Noooooo! It's HERE AGAIN!

Although the snow brings it's tranquility of silent beauty to lay across the land while decorating the Alps in fluffy fantasy. I can't help but dread it.
Because it also brings the bitter cold. Jack Frost lives not only outside, but also inside my house.
We spent our last winter here with hot water bottles, (that sometimes break open in your bed in the middle of the night..sigh) wearing bulky sweaters, hats, arm warmers, leg warmers and stockings under our pants. All of these things worn of course when we step outside the door, but also inside our home, while eating dinner, watching TV etc. Last winter there were many nights when I just slept in my clothes I was so cold!

If your home is larger than say, a studio, 300-450 square feet, it's going to be COLD inside of it. Fuel costs are outrageously high and it is impossible to heat your entire space to comfortable temperatures.
Cozy warm homes are few and far between, and seem to be the luxury of wealthy people, the exception rather than the rule for the average person. And it is not just houses, it's car dealerships, warehouses, supermarkets, all larger buildings are under heated, and generally have no built in heating system at all! It is quite common to see car salesmen wearing their parkas and scarves, inside the building. You won't see people lingering in shops, warm escapes to spend an afternoon in. Even the malls are open. The leisurely shopping experience doesn't exist and in general, the population spends a great deal of time fighting the flu.

Fireplaces are a necessity here but not many places come equipped with them, which leaves me puzzled as to Italy's architectural history, why aren't there fireplaces or wood stoves in every abode since heating costs seem to have always been a problem?

Now I shouldn't include all of Italy here because it seems as if my town has a unique history; it was burned to the ground 3 times by the Nazi's. Most if not all of the building's are new, created just after the second world war. Perhaps winters were milder then and homes did not require wood stoves or fireplaces, so they were not included in new structural designs. Nevertheless, you would think at this point you'd begin to see built in non gas/electric heating in apartments and houses. Also, a warm place is enticing. If I have to spend an afternoon in a store because it is warmer there than own my house, (insert swear words) chances are I will buy something from said store too.

Forgive me for sounding a bit ignorant and I'm sure I sound awfully American, but damn, and not so grateful to live in Italy when winter comes and

it's HERE AGAIN.

Those winter blues, and they're bitter cold,

The thought of spending it freezing once more forces me to become irrational and throw my annual tantrum which of course I had to share with you!

Not only have I been back in the schools sharing English conversation with American Indian Study Workshops, but I also have returning little private groups of students also in fall when school starts. These think up think of silly things to do, make movies pretending we're famous celebrities being interviewed, document the things we'd like to do in the future and in general, we create fun projects that force us to use English, practice English, listen to English for understanding, and pronounce words in English while learning lots of new vocabulary, so that we can be understood. I always let the students decide the project...except..,

This time I have one little group of three girls who want to recreate a film, from a YouTube video that is a bit well...,
disgusting!

The dilemma? I really want them to create and use English using things that make them excited and help them forget that they are actually speaking, Any language is easier once you forget you are trying to speak it and just speak it, mistakes regardless..

But, like eewwww!

For some reason the kids are nuts for this video called; I Found Some Poo, currently all the rage. They've decided to make poo from mashed potatoes and brown food coloring, recruited another person to play the part of the dad, (all he has to say  in English is, "WHAT?" so he's off the hook) and imagined various ways to copy this video and it's scenes in real life all except for the very end, where the little girl who likes poo ends up in the insane asylum.., (well of course she does, naturally, makes sense to me..,)  they are not sure how to fake the white room and neither am I.. yet.

Now I'm thinking about suggesting that instead of poo, they substitute SHOES, because well, every female loves shoes and can often be seen going crazy for them, (I've lost my mind for a shoe or two!) and they are a lot less disgusting. (Okay, maybe their cost can be a bit disgusting) But it seems like these future film producers have their hearts set on recreating this particular video and might be offended if I seem completely grossed out.

Well, watch the video, you decide, even for the sake of English, should I let, even help them make this video?




Here's my English Conversation blog, it's called Silly Fish. You can see some of the projects we've been up to there. Eventually the new POO video will end up there too.., sigh.

http://sillyfish.posterous.com/

I seem to spend a lot of time in France. Of course I care deeply about my currant country, but in Italy right now.. there is an atmosphere of.., well it is difficult to define. Some might call it almost a police state depending upon where you call home. Carabineri (police) sit in at least one roundabout in every town, especially on sunny days, stopping people arbitrarily. There are stories of raids and resulting suicides, justice undone. Add to that austerity that results in high employment, factory closings, store closings, rioting and hunger and at this moment pervasive feelings of sadness. No one smiles anymore and everywhere you see thoughtful or outright worried expressions on harried faces. It is not the Italy I know, even in the North, normally one of the richest regions, where unemployment has become especially high!
There are just moments when one must leave it all behind to preserve sanity. So when I get in my car and drive over the Alps, and I cross that border into France, I escape, instantly feeling my tension wash away.

There is sense of freedom in France that I don't feel here in Italy right now. A sense of optimism exists around me as I drive through the various small cities and towns along the way. Streets and stores are packed with people in city centers and I see bags and boxes, people are actually buying things. From the outside it is difficult to even believe that there is a crisis. (Crisis? What crisis?)
Also the system in France in general seems more familiar to me, more American almost, than that of Italy. I bet the French would hate that I say that, ha! Scooters zip by, hot boxes strapped to the back containing Sushi or pizzas, delivery for hungry apartment dwellers. Supermarkets are big and plentifully full of stuff from around the world, versus the 2 or 3 brand options I get in Italy. Fast food can be ordered by computer and is..., fast, there's even a Kentucky Fried Chicken! I don't eat it but I miss having the choice of not to eat it!
The internet seems speedier and technology more available. In general.., France is progressive, more and more rewarding of innovation than the Italian system is for now.
So I am always really happy and excited to go see my sister and my nieces who has lived in Avignon for 23 years, and let go of some of the heavy feeling of living in Italy, seriously though, any excuse is reason enough!
If you know Avignon at all you've heard that it has the Palais Des Papes where the popes hung out. There is the bridge and the castle of course and the walls that surround and enclose it. My sister lives within the castle walls of this Medieval village. The city is very romantic, very Phantom of The Opera-ish. I love it and have to stand at her big picture windows gazing out over the rooftops while singing all the songs from the musical..
I didn't say she was happy to see me..
This is a photo of her living room, the windows are behind me. I think even her living room is one of romance!

Do you know how many people die every year from eating mushrooms? I can't imagine eating anything I wasn't absolutely positive that I knew what it was! But here it happens. Many people don't make it through the season because they don't know which mushrooms are actually edible. What's worse, supermarkets can unknowingly buy mushrooms from these same people. This year a whole family was wiped out after buying Porchini mushrooms and eating them in a sauce, mushrooms they'd bought from a supermarket.
But up here in our little region we know our fungi.

As a matter of fact we've got it down to a science!

My mother-in-law can tell you not only which mushrooms you can eat, but depending on the color of this correct mushroom, it's softness or hardness, she'll also tell you what recipe to use it in. Even more wondrous, she can even tell you what type of tree it grew under!
Mushroom season was about a month ago here, September, October, depending on weather. They grow in the Alps and it is a regional pastime to find them. Armed with walking sticks, paper and cloth bags, (you can't use plastic as you will be fined on fear of littering..sigh..) you will see entire families scouring the countryside in search of these delicious funny looking delights. There are several different kinds they try to find here but Porchini is the most popular. In our household we know them well too so my son went this year to try his luck. Find them he did! He brought back so many of them we ended up;
drying them in the oven at low temperature,
cutting them up into little squares and freezing them,
including them in homemade pasta sauce, eating said sauce and than freezing the rest for the winter!
Giving them to friends and family who didn't have the time to go or couldn't go for themselves.

All in all there's something pretty fantastic about gathering wild things you find yourself and then preparing them into some exquisite dish, or storing them for future use. Mushrooms aren't the only wild things Italians here in the North gather, all summer long it's one yummy vegetable or treat after another. Now here's a little secret, first make absolutely sure you know exactly what the mushroom is that you are looking for. (Porchini) The first time my husband insisted on eating the mushrooms he'd picked up, I was frightened to death being well..me.. and having no idea about wild things in general. I watched nervously as he ate them in a sauce I'd prepared, expecting him to get violently ill and keel over, but he lived, I believed after that, and thus began our yearly mushroom hunting adventures.
Now I'll tell you where to find them in the states.
In the state of Colorado above Colorado Springs, you can find Porchini mushrooms in the mountains above 10,000 feet. Yup it's true, we used to do it every fall right before the leaves change color and usually we were the only ones looking for them as not many people know. Their smell is a bit different, and their taste is not as strong as the ones you find here in Northern Italy, but they are still very good. Use them in your pasta sauces, even ready made, they add a great taste and you'll have a pretty cool feeling of personal fungi accomplishment!

This is Margherita of Savoy, first queen of Italy. She was passionate about the arts and benefactor to many charities. She founded Società del Quartetto  and the Casa di Dante. She sounds like she was a very cool lady, but I must confess, I really like and feel more for her statue than the lady herself!
Located in Liguria, Italy along the coast, her statue sits regally, welcoming you into a fantasy garden that sits on a hill overlooking the sea. The white stone contrasts sharply with the green of the garden in summer and is the first thing your eyes lock on when you round the curve of the road. Statues always make me wonder, but this one in particular captures my imagination as this one in particular represents a woman who had weight and importance in a primarily male dominated society, so much so in fact.., that she has a statue!
Of course the statue is not the only reason to drive the coast..,


The other reason? Bordighera, right up the road! This stunning beach resort makes the trip worth it all by itself.






I think of Bordighera as a resort, but it's actually a town, although I've never actually walked into the town, (It's right behind the buildings!) content to hang out on this boardwalk! But the beachfront as you can see, is so amazing, it becomes the main event.




It's cute little restaurants and shops waterside just make for a very relaxing day, or week if you can afford it, and now perhaps you can because prices have dramatically dropped. If you look at the second photo, you'll see a glaring lack of people. In the height of summer and the tourist season, Bordighera is deserted. Which makes sense for the Italian people thanks to the recession, but what about the foreign tourists? Where are they?
The tourist season was inexplicably terrible this summer. But I have my own suspicions. After seeing the raids, made famous in news reports, and the police stopping Italians to search for evidence of hidden taxes, I think it's just plain put people off. Who wants to vacation in an absolute atmosphere of hostility?  I personally now have more photos taken in France than I do in Italy, because once I cross the border I feel..well..free. Don't get me wrong, I pay my taxes, but to constantly be stopped, sometimes 3 times a week, just makes me dread getting into my car and puts a damper on my Italian exploration, considering I don't even own a boat or a Ferrari. The average person has just stopped spending on anything that might be considered luxurious to avoid drawing attention.The war on taxes trickled down to us normal Jo's, the little guys who never avoided a tax in their lives. As austerity wipes out incomes, the government struggles to find even the smallest amount to add to their coffers. Do I sound a bit bitter? Better stop while I'm ahead!

Nevertheless, all it's political troubles can't take away Italy's extraordinary uniqueness, there is no place like it on earth and I am very lucky to share it's good times as well as bad.

In case you missed all the excitement.

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1078504_italians-shed-supercars-as-tax-raids-austerity-measures-continue

http://www.cnbc.com/id/48739278/Yachts_Raided_by_Tax_Authorities_in_Italy

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/06/17/debt-most-deadly-recession-and-austerity-fuel-suicide-in-italy.html

You know what's really neat about Italian or even European holidays?

They really really know how to relax. I mean how many Americans really know how to let go, put their feet up, and do nothing?
This summer I was fortunate enough to be invited along for an Italian style vacation on the beaches just outside of San Remo, (a city I really dislike.) solely because my native tongue was English. We decided to make this trip by bike to avoid the incredible traffic congestion that normally makes this city undoable. I was to go along to just speak to my friends and their kids in my own language so that they could become a little bit "immersed" into English while still physically being in Italy.
Well the vacation was fantastic but not at first,  I was antsy and fidgety because I realized a day into my vacation, I didn't know how to do nothing. 
Nothing consisted of going by bike to and paying for (€6.00-€18.00 depending upon the season) these little cabanas (pictured above,) complete with a couple of seats, and a little umbrella, our personal piece of private beach for the day. Yea! Stripping down to bathing suits, slathering on sunscreen and running into the ocean. Running back out of the ocean to our cabana, slathering on more sunscreen, than sleeping in the sun, of course. A little discussing.., this and that but nothing really important as well as taking long walks along the beach. Reading frivolous stories and of course eating, lunch and dinner. Now this was my previous definition of literally doing nothing, nothing being a thing that was non productive, a textbook example of accomplishing zip, zero, nada. In reality we did quite a lot. But this busy idea of nothingness was still hard for me to just let happen. I couldn't resolve the idea that I wasn't achieving something in some way. No concrete action, no concrete result, plus no computers, not even a pen and notebook! It was difficult for me to even just let go and stop thinking, much less planning and doing. Eventually I got into the swing of things, though (the fact that the people around me were also doing "nothing" sans computers and even.. gasp.., cell phones, really helped me to finally give in and get with the program.) and by the time I returned home, I felt renewed and fortified.
While the rest of us gaze longingly while judging negatively the Italian insistence on their "luxurious" vacations, I submit that there's something to be learned from them. First, these vacations are not really a luxury, they are instead a necessity. Second it is possible to spend very little for this luxury vacation experience of nothingness, with a bit of planning. Our actual vacation; traveling by bike, staying at a friends house and doing our own cooking was very inexpensive. And finally I think that in the end the Italians remember what most Americans have forgotten; to do nothing once in awhile and rest the mind and body actually heals us in mind and spirit, making us more productive people, in our job, for our families, in our lives,
long after the vacation is over.

One of my most favorite things to do, in any country is to search for treasure in the local flea markets! I peer and poke, dig through piles and explore niches looking to find...


well I'm not sure, just an object that grabs me, perhaps reminds me of a distant time and place, or maybe something of value buried and long forgotten to be discovered by me. Or maybe it's a copy of something I cherished from childhood. This flea market or should I say house market,  is located on the road to Limone the poshest ski resort of the Alps on the shortcut from Cuneo to Nice. It stands alone, and seems lonely, being store nor home nearby. You can easily pass it in a moment of indecision as you fly along your way to the top of the Alps, should I, shouldn't I? But it is well worth your stop. It doesn't appear to have a name, but it is more than obvious what this establishment offers as you travel by the block long view of a million treasures from the past.



Stop and plan to spend some time perusing this very cool gigantic flea market on your path to the big city. I think there must be one of everything ever created all awaiting you inside and out, some of them undefinable, most useful, and almost all of sentimental value. You'll get to Nice soon enough, and you'll thank me later!


Note, not sure if the included map is accurate. The house market is located on the Col De Tende below Limone before the Tunnel to France, on the left side.

UPdate!
Went back one dark and stormy night and scored a business card, you can now call ahead to see if they are open! (With an Italian friend's help of course!)

A very dreary day in Sospel, France! The sky was so overcast and dark it was hard to even take photographs! Still Sospel is one very charming little town and worth the effort to get there. It is located in the center of the Alps which means you have to go up to the very top on a narrow road first and than carefully wind your way back down into the valley. (I have no clue how they do this in the dead of winter, roads covered in snow and ice.) Once you get there, you'll find yourself surrounded by history of course, but also cool little shops and restaurants. (Sospel sports a fantastic Thai restaurant that blends the spices of France and Thailand, very unique, very fresh!) They have a chamber of commerce where you can pick up a pamphlet in English with info and a map that guides you to various points of interest. I love the name of this village because for me, the name is a mix of "Spell" and "Suspense." Why, I don't know, just the way the word sounds I guess, but the charm of this itty bitty city plus it's being difficult to get to, definitely reinforced what I was thinking. It's mysterious and charming, well worth the trip!

I have to say that I'm a little bit nuts for cemeteries, having an acute appreciation for life, I have a fascination with it's passing. Before I moved here, I used to love to wander the old cemeteries of the Boston area, enchanted and intrigued by the many stones representing life's lived long past. But all that is ruined for me now after having moved to Europe where history is so vast it is difficult to hold in the mind and stone structures tower overhead, visual monuments of passage blocking the sky.
I'm ashamed to say I've forgotten which cemetery this is. Somewhere near Alba in Italy it's on the main road, it is newer than most but nevertheless still is quite impressive. People here of course, think I am crazy for toting a camera to a cemetery, but are really very tolerant of this nutty American. I try to look like I had my camera  "accidentally" on my person as I make a sudden stop to visit a relative during a busy day, but I'm probably not fooling anyone because I always accidentally have it, busy day or no....

Sure Americans are nuts about Chestnuts, we have a song about em after all, but the people of Cuneo love them so much that they celebrate them with a 3 day festival! Literally called, you guessed it, The Chestnut Festival, the main roads get closed down to traffic and pretty white matching booths line the streets on either side like parked cars. Nestled inside the booths are various delectable displays of different types of  regional foods, salami, cheese, sweets and of course personal versions of roasted chestnuts from producers located throughout the entire region of Piemonte, The festival itself features traditional song and dance from the past and a roll of open fire chestnut roasters that send a smoky nutty perfume through he air. My  favorite event is the chocolate fair, where artists recreate imaginary scenes in chocolate. The designs can be huge, sometimes extraordinary and extremely elaborate. The photo above is a harvest scene created completely in yummy chocolate,  (I have to keep repeating it because I find it hard to believe myself, how on earth do they do that?!) from flowers to barrels. It is so beautifully exact that it would be a shame to eat it, as a matter of face it would be almost impossible to eat...
Well  
almost...,

Very strange little town on the top of a.., well it's in between a hill and a small mountain. Not easy to walk up without a lot of effort, but not quite as impressive as say a ride up to Pikes Peak in Colorado. The town is called Bussana Vecchia and is literally a place taken over by artists, and only artists, after a quake destroyed it in the 18 hundreds. It is located outside of San Remo, and is absolutely a must see as the artists moved into he rubble and did what artists normally do, made it quirky and eccentric! Even this cat looks cool and artistic, laying there, not a care, sleeping all wrapped up in that fishing net. Anyway, I always think of places in terms of if I could actually live there, and I could, I have no problem imagining my art gallery set up in this charming little place, but...
Well the earthquake ruins makes me feel like the ground is going to move again.., probably right after I set up my little art gallery..

Here's their site in Italian, (google translate, google translate hint hint) Bussana Vecchia

Okay, so I moved across the world, started a blog, and immediately stopped writing because I was tremendously overwhelmed by the whole experience! Family, new culture, new language and absolutely nothing made sense. Every day was not only one day at a time, but almost one moment at a time. Two years later I've recovered somewhat, but now I am on the verge of returning home after all the struggle.
Still I took some great photos though!
I've decided to do a bit less writing and a lot more photography sharing as I took an incredible amount of photos and photos capture the feel of my life way better than my writing ever did.
This fantastic place is Menton, France. This photo is of the older part of the city. I love the romantic feel of this place, and could definitely live here, but my husband is Italian, so I'm stuck in Italy. Sounds tragic doesn't it?
If you'd like to read my first few posts you can find them here: The Reluctant Expat