenerezza e ci rende immortali. Ce lo faremo dire da lui con parole antiche e commoventi che hanno attraversato i secoli per posarsi sulle nostre labbra. Nulla di solenne, semplicemente la bellezza. A giovedì».

"Gomorra" di Roberto Saviano

Qualcuno ha letto il libro "Gomorra" di Roberto Saviano?

Tratta della Camorra a Napoli. Sembra davvero interessante. C'era un articolo sul libro ieri nel New York Times e nel nuovo numero della rivista saggistica Granta c'è un estratto.

Il Nostro Inviato sta per andare a Caserta; forse mi può comprare una copia. Sennò, c'è sempre Babbo Natale!

Comunque fatti sentire se hai letto "Gomorra." Appare che l'autore ormai non si fa più vivo, almeno a Napoli.

Firenze è...

...la città più bella d'Italia.

L'avete detto voi!

Firenze ha vinto con 7 voti. Al secondo posto, c'era Milano, con solamente 2 voti.

O Firenze è veramente la più bella o la maggior parte dei lettori di Ciambellina sono fiorentini!

Grazie ragazzi!

Cow Parade Piazza Pitti

Cow Parade Piazza Pitti
Inserito originariamente da stefano.velvia

Firenze - Nebbia nei Lungarni

Firenze - Nebbia nei Lungarni
Inserito originariamente da FaP ;-)

Il Giorno di Ringraziamento

E' oggi in USA!

Forse ormai conoscete questa festa Americana ma spiego un po'.

Si prepara il tacchino arrosto oggi per commemorare un cenone che ci fu nel '600 tra I Padri Pellegrini e gli Indiani. Loro festeggiavano il fatto che, lavorando insieme, avevano sopravvissuto una povera raccolta e altre brutte condizioni. Noi festeggiamo il viaggio dei Pellegrini, e la loro sopravvivenza da cui è nato il nostro paese.

Noi andiamo da i miei per mangiare oggi. A dir il vero, non mangiamo tacchino! La mamma prepara una specie di gallina, ma solamente perché lei e il mio babbo sono appena rientrati da una crociera, e quindi lei è stanca! (E' un po' faticoso preparare il tacchino arrosto) Però, sono in pochi a non mangiare tacchino oggi.

La festa di Thanksgiving mi piace moltissimo perché qualsiasi persona che vive in USA possa festeggiarlo. Chi è americano, festeggia la nostra democrazia, e chi vive qui con la voglia di diventare cittadino o comunque sia godere i diritti del nostro paese può festeggiare la libertà che si sente qui. (Invece Natale si festeggia dappertutto qui, fin troppo, anche se ci sono tante persone che non sono cristiani o che non vogliono festeggiarlo).

Sappiate che un tocco d'Italia ci sarà oggi. Portiamo una bottiglia di vin santo e biscotti come dolce! E i biscotti li ha fatti Il Nostro Inviato in casa!

Ora scappo! Un abbraccio!

Firenze/Milano

Firenze e Milano sono pareggiati per la città più bella d'Italia.

Ma è possibile? La città di Dante è bella quanto la città di Manzoni?

Ci credete?

Ci state?

Per piacere, votate! (Vedete sondaggio a destra)

Scusate!

Technical difficulties, secondo tempo.

Please bear with me: it would appear something is wrong with my computer.

I keep posting photos, only to find half of them don't appear in the post!

Vi chiedo scusa!

Intanto, c'è un nuovo sondaggio a destra. Dimmi qual'è la città più bella d'Italia!

Un abbraccio forte forte,
Ciambellina

Bella Roma!

Everyone knows Rome is beautiful, right? Everyone knows it's the Eternal City, right?

I mean what's better than going to Rome, right?

Well Ciambellina is a little slow. She forgot how wonderful Rome was. Boy, did she get a reminder!

After two wonderful weeks in southern Italy, we were flying out of Rome on a Tuesday morning and just had a few hours to spend in the city of Romulus and Remus the night before.

From our hotel near the airport, we had to take a few buses and a train to get to the heart of Rome. If you can believe it, Il Nostro Inviato was grumbling a bit about it! He wanted to spend his last few hours of vacation drinking qualche birra back in the town of Fiumicino (which actually has a beach and is quaint).

He quickly changed his tune when we arrived. We could not have planned it better: we took the Metro to the Coliseum stop, walked out of the subway and in the space of three seconds took in a view that included the Coliseum, the Arch of Constantine, the monument to Vittorio Emmanuele (also known as the wedding cake or the typewriter) and rest of the Roman Forum.

Yeah not bad.

Here's what we saw:




Ruins:reminds you of the old joke: How was Rome? It's in ruins!


And of course a pilgrimage to our favorite spot in Rome was on the itinerary.



The Pantheon. To us, it's just the highlight of the city. We go there every time we visit no matter what.

I would like to mention to my cari lettori that I took a much better photo of the coliseum that also includes Il Nostro Inviato drinking a can of Peroni that he bought the second we came out of the subway. But the household censors have ruled I can't publish it! Just imagine: arguably the greatest ruin of Ancient Rome, Mike and a can of Peroni. Priceless.

I leave you with this shot, which combines our favorite building in Rome with Ciambellina and some gelato.



Grazie per averci seguito!

Spiagge! (again)

Yes, let's talk about the beaches (spiagge) in the Gargano region of Puglia, in Southern Italy. Because really and truly God gave Puglia some of the most gorgeous beaches on Earth, and some of the best of the best are in Gargano.

And YES, cari lettori, I am still talking about PUGLIA! I will be talking about our trip there for years!

The beach above is in Rodi Garganico. Just to give you a sense of how great this region is, let me tell you Rodi probably doesn't see a lot of tourists. The town is nothing special. It's not near Peschici and Vieste, which comprise the heart of the region. But look at that view!

I shot this photo from the car window while we were driving out of Gargano, as we headed to Rome for the end of our trip. We stopped because we were just struck by the beauty of this simple, off-the-beaten-tracks place.

You're probably getting tired of these beach photos! They are all the same: a little piece of paradise!



The beach in the photo above is near Spiaggia Zaiana. Directional signs for Spiaggia Zaiana are everywhere in the area around Peschici so clearly people know this beach.

To get to the beach, we drove down a steep road that the Italians thought could accommodate two-way traffic. It was us and a sheepherder and a few dozen sheep. All in a day's work in Puglia.



A word about this photo on the left. As you can see, the trees are all brown. And they shouldn't be. Peschici and the Gargano coast were hit by a wave of arson at the height of the summer tourist season.

The fires really marred the beauty of the region, and threatened a key local industry: tourism.

Ok, we are at the point in the travelogue where it's time to say arrivederci to Gargano and indeed to Puglia. Can you believe it? What a trip. I leave you with one last photo in the heart of the Gargano region, taken along the road between Peschici and Vieste. I would not have minded being in the sailboat in the photo below. Next time!



Next stop: Roma! A tra poco!

Un anno! Ce l'abbiamo fatta!

CIAMBELLINA TURNS ONE!!!! Ciambellina compie un anno oggi!

Ho cominciato a scrivere questo blog il 5 Novembre 2006, un anno fa.

E eccomi qui!

Grazie di cuore, cari lettori, per averci seguito! Un bacione e un abbraccio forte forte a tutti!

Tanti auguri a Ciambellina
Tanti auguri a lei!

Puglia: Gli acquisti

Bentornati!

As I do on any trip, I bought some keepsakes back with me so I could remember Puglia. I also stocked up on some of my favorite Italian things.

Mind you, I did not by any means buy as many things as I wanted. That's partly because we were often in seaside towns that don't have as much of a shopping scene as Firenze.

In any event, here's a rundown of what I bought (and some not-so-great photos, forgive me!).


LIBRI!

Sempre con i libri. Whenever I visit Italy, I stock up on books. I think this time around, I bought enough books to last me a year.

So what did I buy?


I bought this. How could I resist?

"L'Ultimo Brigatista" (rough translation: The Last Brigadier, though please understand it refers to someone from the Red Brigades, the Italian terrorist organization) talks about the 1978 kidnapping and death of Italian statesman Aldo Moro.


And of course this. "La Casta: Cosi I Politici Italiani Sono Diventati Intoccabili" was a hit over the summer all across Italy. I bought my copy at an Autogrill!

The title means "The Caste: How Italian Politicians Became Untouchable." The book, which exposes the spending habits and cheap tricks of Italian politicians, sold more than 1 million copies in Italy in the space of five months. I also saw reports that it's sold milions of copies in the United States. Wow!


I also bought the nonfiction book shown at top, which like the book on Moro talks about the so-called "anni di piombo" that took place towards the end of the last century when Italy was mired in domestic terrorism. That era stole lives and rocked the country.

Ever since I read a book about Francesca Mambro and Valerio Fioravanti published by the publishing arm of L'Unità (part of the Comunist party newspaper company), I have been fascinated by the latitanti who took Italian political differences just a bit too seriously.

In total, I bought 10 books, including a small Pugliese cookbook and a guide to Lecce.

Here are some other highlights:
Bar Sport by Stefano Benni
La Disubbidienza by Alberto Moravia
Il Cavaliere e La Morte by Leonardo Sciascia


Outside of La Casta, I bought the books at two wonderful book shops. A trip to La Maria del Porto in Trani (Via Statuti Marittimi, 42) allowed me to catch up on my Italian terrorism reading. And Liberrima.it in Lecce (Corte dei Cicala) was where I picked out a few Sciascia and Moravia titles that I missed before.



I also bought a few other things. One of the nicest souvenirs is this wonderful carafe.

In a previous post, I mentioned the summery tanktops I bought. These little shirts were not easy to photograph so you will just have to see me next summer. I bought all three at Giannelli Store (and jeanseria!) at Via Cavour, 77 in Trani. It was sale time! (Hence my regret that I did not buy more while we were there!)

I have one more item to show off, but probably the items I use the most from the trip in Puglia are the Quarta brand coffee and the wonderful gifts from friends, including a bottle of Pugliese olive oil from Fernando and Rosaria and the Mario Biondi CD from Ilaria and Rosario. Those items have now blended into everything else we own.

Last item: "Stefano Miele Globalizm Vol. 1: Samples, Traditionals and Folk."



This is a phenomenal album. Stefano Miele has taken traditional Pugliese folks songs and backed them with drumbeats and other DJ sounds.

It's truly unique. Try to find it at your local music store or even on Amazon!


You may wonder why I am showing you these things. Well let me say this: I don't decorate my home. All I do is surround myself with the things I love, many of which I bought in Italy or during other travels. So now you have stepped into my home. Benvenuti!

Ciambelline rock!!!

Si può sapere perché la ciambellina piace a nessuno? Cioè, piace a me (Ciambellina!!) e basta?

Un solo voto? Come il cornetto, ma ci mancherebbe altro: il cornetto sa di nulla!

E' buonissima! Così semplice, così dolce (ma non troppo).

A chi ha votato, grazie!

Technical difficulties

I still need to finish off the last few posts from our trip to southern Italy (including a quick but fun jaunt around Rome the day before we returned to America).

But for some reason, my computer is not cooperating. I think it's something that Il Nostro Inviato did! (Actually, it looks like it's a problem with Blogger).

In any event, stay tuned. I still have a few more dazzling images to throw your way.

In the meantime, I can tell you that as I write, I am drinking my morning caffe con latte and having a mini heart attack because for the first time ever, I think it tastes bad!

Why would it taste bad? Because I am back to using Lavazza, rather than the wonderful Quarta caffe we bought in Puglia. Can you believe this, ragazzi?! My whole world has changed now that I have tasted Quarta!

In other news, guardavo la Rai International durante il fine settimana (il canale fa schifo ma ogni tanto trasmette qualcosa di interessante) e ho visto la fine del film, "Le Invasioni Barbariche."

Se non l'avete visto, è favoloso! E' un film franco-canadese (si dice?). Credo che abbia vinto il premio Oscar (in USA) come il miglior film straniero qualche anno fa. Vi avverto: vi farà piangere.

Saluti,
Ciambellina

Incasinata!

Scusatemi ragazzi! Sono incasinata con lavoro.

Ecco perché non ho ancora finito di raccontare tutte le avventure del viaggio in Puglia (oltre a pubblicare foto delle spiagge, voglio anche accennare alcuni acquisti che ho fatto in Salento e a Trani...tanti libri ma anche qualche canottiera carina carina!).

Intanto, vi posso dire che "Il Gattopardo" ha vinto come il miglior libro, anche se, parliamoci chiaro, erano in pochi a votare.

Vabbe' ora vi propongo un sondaggio che è molto ma molto più facile! (Leggete a destra)

Un abbraccio.

Aiuto!!!!!!

Sto per finire l'unica confezione del caffe Quarta che ho comprato in Puglia!!!!

Aiiiii!!!!

Il Nostro Inviato dice che il caffe Quarta gli piace più di Lavazza!!! Non ci posso credere!

Il caffe è davvero buonissimo, e un bel ricordo del viaggio che ci ha fatto conoscere nuovi gusti (i ricci, per esempio!!!). Il caffe Quarta: Prodotto in Salento! Ha un gusto diverso dalla Lavazza e gli altri caffe italiani che ho assaggiato, che mi incuriosisce molto.

Fra poco finisco di raccontare le avventure dal viaggio. Ormai siete un po' stufati, giusto? (ma dite la verità: a questo punto la vostra comprensione d'inglese è da favola, no??!!)

O ragazzi, devo far vedere a tutti i miei amici americani quant'è bella la Puglia! Mancano solamente due o tre altre foto. Un po' di pazienza ci vuole!

Un abbraccio a tutti.....

From the Archives: Gargano: Buon appetito!

Grazie, altrettanto!

Let's talk about food, shall we? I'm sorry I was able to eat all these wonderful things, and you weren't there but maybe by posting these photos, we can tempt America into full embracing Italian cuisine! (We are getting there, yes, but some more work still needs to be done)

Anyway, lecture over, let me show you a few of the meals we had in the Gargano region of Puglia in southern Italy.

The meal up top -- a simple but delightful bruschetta -- took place at a bar at a beach near Peschici. I posted the photo to show you its killer location, and to make a point: the Italians are eating spaghetti and bruschetta and drinking house wine and enjoying many other gastronomic marvels at their beaches while we Americans eat hot dogs on the boardwalk! What's up with that?!

It sure made for a wonderful day at the beach. Just because we were not near a great restaurant did not mean we had to suffer through some subpar beach food.



We managed to squeeze in one more restaurant listed in the Gambero Rosso guide. It was La Collinetta in Peschici (if you are keeping track, that's our fourth meal of the trip at a restaurant listed in the prestigious guide).

You see in the photo above I just had to order spaghetti alle vongole one more time. What's not to love? Tomatoes, clams and spaghetti cooked al dente.


What else? Oh right, Il Nostro Inviato had orecchiette, the classic Pugliese pasta dish that's almost always homemade (in this case it was al pomodoro). Sorry that the photo is not National Geographic quality. But you can almost about make out the name of the restaurant on the plate so there's a slight silver lining!





We also ordered calamari fritti, which were as always buoni buoni buoni! And I ate scampi alla griglia, which were also quite good.


It was not the best meal, and we felt slightly rushed. But it certainly was adequate. We of course also ordered a bottle of local wine: Primitivo Salento IGT Rosso 2005 Tenute San Marco. Excellent!

Can't beat Primitivo, which is beginning to appear on wine lists outside of New York and other large American cities.

And we finished the meal with limoncello made by the owner's wife.

Those are the food highlights of our time in Peschici. I will leave you with a photo of a very run of the mill meal...which gives you an indication of how well we ate on the trip. Here was the lunch (crusty bread, local tomatoes, prosciutto and mozzarella di bufala) we enjoyed one day on our little patio at the Locanda della Castellana.



Grazie per averci seguito! Arrivederci!

Puglia: Gargano National Park

The Gargano peninsula in Puglia is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen (I say one of because I have also visited La Costa Amalfitana!). How beautiful is it? You'll soon see.

Two of the main towns are Vieste and Peschici. Vieste is home to lots of campgrounds, resorts and tourist hotels, and its main beach stretches for miles and miles.

Peschici is more given to small coves with little stretches of beach. We usually opt for the town with more life, but went with Peschici because we wanted to relax.

I am going to show you all the places we relaxed in Peschici, and in the Gargano National Park.


Relaxation spot No. 1.





The little terrace in our room at the Locanda della Castellana in Peschici. Here's a shot of the view from the terrace.

The Locanda was a perfect spot to unwind, after a whirlwind tour of San Marco dei Cavoti, Il Salento and Trani. With a small pool and a patio that looked out at the sea in the distance, guests could spend hours relaxing with no particular place to go, and no important museum to visit. I spent my time reading. I was reading the best-selling book "Eat, Pray, Love," at the suggestion of my sister Denise. (Good suggestion, 003! Now if only I could find a way to travel for a whole year.....)

But I digress. The family that ran the small resort frequently sat around a table playing cards -- if you needed something, they would get it, but hey, we are ALL here to relax, they seemed to be saying.


Relaxing, reading, swimming, taking notes for the blog (!). That pretty much describes my days in Peschici. Here's Relaxation spot No. 2. A tiny postage-stamp size stretch of beach in Peschici that you can only reach by walking through a rock-strewn path forged through a cliff. And of course, you arrive, and there's a bar! Because really, why go somewhere if you can't order un caffe? (O, va bene, we ordered una birra, but why quibble?!)

I publish this photo not because I think I look good (is that really what my face looks like?! Please don't click on the photo to enlarge!) but to show you the piece of paradise I discovered. Hey, maybe some day they will have an opening at that bar, and I can work there.


Here's a few more shots of the beach (with the town of Peschici perched on a cliff in the background), and the little path we took to reach what I will call Bar Paradiso.





The shot above shows the path through the rocks. If you click on the photo, you may be able to read the sign scrawled in green marker on the rocks: USCITA (which means exit). On the right, you can see others walking toward the little beach.

In the four days we spent in Peschici, we visited little beaches, jumped the waves, heard a jazz concert (our trip coincided with the annual Jazz Peschici festival), drank Negroamaro and Primitivo, and I, Ciambellina, concluded that just perhaps I had squeezed a little too much into this trip. San Marco. A quick stop in the birthplace of Padre Pio. Matera. Ruffano, Lecce and the rest of Salento. Trani. Il Gargano.

Whoa that's a lot. But hey, vacation only comes once a year, if at all.

What's next? Oh lots more to come, cari lettori. Take a sneak peek!





Grazie per averci seguito! Please come back!

Puglia: On the Way to Il Gargano

We left Trani, near Bari, after two days, and made our way north along the coast of Puglia to the Gargano peninsula, where we would spend the last few days of our trip to Southern Italy that began in August.

To reach Peschici, the town where we were staying, we drove through a forested section of the Gargano National Park. It was finally cool enough to turn off the air conditioning and roll down the windows.

On the ascent into the hilly portion of the peninsula, we stopped in Monte Sant'Angelo (nella provincia di Foggia) to shop for lunch. You can see what we ended up with.

Mozzarella di bufala so supple and wonderful you question if it's not the ultimate food of the Gods.

Crusty bread that all alone could be a fine snack.

Pink prosciutto crudo that in its salty simplicity spells out what the word sapore means.

After we left the alimentari in town, we drove back into the countryside and pulled over to enjoy our lunch. All we had were the unadulterated fields in front of us. And the best sandwich known to man. And that was enough.

At this point in the tale, we are headed for the last part of our trip. Please stay tuned. Some gorgeous photos of Peschici and the Adriatic Coast are in your future!


(Along the road to Peschici...baaah....baaah....)

Puglia: Let's eat in Trani (BA)

Buongiorno!

We ate two fantastic meals in Trani (BA) that deserve their very own post.

Both restaurants appear in the Gambero Rosso restaurant guide, and both meals were truly precious -- the types of meals one hopes to eat when traveling to Italy. Both places served not only outstanding local cuisine, but also provided that high level of service we so infrequently find in restaurants. Making us happy was what the staff were there to do, and we did not have to spend $500 to be treated so.

Ok, one at a time.

The first restaurant is called Corte in Fiore. It's located at Via Ognissanti, 18. My old roommate from Florence, the wonderful Irene, took us there our first night in town. She was in Barletta, which is nearby, visiting her parents.

A word about the decor...or how do I put it? The architecture? What I am saying is, there was a back garden inside the restaurant that made you feel as though you were outside. Not the first time I had that sensation on this trip; Picton in Lecce was similar, with a mini-arboretum inside.

Let's begin: We ate raw fish at Corte in Fiore. Might seem totally normal, given the universal love of sushi but it was the first fish entree I'd ever eaten in Italy that was completely raw (I suppose I am skipping the sea urchin Rosario caught but that's in its own extremely special category!).



Looking at the photo, you can see calamari (in the little glass bowl), mussels and scampi (which, while I was in Puglia, I learned are actually distinct from shrimp. You probably knew that, right? Sapientone!). There were also some fantastic raw shrimp that were wonderfully sweet and tender.

We also enjoyed a cooked seafood antipasto, and the two starters together were so plentiful we actually skipped the second dishes. We finished the meal off with Moscato di Trani, a lovely sweet wine made (obviously) in Trani and considered a special regional product.



Special note to Irene: grazie di cuore per averci portato a mangiare lì. L'osteria era davvero buona, e la sera con te davvero speciale. Spero che ci vediamo presto....forse in USA!

The second restaurant, sempre a Trani, is Da Miana, which is not far from the synagogue (in fact the address is Via Sinagoga, 54. Now you know the word for synagogue!).

You've actually already seen something I ate there, and I will shamelessly republish the photo because I believe it alone can tell you why Italian food is fantastic!



There it is in all of its glory....il raviolone (fatto in casa) di spinaci e ricotta con un sugo di crema di sedano e gamberetti. I made the notation "ottimo" in my little notebook.

So what does that mean? It's large homemade ravioli filled with spinach and ricotta cheese in a creamy sauce of celery essence and baby shrimp. It was as good as it looks!

But I'm actually putting the cart before the horse. To start, we had a lovely mixed antipasto that included the novel little item in the top photo (shown with the fantastic Pugliese wine we had, Vigna Pedale Castel Rosso Riserva 2003 DOC Torrevento). What is it? Right. Slightly hard to explain. A filling of baby shrimp encased in what I think was fried pasta. The consistency and form were not unlike the cereal Shredded Wheat. But better. Way better!

The antipasto also included stuffed baked cuttlefish and a soufle of peppers and salmon.

A word about the wine. The grape is called Uve di Troia, which if you know Il Nostro Inviato, is a bit funny (Troia=Troy; of course it actually means puttana, but that's another story). It's a grape that grows mostly in Puglia but is not widely available in the U.S. If you like robust red wines, see if you can't find it at a wine store near you.

For a second, we shared orata ai ferri. Translation: Grilled sea bass.

The restaurant is first-rate in every way. They treated us like we were the most important guests they had ever had, and indeed because it was a slow night, we essentially had the waiter and the host all to ourselves. Oh and we lingered. Where's the fire? We came to eat, and we very leisurely ambled through the meal.


How were we able to score two first-class meals in one small city on the Adriatic? Here's a thought.....Trani is part of Italy's Slow Food movement. You know: the opposite of fast food...?

By now, you've surely heard of localism: cultivate and prize local fruits, vegetables and other food products, and protect the means to produce these items. The movement's actually gaining ground in America!

But people in Italy began to fear back in the 1980s that traditional products and methods of food and wine preparation were losing their cache with the proliferation of fast food. Hence Slow Food was born. There are chapters in the U.S., in case you're interested (www.slowfood.com).

To conclude: Please please please visit these restaurants if you ever find yourself in Trani. Oh and tell them Ciambellina sent you!

Grazie per averci seguito! More to come....

Still in PUGLIA: Two days in Trani (BA)

Trani is a wonderful little town north of Bari on the Adriatic Sea. Its cathedral, built in the 12th century, has a stunning perch on the edge of the sea, and is made completely of striking local limestone.

The little town is a web of streets surrounding the port and the Cathedral that's not unlike Siena. I know some travel writers have begun to compare Puglia with Tuscany. I would say if you like Siena, you could easily enjoy a few days in medieval Trani. (To be clear, Siena is not on a port!)

We spent two days in Trani during the second week of our trip, after we left our friends in Ruffano, in Salento. In addition to the Cathedral, there's Castello Svevo which was commissioned by Frederick II in 1230, and was built on Norman ruins.

I have been looking at the photos we took there since we returned to the States, and I cannot decide which one adequately conveys the town's unique aesthetic. So here's a handful of photos: you decide!



Above: The romanesque cathedral, which as you can see, sits beside the sea. The bell tower, whose base accommodates a high arch, dominates the skyline.
*


Above: Chiesa di Ognissanti, which overlooks the port, and is nestled among a number of cozy bars and restaurants that have an irrestible view of the sea.
*


Above: A view of the base of the bell tower that adjoins the cathedral, and the piazza just beyond it.

***

An opera singer unwittingly provided one of the highlights of our time in Trani. We were tooling around the castle on a self-guided tour when we began to hear the strains of lirica! Moving from room to room, we followed the sound until we reached a window through which we could see the singer as she practiced. With our digital camera, Mike zoomed in on her for a photo, and even recorded a bit of her singing!

She sang an aria from the Puccini opera La Bohème and on the rise and fall of the notes, we floated through the castle, or at least I did, almost unhinged by her beautiful voice, and grateful that Italy is Italy. Because this was one of those moments where I thought: Ah...Italy.

I will leave you with her photo; Lord knows her stunning, plaintive voice echoed in my head for days after we left.



A tra poco!

Viaggio: A Day in Lecce

Lecce is a wonder of baroque architecture, and is sometimes referred to as the Florence of the South. So, of course, we wanted to check it out.

As you can see from the photo above, the city center conserves the ruins of a Roman amphitheater (one of three we would see during our trip in southern Italy). It was built in the first or second century B.C., but was only uncovered in the early 1900s. About half of it has been excavated.

Lecce also has numerous other notable churches, squares and porte. The city is really beautiful. Only one small problem: it was hot hot hot!

We visited Lecce at the beginning of our second week in southern Italy, while we were renting a house with our friends in Ruffano. (If you're keeping track, this is Day 8 of the trip; still a week more to report on!)

In addition to sightseeing, we wanted to eat at another restaurant listed in the Gambero Rosso guide to restaurants. We struck gold at Picton.

Here's what I ate:
Ciceri e tria: Pasta e ceci alla leccese con la pasta fritta (Translation: Pasta with chick peas (the noodle-like homemade pasta in this dish is half fried, half boiled -- a special preparation known to Lecce)

This dish came with a special note on the menu: "Piatto storico Salentino: unico in Italia per la sua preparazione." Translation: Classic dish from the Salento area; prepared here in a way that's unique throughout all of Italy.

Poi,
Padella di scamorza affumicata con funghi porcini (Translation: Smoked scamorza cheese cooked with porcini mushrooms)

Here's what Il Nostro Inviato (Mike) ate:
Spaghetti di Gragnano (con acciughe, peperoncino, aglio, mollica speziata). That means: Spaghetti with sardines, hot pepper, garlic and spiced breadcrumbs

Poi,
Insalata tiepida di farro con fricassea di gamberi e seppioline (Translation: Lukewarm salad of spelt (raise your hand if you're an American who knows what spelt is!), with fricasee of shrimp and cuttle fish)

Wine: a bottle of Cappello di Prete Salento Rosso Candido 2003, which is a red wine from Puglia that's made only with the negroamaro grape

Here's what we both thought: one of the best meals we have ever had!

I am sorry to say none of the photos we took at the restaurant came out well. But it's gorgeous inside, with a high ceiling and an arbor, and the food is exceptional. The owner, Tonio Piceci, is a well-known chef who's published several cookbooks.

We also did a little shopping in Lecce (just a little, though, because almost everything was shut tight like a drum for the afternoon break until 5:30 or 6 p.m., which was when we headed back to Ruffano).

In particular, we visited a bookstore, Liberrima.it, La Libreria All'Ombra Del Barocco (Corte Dei Cicala, 1), where I went a wee bit crazy. I will report in a future post the wonderful books I bought there and elsewhere.

We also bought a few gifts at a lovely store, Al Levante Taberna Libreria (Via Umberto, 1), that sold a bit of everything. Mike even got a free store t-shirt that says "Smetto Lunedi"! ("I'll quit Monday"). There, I bought a fantastic CD that takes traditional Pugliese music and overlays it with drumbeats and other modern synthesized music.

Since returning home, I have rocked out to this album while driving to work! It's oddly compelling.

Here are a few other photos we took while in Lecce.


I saw this tree in Piazza Sant'Oronzo (named for the city's patron saint) and thought it looked cool. You can see the amphitheater in the background. Do you see how cool this city is? I would also like to note the people in Lecce were very friendly.


I will admit I don't remember where in Lecce I saw this bust of Aldo Moro, but I had to take a photo of it. I personally don't see much in Italy that memorializes the leader of the Christian Democrat party who in 1978 was kidnapped and killed by Italian terrorists. Which reminds me of another book I bought in Italy: "L'Ultimo Brigatista." But now I am getting ahead of myself (I bought it in Trani....which is coming up in the travelogue!)


The last photo below is of the "porta" through which we entered and exited the city.

For more information on what we saw in Lecce:
Eating: Picton, Via Idomeneo, 14, Lecce; www.acena.it/picton, or www.toniopiceci.it
Reading: Liberrima.it, www.liberrima.it
Travel: www.salento.it (this site provides information about the entire region surrounding Lecce)



Goodbye Lecce! Arrivederci!