Fireworks for San Giovanni, World Cup, Summer

Florence is pretty great - they know all of us Americans were going to miss our 4th of July fireworks so they decided to have them for us anyways - just a little early!  Actually, they were for San Giovanni - the patron saint of Florence - and they were pretty awesome!  The bridges and Arno streets were packed with people who came out to watch the 40 minute show.  I was impressed!

Other than that - it has been all about the Mondiale di Calcio over here.  I think it's the most patriotic the Italians ever get.  It has been fun to come home at night and watch a soccer game - I don't think I've ever watched an entire game before - but I have certainly become a fan.  Too bad Italy and the US are already out of the running - but now I will just have to switch allegiances over to Portugal and Ghana.  It's fun anyways to hear all the neighbors yelling and screaming together when a goal is scored or missed - and my roommate really gets into the games :)  I should've become a soccer fan earlier.

Last weekend I went up to Torino with a bunch of friends for a sports activity and to see a little bit of the city.  It was huge and gorgeous and green.  I loved it!  Now I need to go back and really see the city.  And I learned that I'm actually pretty good at soccer - and that I haven't improved a bit at beach volleyball. 

I've been busy finishing up school and teaching (finally done!!) and planning vacations mostly.  Even if I hated teaching (which I don't) - I think I could do it just for the pleasure of a summer break.. I've also made it to the beach a couple of times.  The weather was hot and then rainy (I never thought I would enjoy rain so much in my life!) and then sadly hot again.  6 years in SF have ruined me for a summer of 90 degrees and no AC - but I'm sure I'll slowly get acclimated.  At least I get to spend a lot of my time at the beach!  My mom comes Thursday and I'm super excited!!  She'll be followed by my dad and brother..and then Jean.  On the itinerary - Sardegna, Venice, Florence, Rome, Napoli and Sicily...then a brief pause before Sweden, England and the USA!!  It should be a great summer!
The past month has been mostly finishing up school and teaching - so excited that I am finally done!!!  And doing LOTS of planning for summer vacation - with a couple of trips to the beach thrown in.  The weather got hot and then rainy (I never thought I loved the rain so much but I wanted it to stay forever) - sadly, it has gotten hot again but I guess it is summer.  6 years in cold, foggy SF just haven't prepared me for a summer of the 90s without AC but I'm sure I'll adjust.  My mom is flying into Rome tomorrow and I'm SO excited to see her and to see Italy.  She'll be followed shortly by my dad and brother..and then Jean. On the itinerary - Sardegna, Venezia, Firenze, Roma, Napoli, Sicilia...then a brief pause before Sweden, England, and the good old USA!  It's going to be great!

Beach, Cherries and Gelato!

Sun!!  Finally!  Beautiful summer weather has arrived (we kind of skipped the Spring) and I have been loving the sun.  I took the opportunity to go to the beach and enjoy the day.  My roommate convinced me to try the beach in Pisa..but I think we have a pretty different idea of what a beach is supposed to be.  When I first got there it was just lots of rocky piers jutting out..

So I kept walking along and finally we got more of a beach..just of rocks

And then finally - SAND!  It was small but there.  I just don't know how a beach is a beach without sand.  I guess the water is supposedly cleaner with the rocks..but it's just not the same.  It was nice to get some sun..but it really just made me miss the Pacific Ocean and the sound of the waves and the sea breeze...

This past week my favorite pizzaiolo student invited me to his orchard to pick cherries.  It was awesome - he has hundreds of cherry, apple, peach, apricot and pear trees that he planted all himself.  In the beautiful Tuscan countryside.  We picked in the afternoon and then went to his house for an amazing Tuscan meal - with freshly made pecorino cheese from his neighbour's sheep.  We ended the evening by taking a trip to the local gelateria for my new favorite flavor of the week - arancia-limone.  I love my students and their wives.

This weekend was the Gelato Festival in Florence.  And I ate WAY too much gelato but it was good.  They had a demonstration where they showed how it is made and it was really cool to watch and then eat.  There was also a demonstration of the old hand-cranked machines and some amazing custard gelato.  It was fun..but I'm glad it doesn't happen more than once a year or I would not be able to stop myself.  I did find a summer goal though:  to try all of these ice creams on the signs that are out in front of all the shops.  I think I've had 3 kinds already..so it's a good start.

About a month left of classes and then I'm looking forward to the summer!  For my family to come and visit and the chance to get to see more of Italy! 

Why I love Spring..

{I have to preface this by saying that I started this post Before it proceeded to rain every day for the past week..but here's to hoping that it will stop some day soon.}

Just some thoughts about why I've been enjoying Spring so much so far:
  1.  It's not 100 degrees and humid yet (I have to admit I'm terrified - I am not quite sure how I'll handle actually having a hot, humid summer after 6 years in cold, foggy SF)
  2.  No mosquitos yet (I've only killed two so far..although there is one hiding somewhere in my room that I can't seem to find..)
  3. The beautiful flowers covering the grass and newly green trees in the parks.
  4.  Jacket weather (a little nostalgia for San Francisco)
  5.  My clothes can actually dry in one day - outside! 
  6. Flip flops!
  7. Biancanotte (white night) in Florence.  The night before May 1st (Labor day here) the entire center of Florence was open all night with concerts and events in every piazza and at midnight there were more people than I've ever seen in the city walking around  - about 150,000 people roaming the streets. It was pretty impressive - and the weather was absolutely perfect.  Gelato and pizza at midnight should happen more often..
  8.  Summer vacation and travelling!

I have been wanting to go visit the Iris Garden by Piazzale Michelangelo but have been holding off because of the rain.  However, we had a brief respite on Saturday  - so I took advantage and visited the gardens and finally the San Miniato cathedral.  If someone had told me there was a cemetary there, I wouldn't have put it off for so long!  It ended up being a beautiful day (if this were winter and it were supposed to be so cold and rainy, that is)..


Some pictures of San Miniato and the serene graveyard.

Wouldn't you like to be buried here?  I sure would!

The one on the left was my favorite ever..I don't know why the man is lying down with a torch..Did he collapse during the Olympics or is that symbolic of his light being put out or was that just his wish to be shown lying on the ground instead of under??

It turned out to be a nice weekend..and one of these days, when the rain stops, I will be able to go to the beach!

The BEST Pizza Ever...truly

A couple of weeks ago my favorite students in the whole world invited me to one of their houses' for dinner.  And it was absolutely amazing - Fiorentino is a true pizzaiolo! 
I teach Fiorentino and Giovanni for an hour once a week at the school where they are both engineering professors.  They are beginners, although Fiorentino worked selling tickets at the Duomo for a few years so he knows lots of useful phrases like - how much?  where is the bathroom?  how many steps to the top?  Giovanni wants to learn English to help collaborate with other schools in Europe and both of them have plans to travel to the US next year - but mostly, it's just a fun new hobby for them. 
Really, we just end up talking about whatever random topic of the week comes up - weather, Berlusconi (always highly entertaining since they are on opposite sides of the political spectrum), Fiorentino's flying hobby or his orchard, the best places to visit in Italy, my weekend travels, their weekend plans, their wives, my family, etc.  I get to practice my Italian and they are improving their English slowly...it's always one of my favorite hours of the week!..

  Fiorentino has been wanting me to come out and see his house and orchard and his wood-burning oven for a while - and we finally found a time to make it happen.  Giovanni's wife, Laura, is from Finland and she had a friend and her daughter from Sweden visiting - so we all went out to Fiorentino's house in Montespirito.
A bellisima casa!!  It was built in the 1500s and is very large by Italian standards.  Two stories and a basement and an old wine cellar.  It was a beautiful Spring day and we enjoyed sitting outside and talking - English, Finlandese, Swedish, Italian - I always love the mix of languages.  Added to that, their friend and his Brazilian girlfriend stopped by so we had plenty of nationalities covered..

This is the wood stove that Fiorentino built in the basement.  He is amazing!  He had made the crust earlier in the day, since true pizza crust needs a whole day to rise.  Then we sat and watched while he rolled out the crust, added the sauce and the cheese and the toppings and put it in the oven.  We ate enough pizza for 20 people between the ten of us!  They just kept on coming.. First, foccaccia, then pizza margherita, pizza alla cipolla, pizza con proscuitto e funghi, and pizza napolitano (without the sardines for me)...amazing, every single one of them (and I had them all).  Although we were all stuffed, we also managed to finish off the night with nutella and marscapone pizza for dessert. 

The whole group..and Giovanni trying to get me to eat another piece..which I'm sure I managed to do..

I love these students of mine!!  They are by far the kindest and most entertaining Italian men I have met so far!

La Primavera

Spring has finally sprung and I am loving it!  "I would have to say April 25th. Because it's not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket."  Name that movie..
It has also been the week of good culture..(settimana della cultura) the past week and all of the state run museums were free.  I took the opportunity to go to the Palazzo Pitti, the Boboli Gardens, the Uffizi and the Accademia (the David and the prisoners always impress me). 
These first are pictures from the Stibbert Park by my house, my favorite in the city.  There were little ducklings, bees, turtles and wildflowers covering the grass.  You can see Autumn pictures on my blog here

.These are of the view from the other park by my house - a view that I will never get tired of.

I loved the Palazzo Pitti with its decorations and paintings and architecture.  The gardens are also impressive, mostly because I never get to see that much green grass anymore..and also because there are some great views of the Tuscan countryside.  An awesome storm rolled in (well, the lightning and thunder were great until I started getting wet).

There was a fun group playing drums and waving flags and such to reenact something that apparently was festive in Italy a long time ago..

And because I am finally getting around to posting these pics from our good-bye dinner with Meaghan..Litta's rice, home-made ravioli, awesome bruschetta and (of course) Titti's tiramisu.

Thanks for being such an awesome friend Meaghan!  I miss you tons!

CROATIA, BOSNIA and MONTENEGRO

       

Tamarin, me, Andrea, Lori and Rebecca                                                                                       

After a great visit to Rome, we took the train to Ancona to catch our ferry over to Croatia.  Since we've been talking about visiting there for a long time, it was about time that we finally went!  After finally finding the ferry check-in, we took the overnight ferry to Split.  It was a fairly comfortable ride, and reminded me that I am way too old for bunk beds..

Good-bye Ancona ................   Hello Split (and our favorite statue)

  In the morning we disembarked and then took another ferry to the island of Hvar.  Hvar was beautiful and peaceful and idyllic.  We stayed in a really great hotel overlooking the sea and spent a lot of time on the balcony soaking in the sun, relaxing and reading more books in a few days than I have since I've been in Italy. It was awesome to have great company and to have absolutely nothing to do...

I have been playing with slideshows..so you have to click on it and then click play (I think)
After two days on the island we took the ferry back to Split.  We toured around the old city for a little while and got to see an awesome fish market (well, for me at least) with octopus, squid, fish, shrimp, scallops, eel, etc - as fresh as you can get them.  I loved it.  The rest of the old town was nice, and our favorite was the statue or Saint Anthony? aka Merlin.  There were also the cutest little chicks and bunnies for sale (I'm assuming for pets).


We then rented a car and drove to Mostar in Bosnia.  The border crossings were a continuous source of entertainment the entire trip but luckily we were able to go in and out of Croatia about 6 times in 3 days..
Mostar is a very Muslim city that was heavily bombed and partly destroyed during the fighting for independance from Yugoslavia. The landscape was very interesting - mostly barren rocks and hills with a beautiful river running through the town. 

A beautiful view - with the mosques and the new Old Bridge

Notice the burnt out building in between the new ones..you could definitely see the effects of the war

The next morning, we continued on our way back to Croatia (Bosnia-Croatia) for Dubrovnik and the Dalmatian Coast.  Dubrovnik is a beautiful orange-roofed town beside the sea with a very impressive wall surrounding the city.  We ate pizza and ice cream (once good, once terrible), and I realized how spoiled I have been by the pizza and the gelato in Italy. 

The beautiful sunset from our balcony

For our last trip, we decided since we were so close - we might as well take a day trip into Montenegro.  It was about a 3 hour drive along the beautiful coast and a very blue inlet.  We stopped and visited Kotor, a town with a very impressive wall running straight up the hill (needless to say, we opted not to trasverse it), some nice churches and a nice park.  It was a nice little day trip and it also happened to be Easter..so we got some colored, boiled eggs with our lunch to remind us..

The weather was beautiful and absolutely perfect until the very last day when we drove back to Split to catch our return ferry to Italy - it poured the entire day but luckily we had nothing better to do besides drive and relax until our ferry left.  It was a little crazy on the way back, with 1000 teenagers on our ferry sleeping everywhere, but at least we had a room.  In the morning, we barely, barely caught our train back to Rome and Florence.. We said goodbye to Rebecca and Andrea while Tamarin and Lori came to Florence with me to see my place and spend a few days enjoying the city. 
It was a great trip and so nice to spend time with Lori and Tamarin again.  I miss them!  It's a good thing we all have such an addiction to travelling..Sopratutto, una bella vacanza!