Eating A Lot Is A Good Thing!

One evening my friend Regine and I decided to go out to dinner. We had planned it earlier in the week, and since I don’t eat out often, I was really looking forward to it. We planned to meet at 9 at a local establishment I Ghibellini, one of my favorites.

For some reason, I got confused on the time and arrived at 8:30. Actually it worked out okay because it was a nice evening and the outside patio was almost full, so I went ahead and secured a table, ordered a bottle of wine and waited for Regine. She arrived promptly at nine and we chatted a little bit about our day before we ordered.

I had had a small lunch in anticipation of a nice dinner out, so I was very hungry. Italians eat in several courses as I have described before: Antipasta, Primi piatti, Secondo Piatti, e Dolce. Meals last for a couple of hours and they are usually able to eat all of this. Americans usually do not eat this much at one meal, but we probably eat more at each meal. Anyway, I had decided to do the full "italian dinner" without the dessert which always has eggs in it, which I am allergic to.

I started my order with Bruschetta, and then Penne arrabiata. When I got to this point, the waiter turned to Regine and I said "Che piu’" (There is more). He turned back to me, and said he was sorry and then I ordered the Tagliatella petti di pollo con vedura griglia (Grilled breast of chicken with grilled vegetables). He said "Tutto per tua?" (All for you?) And I laughed and said "Si, molti fame!" (I am very hungry) and he said "Complimenti!" (Help yourself!) Regine order an antipasta and a primi piatti, and we chatted as we continued our dinner.

I ate every bite of every course and it was delicious. One of the things I have missed is grilling out, and this restaurant has extraordinary grilled chicken and vegetables. Grilled meats in Florence are very popular (Fiorentina Bistecca-is a grilled T-bone and a regional specialty) but most of the grilled items are meat of course. The grilled vegetables are loaded with olive oil and spices and are red pepper, yellow pepper, zucchini, and eggplant....delicious!

When I finished my dinner, I headed off to the restroom and Regine ordered coffee. When I came back the table had been cleared. Just as I sat down, our waiter came over to the table and said "Brava! Mi Complimenta! Bellisima!" (Great job, congratulations! Beautiful!) He was speaking of the fact that I ate everything! That’s how Italians are about food and it is just one of the reasons I love them!

In Case You Think I'm "Goofing Off"

In the event that some of you doubt my dedication to studying the language, I am including my presentation on Tennessee for your review. It took me so many hours to do this, you would not believe! I know it sounds like a 3rd grader, which is probably the equivalent level of my Italian language ability. I wrote the report in English first, then translated it. There is a slide show of photographs that go with it, and as soon as I figure out how to post them, I will.

The class currently consists of 4 Japanese, 1 Korean, 1 Austrian, 2 Mexicans, 1 other American (a young girl who is getting her master's degree in opera from Julliard! She needs to learn more about the language for the lyrics....I think that is so cool.....she sang for us today and it was bellisimo!) Anyway, everyone thought it was interesting and had fun guessing the people.

If you know anyone who speaks Italian, and you show this to them, they will find many,many errors with articles and prepositions. I have determined that the reason that Italians talk so fast is because if they want to say the same thing in the same amount of time, there are a lot more words to say because of the number of syllables, articles, and prepositions......so they have to talk fast to get it all in in the same amount of time. My teachers assure me that articles and prepositions are one of the hardest things to learn and that this is normal. It is highly frustrating though! Anyway....here you go.

Tennessee

Tennessee is in the south in the United States. Tennessee is surrounded by 9 other states: Kentucky and Virginia are North, North Carolina to the East, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi are South and Arkansas and Missouri are to the West.

Tennessee was admitted to the United States in 1796 and is the 16th state. There are 6 million people living in Tennessee.

The climate is humid sub tropical. In the winter, temperatures range from 0-15 and in summer 15-31.

There are 3 regions in Tennessee. East Tennessee, West Tennessee and Middle Tennessee. Each region has one major city. In East Tennessee, Knoxville is the largest city. The Great Smoky Mountains are on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina and The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the most visited parks in the country. You can hike, fish, ski, camp and view the beautiful panorama there.

In Middle Tennessee, Nashville is the largest city and it is the largest city in Tennessee. Nashville has 500,000 people. Nashville has a beautiful skyline and it is very famous for country music. There are many recording studios, musicians and live music there. There are also a lot of famous people who live in Nashville.

You can visit the Country Music Hall of Fame, or the Parthenon, which is an exact replica of the parthenon in Athens, Greece. It was built for the cities 100 year anniversary. It is located in a park in downtown Nashville, called Centennial Park.

Memphis is in West Tennessee. Memphis is on the border of Tennessee and Arkansas, and the Mississippi River. Memphis is also famous for music. It has many famous blues clubs and Elvis Presley lived there in Graceland.

Tennessee has several professional sports teams:

American Football Tennessee Titans
Hockey Nashville Predators
Baseball Nashville Sounds, Memphis Redbirds

Do you know who these famous people are from Tennessee? Guess.

Elvis Presley
Reese Witherspoon
Tina Turner
Al Gore
Andrew Jackson
Quentin Tarantino

Other famous Tennessee things:

1. Jack Daniels Whiskey
2. Tennessee Walking Horses
3. Dolly Parton

These are the State Symbols:

1. State Flag
2. State Flower
3. State Bird
4. State Song

Il Tennessee

Il Tennessee e’ nel sud degli Stati Uniti. Tennessee e’ circondato da 8 (otto) altri stati. Kentucky e Virginia ci sono nord, North Carolina e’ est, Georgia, Alabama, e Mississippi ci sono sud, e Arkansas e Missouri ci sono ovest.

Il Tennessee e’ stato uniti con Stati Uniti in 1796 (mille sete cento novantaseis) e e’ il sedicesimo stato. Ci sono sei milioni personi loro abitanno in Il Tennessee.

Il clima e’ umido sub tropicale. In l’inverno, la temperatura variae da 0 a 15. In l’estate’ la temperatura varia da 15 a 31.

Ci sono tre regioni in Tennessee. Est Tennessee, Ovest Tennessee, e Centrale Tennessee. Ogni regioni hanno un citta’ maggiore. In est Tennessee, Knoxville e’ un grande citta’. The Great Smoky Mountains ci sono bordo North Carolina. Il parco, The Great Smoky Mountain National Park, e’ un piu visitati in il paese. Voi potete fare camminate, pescare, sciare, accamparsi, e vedete il panorama nel parco.

In Centrale Tennessee, Nashville e’ un grande citta’. Anche e’ piu grande citta’ in Tennessee. Nashville ha cinque cento mille personi. Nashville ha uno profilio il cielo. E’ molti famosi per la musica della compagnia (Country Music). Ci sono molti sala di registrizione, i musicisti, y la musica del vivo.

Ci sono molti personi famosi hanno abbitanno in Nashville. Voi potete visitete al Country Music Hall of Fame, il museo, o il Parthenon. Il Parthenon e’ esatto replicato di Parthenon in Atenes a Grecia. E’stato construire per la centisimo anniversario di Tennessee. E’ situato in el parco in mezzo di citta’. E’ chiama, Centennial Park.

Memphis e’ in ovest Tennessee. Memphis e bordo Arkansas e il fuime Mississippi. Memphis e’ famosi per la musica anche. Ci sono molti blues organizati dove voi potete senteti la musica. Elvis Presley e’ abitato in Memphis al Graceland.

Tennessee ha parecchi professionali squadri:

1. American futbol Tennessee Titans
2. Hockey Nashville Predators
3. Baseball Nashville Sounds, Memphis Redbirds

Voi conoscete questi personi famosi? Indovini!

1. Elvis Presley
2. Reese Witherspoon
3. Tina Turner
4. Al Gore
5. Andrew Jackson-7th president
6. Quentin Tarantino

Altra famosi cosie di Il Tennessee:

1. Jack Daniels
2. Tennessee Walking Horses
3. Dolly Parton
Questo sono di Simbolo di Il Tennessee
1. Bandiero di Stato
2. Fiore di Stato
3. Ucello di Stato
4. Canzone di Stato

"Hot" Hair for Hot Weather

Okay, so I have been letting my hair grow for years, and it was at it’s longest since I was 16. Still not long, but longer than my usual. When I went to Rome, it was very hot, and I decided then and there to get it cut. My lifestyle in Florence does not support using a lot of hair products, a hair dryer, and a flat iron. Being outside, walking everywhere with the beautiful sunshine and breezes, it is always a mess anyway.

I called Simone and made my appointment....all in Italian this time. "Io voglio fare un’ appuntomento per capelli taglio con Simone, Venerdi, Maggio 11 at 3". This all sounded great, and the man on the other end of the line asked my name...Karen Mills, I said. Well, this sounds really funny stuck between all that Italian. Anyway, the appointment was made during the time Kelly and Mom were visiting. I hoped to find some photos of what I was going for rather than have to explain it in Italian to Simone.

One of the things I had asked Mom and Kelly to bring was American magazines. I can get them here, but because they are imported, they are very expensive. I am talking 15 euro each, which is about 22 dollars! I can get all the Italian magazines for more reasonable prices, but reading is still difficult for me, so I just do without.

Mom and Kelly came through with the magazines and I went in to see Simone armed with a photo of Mia Farrow. He did a wonderful job, and I feel very "sassy" with my new cut, and oh so European. No fuss, no muss. .

American Music

One of the things that Americans are famous for in other parts of the world is our music. That was a surprise to me for some reason, but everywhere you go, you hear American music in car radios, shops, being sung by bands, and MTV, on the television.

One night Kelly and I were taking a stroll (abbiamo fatto la passiegata) when Paolo, a man who I had met in the Piazza once before, said hello. Kelly and I had just decided we wanted to have a Limoncello, and were trying to find a place for that. When he asked where we were going and we told him, he pointed us in the right direction, and said he would join us in a few minutes.

He pointed us toward Giubbe Rossa (The Red Jacket) which is a famous café on Piazza della Republica, frequented by "the literati" over the years in Florence. There is a large covered café right on the Piazza and small tables just outside for the locals. I have been here often with Enrico for caffe, and we always sit in the small tables-only tourists frequent the patio area, and of course I have done that as well. The small tables outside always have reserved signs on them.

When Kelly and I arrived, the reserved signs were on the small tables, so we went inside and ordered our Limoncello at the bar. Paolo arrived and came inside to get us, and immediately suggested that we move to the outside tables that said reserved. I told him there were signs on the table, and he said that was so that the locals could use them, and we made our way to one of the tables.

There were several of Paolo’s friends sitting there already and we joined them and Paolo made introductions. I am not sure how we got on the subject, but it wasn’t long before we were talking about music and who we liked, and what our favorites were. One man, Giuseppe, was a guitarist who loved Credence Clearwater Revival, The Allman Brothers, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Giuseppe burst into guitar licks from Sweet Home Alabama, and Kelly almost fell out of her chair laughing. Hearing an Italian sing that it unexpected to say the least!

We tried telling some jokes, but they really didn’t translate, so we stuck to the music conversation. Here we are having a great time!

Pick Pockets

Well, everyone reads in the guidebooks that Italy, and many countries in Europe are notorious for pick pockets! Unfortunately, while Mom and Kelly were visiting, we had to experience it first hand.

Mom and Kelly and I met after my school, near the Duomo, to take the bus up to Fiesole. Fiesole is a beautiful small village about a 20 minute bus ride from Florence. There was an incident on the street where we caught the bus that caused a traffic jam, so the people getting on the bus were backed up and it was very crowded. This bus is usually crowded anyway, but more so this day.

I pushed my way onto the bus to punch our tickets and Kelly and Mom followed. We had to stand because of the crowd. For some reason, (I think she must have felt something) Mom started to look for her wallet, which was not in her purse at this point. Of course she was upset and shocked and felt violated, and the people around her showed concern. Most likely it was one of the people around her that took the wallet, but we will never know.

Thankfully, Mom was a good traveler and followed my instructions about what to carry in her purse and wallet, and only had her driver’s license (she really didn’t need that, but) her bank card (you have to have a pin to use this) and one credit card (that when we tried to use it to purchase a train ticket the day before would not work, because the credit card company flagged it for out of the ordinary purchases).

If you travel to Italy, or anywhere really that you usually don’t, you should notify your credit card company because they always cut it off at the most inopportune times, except this one, which worked to Mom’s advantage. She had her Euros in another pocket in her purse, and they were safe.

Once we took stock of what was lost, and determined that aside from being angry about it occurring, we went on to enjoy our day. Fiesole is very beautiful, and it was cooler there than in Florence that day. I had been here before with Will, so Kelly enjoyed the archeological museum, after we had a nice lunch overlooking the view. Today it was more clear than when Will and I had visited, so I got some better photos of the view.

I am really sorry the incident happened. It’s the kind of thing that we as suburban Americans are not accustomed to, and guidebooks and tourists dwell on it. The crime rate, even for petty theft is minuscule in Italy and most of the rest of the world versus the USA.

Here are some statistics:

Total Crimes
USA 80/1000 This is the 8th worst in the world out of 64 countries

Italy 37/1000

Murders

USA .0004/1000 25th worst in the world

Italy .0001/1000

Robberies

USA .001/1000

Italy .0006/1000

*Per capita (per 1000 people)

I got this information from http://www.nationmaster.com./ Check it out.

Meeting New Friends

The Neptune Fountain

Ponte Vecchio at Sunset
Ponte Vecchio

I have had such a fun time writing this blog. There are so many things that happen to me, and so much to tell, I am never at a loss for words.....only the right ones that can make the experiences that I have come alive for you as well. I feel that the words and the photos are often lacking to fully describe my experiences here. Even so, you are all very kind and I love hearing from you about the stories that you like, and especially when you put comments on the site for others to see.

Lately, the site seems to be taking on a life of it’s own, and providing me with opportunities to meet many people that I might never encounter. Some of you pass the website address along to others who might be visiting Italy, or who just might be interested in some of the stories. Recently, I met two couples who were visiting Florence, and had read my website.

I won’t name their names, but they know who they are....... We met at The Neptune Fountain, my favorite meeting spot, and then went for a bottle of wine and "fare chiacchiere" (chat) about my experiences, and theirs in Florence. This is definitely a delightfully surprising unexpected outcome of the site, so I hope that if you are in Florence, or someone you know, that we can meet, drink vino, and compare notes!

The Dancing Lady

Almost every evening, I end my day in Piazza della Signoria, near the Uffizzi to listen to music. There is a man who plays the guitar, and his wife, and they sing Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, Rod Stewart, etc.

They are really very good, and the setting is beautiful with all of the statutes and the lighting, and the music reverberates through the arches and stone walls.

When Mom and Kelly visited, I took them there one evening. The weather was beautiful, with a clear night, and a cool breeze in the air. It was very crowded, but we managed to get one of the prime seats to enjoy the show.

Lots of people gather around, but this evening their was extra entertainment. Kelly and I had actually seen this woman the night before standing on the edge of the crowd, dancing and moving to the music. She was in her own world, and thoroughly enjoying it. Tonight, she had some wine and strawberries that she was eating, and had brought along some "props" for dancing.

As the music played, she decided to dance. She gathered her "props", a blue scarf, and headed to the middle of the piazza and begin to dance, twirling and swirling her scarf on her toes, moving to and fro. Everyone enjoyed watching her and someone even threw a rose to her which thrilled her to death! There was a lot of hooting and hollering and clapping when she was done. She went back and sat down to refresh herself with her wine and strawberries, but before too long, she was at it again.

Sorry the photo didn’t come out very well in the dark, but you get the gist!