primavera arriva

Spring may not be fully here, but there are a preponderance of signs that would suggest it's on the way:

1- there are some flowers in the garden
2- the grass throughout the countryside is FLORESCENT green
3- the birds are back and making a distracting racket
4- we can hear the frogs croaking again
5- the gelateria is open for business
6- sometimes the locals go out without their down coats
7- Gibbs spotted an snail out on the go
8- the lizards have come out to sun themselves occasionally
9- we have gone more than a day without lighting a fire
10- there are hopeful buds on most of the trees

giornate tipiche?

There hasn't been a typical day here since about mid-february. Before I resume telling you about typical days, I'll take a minute to update everyone listening on our exceptional month and a half:

It started in London, where we visited our dear friends Jackie and John. Highlights included a wonderfully guided tour of the House of Commons and House of Lords (incredible!!! unfortunately you can't take photos), a fabulous dinner with Jackie and John (in an Italian restaurant, no less), a relaxing evening with cousin Theo back at the apartment, and weather actually better than in Italy. (ps: thanks a million for the apartment J&J!)

Next Uncle Al and Aunt Karen arrived. We enjoyed many meals together and loved hearing their stories of using phrasebook Italian, pointing and smiling to get around the countryside. Uncle Al was the first to brave 'Advanced Italian Shopping' (an entry on this topic forthcoming) at the butcher and green grocer's- and he felt all the warmth of a bolognese welcome.

Then Papa Paul and Vicki came for two exciting weeks- the first of which was full of day trips to local UNESCO world heritage sites (we had no idea there were so many!). Gibbs, Maddy and Gus took turns playing guide and Italian interpreter in places like Venice, Urbino, Mantua, and Ravenna. We all headed south for a gorgeous day in Siena. In the ceturies-old rivalry between Florence and Siena, I think we all agree we are now rooting for Siena.

It was during this week that we had our biggest adventure yet in Italian community living. In an on-going 'who can bug whom more' war, Gus poked another kid at school with a pencil. The pencil broke the skin and between doctors, police, absentee principals, and hot-blooded Italian teachers and parents, drama ensued in several forms. Things have calmed down now, and most importantly Gus seems well, even a little more grown-up. And you know what they say about a friend in need, well we discovered we have many wonderful friends here who were eager to both remind us that Gus is great (one parent who said, joking, she was ready to testify to the police that she spent a whole weekend with Gus and no one got hurt!) and that we're not negligent parents (one mamma even came by with a rose for me and a few kind words: 'I thought you could use a hug- mothers of boys, especially, need to be strong and tough and smile occasionally')

Our friends the Gantriis' arrived next- Pete, Kathryn, Jasper and Rasmus. We squeezed in one great big dinner with all 10 of us down the hill at the local restaurant before some of us headed west. As I understand it- Maddy and Gus had a blast through out the week sharing a little bit of our lives here in Monterenzio with Jasper and Razzy and Gibbs enjoyed cooking some of our new culinary reperetoire for our friends.

During this week, Paul, Vicki and I headed into and all around France, stopping at Salon de Provence, Arles, Biarrtiz, Anglet, St Jean Pied de Port, Bordeaux, Tours and just outside Paris. Our mission was ostensibly to find and secure a slip in a port in Southwestern France for their boat in 2011. In the process we not only got them on a port waiting list, but we also encountered and experienced the beauty of Basque Country and culture- a people who still speak a dialect from the pre-Roman Greeks who inhabitied the area centuries ago. Next was Bordeaux and an evening dining in a restaurant on many food connoisseurs' top ten in the world list- Tupina. We swung by Tours to spend the afternoon with Mathilde, enjoy a delicious lunch and pick up her mother Odile (my traveling companion for the drive home to Bologna). Thanks to Odile and her wonderful family, we also had a comfortable place to stay near the Charles de Gaulle Airport at the home of Mathilde's sister Camille where we enjoyed another lovely home-cooked meal and an excellent night's sleep.

The last week to recount in this long tale began when Odile and I said goodbye to Paul and Vicki and set off to Bologna via the Alps. Near Annecy we stayed two delightful days with Odile's niece Sophie and her family. By the end of our stay I truly felt like part of the family- perhaps due to the warm reception, our exceptional capatability, and a short afternoon with another gem of the family, Mathilde's grandmother (who is pictured in a rehab center here because she recently broke her leg... skiing! in the photo you may also note she has the feet of a young girl). Making our way to Bologna we braved the tunnel de Mont Blanc, and made it home safely. Odile enjoyed our Italian daily life and a few day trips. She even braved the crowd of Italian mamme at the coffee shop twice, discovering that she understands lots of Italian and (just as delightful) they understand her when she speaks French! A highlight of our time with Odile was cooking seafood from a hard-to-spot fish market in Comacchio- Gus is now a certified shrimp peeler.

From staying at home to traveling near and far, the last six weeks have been nothing less than a daring adventure all the while. Thanks to all of you who shared these moments with us!

photos:
1- Jackie and Maddy in London
2- The Maynors at Westminster Palace
3- Marco and Gus are friends again
4- Rose from Cinzia
5- Maynors on top of torre in Siena
6- Dinner for 10 at Idice 95- Gantriis', Grandparents, and Maynors
7- Paul & Vicki on 'their' (??!?) beach in Biarritz
8- Marina @ Anglet- Paul & Vicki's future home?
9- Paul, Vicki & Mathilde
10- Odile & Mathilde
11- Camille & Willie
12- Sophie, Christian, Pauline & Florence
13- Mathilde's Grandmother, Odile documenting young feet
14- Just before Mt Blanc in the Alps
15- Odile & Gus prepare yummy shrimp

giornata tipica di Tina, mattina

There is no doubt that I have become a casalinga (Italian housewife). Here is a typical day in my week: 6:30- alarm goes off
7:00- actually up, get kids out of bed
7-7:30- pilates or shower
7:30- Italian breakfast: kids have hot chocolate and biscotti (basic Italian breakfast cookies), plus yogurt (sometimes) or homemade brioche, I have a soy/orzo cappuccino (here decaf is relatively unheard-of, instead, people who don’t care about the caffeine or who prefer something more gentle drink toasted barley- it’s delicious with soymilk and one sugar cube :)
7:50- 7:55 must be out the door for school, hop in blue Fiat and run down the hill
8:00- arrive at school, goodbye bacini (little kisses) in car (my kids don’t do mom-kissing in public, most Italian Moms insist…)
8:00-8:20- catch other Mamme and chat, topics include last night’s homework, any interesting personal events, weather predictions, occasionally school politics, today’s chores… we leave when invitations for coffee start to go around, either you’re in, or you have other plans and will see everyone again when school is out. I usually say I’ll head over to the bar (read: coffee shop) after a couple of errands.
8:20-8:25- stop in bakery just a block from school, pick up two small ‘ciabatte’ and usually one ‘pane arabo’.
8:25-8:30- drive to end of town to get milk from organic raw milk machine- 1€ per liter
8:30-8:40- stop in at green grocer, where I pick up 2 big bags full of fresh (all Italian) produce for about 10€, it lasts most of the week and I always forget something critical…
8:40- arrive at Lelli (the bar, coffee shop, bakery, salami shop, convenience store), make eye contact with barista, say hi, find friends. After a couple of minutes I hear my name and pick up my soy cappuccino. Chatting at Lelli is my favorite way to start the day. The mamme and I check in, console anyone who’s not having a good day, hear about people’s upcoming plans, discuss the kids and school, or make moms-only plans for our emotional or physical health.
9:15- morning coffee breaks-up and I pay my €1,30, goodbyes in the parking lot.
9:10-12:30- this part varies, but a completely typical way for me to spend this time it processing laundry. Everything here is line-dried which means you have to plan carefully 2 days ahead in the winter if you want clean clothes. I have a drying rack in the house set up next to the wood-burning stove- things take a good 24 hours to dry. Once they are dry many things require ironing. I don’t mind the chore, it’s satisfying and reminds me of my grandma who taught me to iron using handkerchiefs. The down side is it dries your hands out terribly. I sometimes watch Italian daytime TV while I iron, mostly talk shows, some news, and soaps. Other things I might do during this time include running with my Bellarussian friend, taking a walk, running other errands (like Ipercoop), or baking.
Around 12:30- take out leftovers and heat up a civilized pranzo for me and Gibbs.

photos above: some of the mamme at Lelli (just after Obama's Inauguration Day), the ironing, ironing and Italian daytime TV.

to be continued...