Well we have been in Italy for just about two weeks now. My God, how the time flies. It's been almost a year since we were here last fall. We have been busy getting acclimated to Italian life. This is the plane that took us to Rome. From there we drove to IL MOLINO. Actually, this time is was easy and, believe it or not, I did recognize some of the roads. Our plane ride was good and we had seats with the bulkhead in front of us so we had a lot of leg room. Watching movies made the flight seem a lot shorter than it really was. Caroline and Pino were there to greet us and, realizing that were tired from out trip, treated us to some local pizza. The pizza was great. So it was pizza and bed.
Our flight was supposed to be on time but, as it turned out, they had to replace a toilet so we were delayed by about 45 minutes. I don't know why the toilet was broken, but I did see a man deplane who might have been the problem. Yep, that's right, he was an American. Most Italians are slim.
These first two weeks we have spent mostly around IL MOLINO. Here is a picture taken from the porch facing East. This was just after sunset. The umbrellas you see in the picture are around the swimming pool. It was still open when we arrived. In fact it is still open today. It was very hot and humid when we arrived so swimming was still the high point of the day.
This picture was taken the same evening of the above picture, except this one was taken facing West. As you can see the sun has the mountains to our west well lighted. It is a beautiful sight to see in person. You should come here sometime and experience this for yourself. By the way, notice that the field in this picture looks dry and burnt. The summer here was very hot and dry and, therefore, the grass is not growing well. I have only cut it once since I have been here and not all of it. The mowers are getting a lot of rest and, of course, so am I.
The Olive Grove is in this picture on the left. It looks like we will have a harvest this year. If you remember from my blogs last year there was no harvest because of a fly that bore into the olives and rendered them useless. This year, because of the hot and dry summer the olives are plentiful but small. When Carloine and Pino get home from Sicily we will begin the harvest.. Oh my aching back. It's hard work but I love it and look forward to helping this year. We all look forward to getting that first extra virgin oil that comes out of the press, putting it on some Italian bread with salami and wine and enjoying the fruits of our labor.
Yep, I said it before and I will say it again. It is all about the food here in Tuscany. Here is a nice dish prepared by Brenda. It is simple as most of the dishes are here in rural Tuscany, but delicious. The sauce, don't ever call it gravy here, that would be an insult, is made from fresh tomatoes picked that day from Pino's Kitchen Garden. After the pasta we had either chicken or meatballs in a separate dish and then salad. When we told Anna (Pino's Mother) that we put the meatballs in with the pasta and serve it in the same dish, she couldn't believe it. So what happenes when you put cheese on the pasta, she said, it will get all over the meat. That's not right. NO, I will still do it my way.
She did say, however, that in England they serve it the way we do at home. Pino's mom was born in Naples and her husband was born in Sicily. They immigrated to England looking for work before they started a family. Pino, his brothers, and all the children were born in England so they hold dual citizenship. Caroline was born in England and that is where she met Pino. And so the story goes.
Another great dish is pictured on the left. This is like a tomato/potato lasagna. Almost everything in that dish came from the garden. I am so happy that I lost almost 10 pounds before I came to Italy. The problem is I might have put those 10 pounds back on again. Oh well, as I tell Brenda: Worry about it when you get home.
Here is Gabbiella. She is here to clean the apartments after the guests leave. She does an excellent job, too bad she not in the U.S. My two Italian girl friends Bianca on the left and Molly on the right, as you can see, really look forward to her arrival. That pocketbook hanging from her left arm contains some great treats. The dogs are unbelievable. They know just when she arrives and run to meet her at the car where her husband drops her off. Gabbiella is a great person and is learning some English so we can now kind of communicate. It is great.
Here is Anna and Lena (Raffaele, Pino's brothers girl friend) playing a card game called Scopa. This is after we had Sunday dinner at Anna's. Of course it is Sunday and what do you have on Sunday? Yep! Pasta. It is a fast game and they play for money. Nope you are not going to get rich playing this game with Anna and Lena. On this day Anna won. Probably all of 3 or 4 Euros, if that many. I remember my grandmother and mother playing this game when I was young and at home. As is usual we Americanize the name to Scob. It seems like we have turned t's to d's and p's to b's in the interpretation. Also we leave off all the endings of words. For example, we call the Italian ham Prosciutt, but the correct pronunciation is Prosciutto. And so on.
Believe it or not. The doctor still makes house calls here in this part of Italy. Here is Anna getting a check up by the doctor at home. I don't know if you are old enough, but I remember the doctor coming to my house when I was a lot, I mean a lot, younger. And I still remember the fish man, rag man, bread man and milk man. We still have the bread man here. Being here in this part of rural Italy is like being in the U.S. in the 50's and 60's. It is so great and so simple. Family is everything. We are so lucky that the Nobile's have made us part of their family.
GPS wise, this is where we are in Italy. You can see we are a bit further North of Connecticut and obviously much further East. The weather here, however, is much milder than Connecticut. I think it is the Mediterranean climate influence that keeps it much milder here. For example, we will close the pool in about a week and will not have to drain water from the pipes. We will just chlorinate the water and clean the liner and cover it. It will never get cold enough to freeze the pipes. They may get a little ice in them but not enough to freeze solid.
Next we will have the opportunity to travel to Amalfi for a few days. We found a great apartment to rent for a few days overlooking the sea and close to Amalfi center. I will be sure to take some pictures and gather some history for a future blog.
Stay tuned, more to come. Ray
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