is the tide coming in or going out ?
We are floating ..all is quiet ..is this good ???
The political situation has all of a sudden gone .. silent .. I have been carrying out my own “interviews” and have had the most amazing results
Many Italians have forwarded the notion that in this country people only listen to strong charismatic leaders , if each individual were to decide each would go his own way and do for himself , stating the total lack of unity or concept of a nation
So what emerges is each man is an island and even if he is given the power to decide he would still not do things to improve the system but rather to obtain things for himself mhhhhhhhhhh
Lets sit and see or better lets just float …
enjoy
Laura
the 3.00 am syndrome
Well here we go again !
Its the 3.00am syndrome
Awake ! Whilst in certain countries you can go out and find something open , in some even shop, in Italy you just have to sit tight or read.. that is not too bad, write, again not too bad but in the land of caffe’ it is not a good time to go to a Bar.
The few that are open at this time are not a good option !
There is of course a heaven for us all, and that includes those affected by the three am syndrome, a condition that in the past I used to solve watching “singing in the rain” …it works.. you don’t sleep but your singing improves heaps ..so…
if you get in your car and drive to the nearest autostrada , go in any direction and stop at the first area di servizio , gas station , you get a FREE COFFEE ! this is up untill 5 am ( might even be till 530 ) it is totally gratis , the idea is you help keep people awake and thus reduce the accident rate but here goes it works for those who can’t sleep too . Lots of people moving about , you don’t feel you are only one up and you can sit and read or just sip your caffe’ and feel a little more at peace with the world.
The down side is you have to pay to get onto the Autostrada the good side is you will
never feel alone again !
The weather forecast says that it is -4 and will reach 12° by mid day so I think I will wait a bit before going out for my free coffee!
CIAO
enjoy your day
NEWS ….PLEASE
Here here ….can we have some news ?
What is happening in Italy … if any of you know what is happening let me know , for months the news has focused on Fini ( for a mere 4 months ) and the flat he supposedly gave his brother in law in Montecarlo and with maybe a weeks normal news and then quickly reverted to Berlusconi and his many women
The questions is
WHO CARES ????????????
DO WE CARE?????? SURE ….IN THE SAME WAY I CARE ABOUT THE CONTENTS OF LOCAL DRAINAGE SYSTEM
AND EVEN THAT (GRANTED THAT IT MIGHT EVEN IN THE REMOTEST WAY BE USEFUL TO KNOW) IS SOMETHING THAT SEEN ONCE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH …… ARE WE THAT DESPERATE ?
HAVE WE RUN OUT OF MILLS AND BOONS ?
HAVE WE RUN OUT OF HELLO ?
DOES A HEADLINE HAVE A SELL BY DATE LIKE YOGURTS OR DO WE DEAL WITH ONE ISSUE A YEAR IN WHICH CASE JUST LET ME KNOW AND I WILL TUNE BACK IN NEXT YEAR
What worries me is I have no idea what else is going on so if any of you has news like if there are new laws …uneployment rate issues or national PIL values…earthquakes or any other important events, I would greatly appreciate you letting me know ….mhhhh I am sounding like a repressed chinese opposition member who has no way of getting information …should I be worrying ?????????? helpppp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Changes !
Well its been a cold January with snow …rain and… sun in Milan …yes I had the pleasure of being in Milan having escaped from fog and snow in the Marche to find a beautiful and sunny city.
So what else is changing , first of all food …a snack is a mac …or a burger ..but its still mostly for youngsters ( that of course in Italy is anything from 12 to 38 …the idea of leaving home and having to do your own washing or cooking is not very fashionable ..) .
Chinese food is acceptable but is regarded as something strange that will no doubt give you tummy trouble and is treated with great suspicion with cantonese rice and spring rolls being the star dishes .
But things are changing in a Country in which food was and still is a dominant part of life and strongly linked to family traditions … ones grandmother … mother … or wife..in which one argued to have the privilege of slaving for hours to cook huge meals for all the family and relatives, and the cause of great arguments over where one went to eat or whose tagliatelle were better….and great dramas ..my mothers food is unbeatable ( I find this quite endearing as my respose is great that means I dont have to cook!!) ..this recepie has been in our family for centuries ??? ( so that means we have to set fire to the sitting room to make a real fire to cook it given there were no gas ovens ??? that and going out to hunt with spears ??) , and in which lunch brakes could last up to three hours …and wedding lunches…… well for those you just fasted at least the day before ( I have fond memories of country weddings with the bride with a less than white gown with small red sauce stains by the end of the afternoon and the lunch menu still being served late in the afternoon …three types of starters, three types of pasta, three types of meat grilled fried and boiled, roast potoates and all the rest ..and eating cremini fritti ….divine ! things are definitely on the move …but where are they going ?
If this is good or bad depends on your needs , quality wise I wont even comment , work and efficiency wise there is just no comparison , people are actually back in their office on time ..and can carry out their work tasks ..maybe even within the same day.
Obviously speed varies , Milan is a non stop rush , but all slows down as we move towards the south.
Understanding if speed equals improvement again is worth a thought , the italians have a thing called slow food , a body that advocates and promotes good food , good wine all prepared and “degustato” slowly, stating that this greatly influences the quality of our lives .
If you need a slow food club it means things have changed !
I must say I tend to agree that a meal cooked slowly whilst sipping a glass of good wine possibly in the company of good friends does turn it into a memorable event and insures a good digestion.
I would also love to always eat well and be healthy but… I too am a sinner .. yes ….I at times eat the first thing I find ( ps have found a healthy snack bar called juice bar ).. ok ok sometimes it is not by chance.. I actually drive to the nearest unhealthy place ( and have yet to understand why the have introduced salads ????) and bite into a nice unhealthy burger and have some very very unhealthy fried food ….but oh well maybe its just so that I can appreciate all the lovely heatlhy slow food that surrounds me !
A presto
Laura
ROMA
December and i’m here in Rome after having had days of rain and cold, the Sun is out.. I don’t even need a coat!
But what makes this city so wonderful..the weather ? ..could be.. but that can’t be the attaction
the food .. er pecorino i bucatini all’amatriciana? no….it must be the cars parked in triple rows, the constant …a mo’ o faccio…i’ll do it in a minute , the fact it takes 55 minutes to cover 8 kms.
But I have a feeling that the winning element is the fact that if you look round apart from the very neapolitan bric a brac and variuos shops and areas, you turn a corner and you are suddenly confronted by ancient ruins , incredibile landmarks and everything else seems to phase out.All is quickly forgiven, the chaos , the queues, ….so come with a relaxed spirit and enjoy ! Viva Roma! And remember.. when in Rome do as the romans do.. don’t run around ..stroll along and join in the chaos.
Here we go again !!!
It is still cold ..but we have started to have nice warm days up to 21 ° ..so that means we are going towards the summer again. Just check the colours in the shop windows, gone are the grays and black..and out come the strong summer tones..and yes ice cream is back ..days are starting to get longer and well ..students are already counting the days till the end of school.
This month VINITALY
is on show along with various fairs ..maybe a good excuse to go to VERONA. You might also enjoy 
visting Velo Veronese a very pretty location ! Hope you have fun tasting !
CARNEVALE
We are all getting ready for Carnevale , this year I think most of us are going to opt for dressing up as fuzzy bear …or the abonimable snowman this for two reasons one being it is coldddd the other is that its a great way to hide the extra weight that is still there , yes indeed post festive diets are difficult to follow in Italy …there is always another festivity that involves food !!!
Try out the frappe recepie ..you can make an alchool free version..but life is short! Joking apart do try they are great , the first batch may not be perfect but if you try you will find they are quickto make and very tasty!
I hope to be out sailing again soon ! Come and join us !
LE SAGRE
Le Sagre
If you check the “manifesti “ posters stuck on the walls or billboards in your town you will see that every week end there are sagre . Sagre are traditional feasts and vary from town to town so for instance you will have the Sagra del Chìnghiale , wild boar feast with lots of dishes made of boar with music and dancing, or one with Tartufi, truffles with all the dishes served with truffle.
One of my favourite is the one for Cioccolato in Perugia ………in which everything is made of chocolate. Sagre are a good way of spending a day out visiting a town and getting to know the area and local food.
So next time you go out, look for the posters, remember that on 3 day events the Friday is the calmest , Saturday the busiest but Sundays are full too and go early if you want to park nearby as you know each Italian has 5 cars …just kidding ….but you know they all want to park nearby so be the first or be prepared to walk !
You can check out all the events on www.sagreinitalia.it
Enjoy !
Laura
Election Time….
Well folks, here we are another election gone by !!! And who won ??? Berlusconi this time! As you can see the players are always the same they just switch places now and again.
The good news is, it seems one of the first things he is going to do is to abolish ICI : aha so you are wondering how this piece of news may affect your life.
Well ICI is a tax that ALL house owners must pay in Italy - even non residents, so it affects everyone and hopefully means one less things to pay!
Well only 100000000000 others left !
A presto enjoy the sun !
Laura
Spring is coming…
Well…what’s new?
I can feel the spring arriving walking along the sea front I can start to think about the summer
All the “locali” along the beach front are getting ready so they are opening again at week ends !
It is period of first communions, confirmations, weddings so…food for all.
Shop windows are starting to fill up with colours and Easter Eggs are everywhere. Huge chocolate eggs with a large gift inside, and after a while the shape of the egg becomes the shape we get after overindulging!!!!
Everyone gets to the stage where, like turkey, they have lots of pieces of chocolate from their egg left over so that’s what you get offered and there are all the different recepies conjured up to use up the chocolate: chocolate cake, melted in milk, biscuits ectc…not that I mind being a chocoholic, this is the only period that no one notices my addiction as they are all eating it!!!!
Remember any questions you have you can write in info@vivereitaly.com
Ciao
A presto
Buona Pasqua
Laura
