Ciambella

I am happy to say that I have graduated from speaking Italian at the infant-level to at least toddler-level by now. I can get my basic thoughts and ideas across but if pressed for more I just get kind of cranky and want to take a nap. This is mostly thanks to my amazing roommate, Acerina who is unfailingly patient and kind. But, gradually, piano piano, things are coming together.

Erich and the wonderful Acerina dancing in the streets for the Wine Festival in Marino

In front of the "wine fountain" in Marino, why the cowboy hat? No clue. After many glasses of wine it seemed like a good idea

My favorite word in Italian so far is Ciambella. It floats off the tongue in 3 expressive syllables ciam ("Cham" sounds like how Elizabeth Taylor would pronounce "charming") and then the typical Italian word for beautiful bel-la (said often and to everyone ciao bella! che bella! grazie bello!). What does it mean? Well, donut of course! It figures that my favorite word would be a pastry. After sampling many ciambelle I've found that they are all different from region to region. Usually a pastry or cake with a hole in the middle but some are as dense as a bagel, some are crispy and flaky. In Rome they have the more traditional style but always really fresh, and I hear that in the north they make a fancier cake-like pastry (I want to go to there). There is even a neat little saying to go with it. Of course there is! Italian is famous for it's food-related sayings; "Non tutte le ciambelle riescono col buco," not all ciambelle have a hole. In a nutshell, nothing's perfect! So, there you have it beautiful, diverse and forgiving.

Ciambelle aren't the only thing in which I've been indulging. I've continued my long-standing relationship with the cannoli while I've been here. I actually went so far as to poll my students for the best cannoli place in town and it came down to two. There was actually a debate, nay, an argument that erupted in one of my 10 classes about which was the best. So, after having my students give me detailed directions through an intricately arranged homework assignment, I honed in on the two cannoli candidates and commenced CANNOLI WARS 2010. It came down to Mizzica, near Piazza Bologna and Dagnino, near Piazza Repubblica. Both are Sicilian, one from Catania and the other from Palermo. My favorite was Mizzica, creamy and sweet--but not too sweet--with the subtle flavor of ricotta coming through and finished off on each end with a sprinkling of crushed pistacchio nuts.

The results were split as Acerina and I went with Mizzica, and Erich and our other roommate, Nauzet, liked Dagnino. It was a draw, no winner, but we may need more testers for the results to be truly fair. I've been looking for a good saying involving cannoli and no such luck. But there is another one I can't get enough of; the equivalent of the English "you can't have your cake and eat it too" is "Non si puo avere la botte piena è la moglie ubriaca": You can’t have a full bottle and a drunken wife. 

Another suggestion from my students: Best tiramisu in the city at Bar Pompi near Re di Roma metro stop
Have your cake and eat it too! And when your finished go get your wife drunk at the Wine Festival.

THE FAM!

The fam in hanging out in Rome

 I'm finally getting around to reporting on summer stuff. It's only OCTOBER, why not?

Just as I was getting hit with a bout of homesickness, home came to visit me. My Aunt Cec brought her whole crew (Brandon, Ashley, Ryan, Teresa, Kyle, Michelle, and Tom) to visit Italy at the end of August. I was unbelievably happy to see them. I met them in Cassino, right near the village. Turning around to see everyone, my closest family, was such an amazing rush of home.

Catching the train, Cassino to Napoli

Seeing everyone initially was nothing compared to the feeling of catharsis I felt, and I think we all felt, when we arrived in Villa Latina; the place we'd heard so many stories about growing up, the place from where we all began in some form or another (I know it's sappy). From there, we traveled to Napoli, Sorrento, and then back up to Roma before saying ciao.

The cemetery/mausoleum in Villa Latina

There were so many great highlights from their visit, but here's my Top Ten for their visit:

1.) Being in the Old Country. Obviously, just traveling with them to Villa Latina was the biggest highlight. It made the whole experience of our shared heritage that much deeper. We even went to the cemetery to do a little reconnaissance on our family tree. There we found basically the same 5 names over and over again. Two of them were ours: Valente and Rossi. Our roots in the village go pretty deep, and I'm not sure if we can even begin to understand how far it spans.

The whole gang outside of Nonna and Papa's house

Erich, Ashley, Brandon, Teresa, and Kyle in the back yard of the house

2.) Quality Van Time (QVT). While in Villa Latina, 10 of us packed in a mini-van made for 7. This made for a nice reminder of our childhoods for me. Brandon, Ashley, and Ryan were all born around the same time as me and my brothers inevitably tying us together for life. When we were growing up our Mom's both had these big conversion vans that we'd all pile into for family gatherings and road trips. This always included an inappropriate amount of goofing off and fighting over seats. I am proud to say that 20 some years later, it is the same. Piling into that mini-van, for me, was like going back to that time when we were all kids.

One of our less cramped rides in the van

3.) Scooter rides. A major high point was Ryan renting a scooter in one of the most dangerous cities for driving in Italy: Napoli. People joke on a daily basis here about the horrible driving in Napoli, but Ryan was determined to find and rent a moto wherever he could. His girlfriend, Michelle, quickly jumped on board with the idea and with him as they toured around Napoli and later Rome on moto. They even gave rides to select family and friends. The only snag: they did technically get pulled over in Napoli by the police, and maybe even some members of the military, but that's neither here nor there! (Oh yeah, Brandon almost crashed the moto during his 30 second test drive).

Ryan and Michelle in their element, me hopping on for a short ride

4.) Family among family. Meeting more family with the fam. Aunt Cec made everything easier in terms of meeting people. She had been to the village before and after my grandparents, she's had the most contact with people in Villa Latina. Also, she speaks the dialect; Villa Latinese, which helped immensely! 

Cousins! Gabriele and Cecilia

The whole fam-damily: Gabriele and his crew

5.) An unexpected meeting for coffee. We met people that I didn't even know existed! We went to visit Papa's family's old cantina and just happened to strike up a conversation with the people across the street, that it turned out we were related to. Of course we were! Liliana and Umberto invited the whole family to coffee later that day and chatted with us about the family and even showed us a few old pictures. One of which with my Dad as a baby and my Papa looking just like my older brother. Spitting image!

Our cousin Maria's bar in Atina

6.) Villa Fortuna. This is the hotel we stay at every time we go to Villa Latina. It's run by two of the kindest people out there; Marcello and Christine (who is also from the Great Lake State originally). They also have a restaurant inside of the hotel which serves delicious food at a really fair price. We also found that Christine's Fettuccine al Sugo tasted just like Nonna's...pure heaven.

One of many meals at Villa Fortuna

Villa Fortuna balcony

7,) Ryan breaking his chair at the pizzeria. While at dinner one night Ryan totally fell through his chair. This is strange because Ryan is the most fit (fittest?) person I know. Really, fitness is his life, and that's why it was so hilarious to see the chair give out underneath him. Quick note: the entire extended family LOVED Ryan. They remember him as the "wild child" from when he was a kid, running all over the place, and getting into everything. They were cracking up at his jokes and swooning over his effort in speaking Italian. I don't think he's ever gotten so many laughs, not even when he was a stand-up comedian, but this crowd was loving him. What's not to love.

8,)  Visita di Roma. Getting to show the family around Roma awesome. We saw all the major stuff and made sure to walk the 5 minutes from our apartment to St. Peter's. There, I also got to spend some quality time with Ashley, just the two of us like when we were kids. We used to live together too, so wherever we are we always have to find some "alone time" to chat about what's going on with us.

9.) Brandon-isms. In Sorrento Brandon witnessed a large bird taking a sandwich right out of some one's hand. The story itself is not nearly as funny as the enthusiasm Brandon put forth to tell it. When not getting the desired response he just kept repeating "right out of his hand!" This quickly became a running joke. This is also when I learned that Brandon continues to repeat things until he gets the desired response. Brandon was cracking me up in general while he was here. In the photo below we see Brandon unexpectedly poking his head through a gladiator costume unexpectedly thus freaking out his mother, while I am reacting to her reaction. I really love the triangle of strange looks we have here. Then we have a photo of the following ten minutes when we were talking about what happened 15 minutes before.

10.) Quality Pizza Time (QPT): Pizzeria in Napoli and quality bonding time with Brandon, Ryan, Michelle, Erich and me. In general I was all about the bonding time.

Pizza at the famous Da Michele in Napoli

Out in Napoli

Mini dance party in Erich and my apartment

I can't wait to see everyone again for the holidays. Family is without a doubt what I miss most about home.  Once the rest of the family left, Aunt Cec and Tom stayed on for an extra week to travel around the village, more on that soon!

Embarrassing Moment #558

Today, while walking home on Via Cola di Rienzo, I fell. Normally this is something I have to worry about in Michigan in the winter, not so much on a 70 degree sunny day in Italy. It wasn't a small fall either, it was a big over-the-top, Olympic figure skater style fall. It also just happened to be on the corner where a street performer was loudly playing the trumpet. So, naturally, every one's attention was already turned in that direction when I slipped on the marble slant of the side walk and tumbled into this trumpeteer's open suitcase in which he was collecting money. People from all four corners of the surrounding streets stopped to gape at the spectacle I created. I fell right in front of the line of cars waiting for the green light and I heard someone exclaim the much- used mamma mia! The trumpeteer stopped playing his music after I went down (the sudden silence thus bringing more attention to the spectacle) in order to help me up. To top things off, I was also carrying two bags and my purse, so my stuff went everywhere. Another older gentleman quickly came over and started cursing about how old and dangerous the streets are, reassuring me that this was the fault of the street, not me. Of course it was! Damn street, it's not that I'm a chronically clumsy person--no, no--I'm gonna go with the street on this one. I've got some gnarly bruises and scrapes on  my knees and forearms and a cut on my hand, but otherwise I'm good. Once I collected my bags dusted off my clothes and FINALLY made the walk of shame across the street I noticed my hand was dripping with blood that started spilling onto my bags (one of which being a birthday present for a friend), I was one hot mess!

The moment before you fall is always a funny one, like your brain hasn't caught up with your body's failure yet and everything is in slow motion.  Although I am ALWAYS slipping on the streets, this was my first fall here, but I'm willing to bet it's not the last. It's funny, I think I should have been more embarrassed for myself but I just wasn't. I've had a rough couple of weeks lately so I'm glad I kind of let myself off the hook. By the time I got home haggard as I was, I was freely and genuinely cracking up at myself.

Southward Bound!

The sunset in Soverato, Calabria

So then! After by good friend Brooke left Roma, I spent two days in my new apartment and then I was off again. My friend Amy and I were heading south to the region of Calabria and then to Sicily.

Amy with our fierce ride....the FIAT PANDA

A word about Amy. She just might be the coolest ever. I met Amy in Berlitz teacher training and we immediately clicked. We both have a mid-western sense of humor (whatever that means) and we spent a lot of the training cracking each other up. It seemed that we were living parallel lives for a little while there with our work experience, travels abroad, and just general interests. Amy's got this awesome energy. She's admiringly honest and truthful and incredibly generous. You can't walk into Amy's house without getting wine, cheese, or a meal. So, when Amy even uttered the words road trip I jumped on board.

The Panda comes with many features such as the spacious back seat, great for  a night's sleep

Amy took the front

We rented a Fiat Panda, a little car that not only got us where we needed to go, but also provided lodging for us one night when we decided not to spend the money on an over-priced hotel room by the sea. We also met up with Amy's friend, Sara, in a little sea side town called Davoli near Soverato, and got a chance to swim in the beautiful Ionian Sea, hang out on the beach for a little while, and do some line dancing with some old folks--you know the usual.

Miz Amy and our awesome guide Sara right before we joined in the dancing

Calabria

From there we were headed along the coast to Locri, another seaside town in Calabria. Some of the towns we drove through seemed like really cool places, but once we got to Locri we found that we weren't all that impressed so we kept right on moving and headed up the mountain until we stumbled upon the medieval village of Gerace. It was like no place I'd ever been before; small, with everything made of stone, and most streets barely big enough to fit even the smallest car. You get the feeling that Gerace in present day isn't all that different than it was hundreds of years ago, that its preserved its most important features in a way that many other towns and villages have lost. Gerace is basically perched up on a rock-hill made of what used to be sea fossils and has a fantastic view of countryside, mountains, and the water. Determined not to spend another night in the Fiat, we found a really awesome, quaint place called Il Giardino di Gerace. The man who runs Il Giardino, Fernando, was a linguist, a historian, and a teacher who told us everything under the sun about Gerace. He was so helpful in fact, that when the internet was down, he sent me to his son-in-laws house (just a few confusing, winding streets away) with his wife as my guide. I would definitely like to spend more time there.

The view from our hotel in Gerace

Gerace

Porta in Gerace

We then followed the coast to the toe of the boot where we dropped off our beloved Panda for the ferry to Sicily and then the train to Palermo to meet our wonderful friend, host, and Sicilian native, Antonino. We also met up with Erich as soon as we got to Palermo since he couldn't sit home and let me have all the fun!

Sicily was such an amazing mix of cultural flavors. It's been invaded by the Greeks, the Normans, and the Arabs among others, and for a long time has felt both pulled to the unified pride of Italy and disenfranchised from it. It still has a large mafia presence (I probably referenced The Godfather about 10 minimum each day we were there) and some of the richest food to be found. I saw a man in Messina eat a piece of lasagna as big as your head in three huge, quick bites and then immediately ask for another with cheeks still full of pasta. That's love.

Dessert night with our great hosts

Erich and Amy in Palermo

As soon as I planned this trip to Sicily, I knew I was going to be in Cannoli Heaven, but I had no idea just how good they were going to be. It was like a little bit of heaven on earth. One night we went out with the sole intention of trying Sicily's best and most typical desserts. It was like my birthday times a thousand. My favorite, however, is still and forever will remain Cannoli. When I think of my "happy place" it always includes a Cannolo. Among my favorite things about Palermo was the diverse architecture, the brilliant sea, and the amazing food (of course). Antonino did such a great job showing us the best of Palermo and even endured a pretty vicious encounter with a jelly fish just to show us the best seaside views.

The Norman Catedral in Palermo

Abandoned, earthquake stricken building

Behold the beauty and wonder of The Cannoli

Took a visit to Monreale outside of Palermo

The clouds slowly crept down on this mountain

Although the trip southward wore me out, I couldn't have asked for more, and can't wait to go back to Sicily for more exploring.

Allow me to back up....

Me and Brooke in Pompei

Beautiful Capri

Me and Erich on the island of Ischia

One of the petrified people in Pompei

Brooke and Tim in Pompei

At dinner in Napoli

Okay. So that was a long break with no writing. After receiving the appropriate amount of flack from family and friends, I am now ready to resume writing. Sorry y'all.

I have been "on vacation" for the entire month of August now. Although I understand how lucky I am to have an entire month vacation in Italy, I gotta say I am BEAT! You know how you always feel like you need a vacation from your vacation? That's kinda how I feel. Traveling is tiring and expensive and I feel like I just need to be stationary for a while. In the midst of all these travels we've moved apartments, yet I haven't been in my apartment for more than 5 days in the entire month. Therefore, I'm looking forward to actually making it feel like home, getting to know the new roomies, and dare I say it--I'm actually excited to go back to work.

So what have I been doing? The month started out great with my amica Brooke and her boyfriend Tim coming for a visit. It was really nice to see and catch up with Brooke and even better to be able to have new travel companions. With them, Erich and I traveled to Naples and it's surrounding hot spots; Pompei, Ischia, and Capri. Naples kind of gets a bad rap, I think. Even mention that you are going to Napoli and you will have 10 Italians on your ass telling you to watch your bags, beware of pickpockets, don't trust anybody, BUT PLEASE do enjoy the pizza. Naples considers itself the birthplace of pizza and as a city it is very proud of its culinary traditions, so we took full advantage of not only the pizza but also the seafood while there. Brooke and Tim were as fearless eaters as Erich and I, so between the 4 of us we got to try everything. I headed back to Naples later in the month with my family and at that point I determined, not only did I think all the negative comments about Napoli were a little overdone, but that they were also unfair and misleading. Yes, in and around the central train station is a bit sketchy as are some select other areas, but get outside of that and you can find the best that Italy has to offer; a proud and vibrant culture, awesome music, delicious food, a unique dialect of the language, friendly people, strength in the face of poverty and adversity, rich heritage....okay okay, you get the picture, needless to say I really loved Napoli. I read something in my guidebook before we went that said something to the effect of, "stay in Napoli one day and you will hate it, stay two weeks and you will love it, stay one month and you will never want to leave." I can definitely see this to be true.

Brooke and Tim weren't only great travel buddies, but they were also EXTREMELY helpful. When we returned to Rome they helped us move all of our stuff (which has been accumulating at a faster rate than I had anticipated) across town to our new place. I don't know what we would have done without them! But, I also just had so much fun hanging out with Brooke. I think she brings out my inner untapped indulgences driving me to dress up once and a while and wear make up just for the fun of it. She's just a fun person altogether, so you can't help but have fun when she's around. As soon as Brooke left, I immediately wanted her to come back.

I didn't have too much time to sulk however as two days later I was heading out on a mini-road trip to Calabria and Palermo with my friend Amy.....

Me and Brooke up on my roof

The four of us got all gussied up and went to a nice dinner. Brooke let me borrow this lovely dress!