Mi piache gelato!

June 4, 2010

Wow! There's so much to catch up on! Today was a great day! I woke up and spent about an hour in the market which was a cool experience. I got this cool pear that was fully red like an apple but very sweet and soft like a pear.  I've never seen one like it before. Plus, I met and talked for a while with a beekeeper who was selling all sorts of honey. He told me to visit his actual shop in campo de monte in montefiascone tomorrow but we'll be in Giglio Island all day so I don't think I'll be able to. I felt bad talking to him for so long and not buying something from him so I went to purchase one of his honey lollipops but he gave it to me for free! Afterwards, I had about an hour before I had to meet with our group for our excursion today so I found this road that just billows out into the countryside and just walked it. I passed by the tomb of Regina or something or other - an old Etruscan ruin and crypt thing. There was a gate and a dirt road looking path that probably wasn't open to the public but I wanted to see where it led so I followed it and found this incredible view! I felt like I was in a post card for Tuscania or a Google image or something because everything was perfect - the sun was bright and bold in the sky and the fields were SO green!  The bank looked out over a field of gorgeous red wild flowers and off in the distance was the solid strong san pietro. My little reverie broke when a dog started barking at me and the lady chasing after him had to tell me that the visitor center was closed. I thanked her (Grazie, me dispiache, va bene" and proceeded on my way. Then, as I was walking on the country path, I heard all these wind chimes. I investigated further and walked in upon a field of sheep - each of them had a bell! That me smile because it was just so random! I love this road though - it's great for thinking. I thought a lot about just this experience and stuff. I was able to help Maria Carla plant some flowers - they have this lovely purple brilliance and I felt like I was at home again helping my parents do the same thing. The morning excursion was absolutely fantastic! We took this epic little hike up a mountain which was gorgeous in itself. I find it wonderful that we were going to see an art gallery….things just work out like that here - I mean, we're going to see an art gallery and even the walk up there is beautiful! We were joined by the neighborhood dog Pluto who escorted us up there and back the entire way! The gallery itself was absolutely beautiful. I mean, the German artist Johannes made all the sculptures and paintings from things he found in the streets -- instrument parts and metal gears and wire and such -- he definitely showed how one person's trash is another's treasure! Also, he's very talented at making mechanical art - or art that moves. For instance, he has a lot of stuff in which the art is actually the shadow that is created from the wires moving around at certain angles under particular lighting. He even had a few talking and responsive robots! WHIMSICAL was the word of the day! I truly felt like I had just walked into a little fairy's tinkering home -- it was like walking into a modern day Alice in Wonderland!

June 6, 2010

There's something magical about Tuscania that I think everyone here feels. It's this idea of slwoing down and focusing on what's truly important. Here, people aren't ruled at al by the clock and schedules like we are in the States, but instead by their relationships with other people and themselves. People go out of their way to spend time with each other and to make others feel welcome. I think life here is amazing and just so much healthier. My Italian language teacher was telling us how just a few decades ago, Tuscania was a peasant land and how the fields were worked by the hard labor of their parents and their parents before them. He said that this is where the people in Tuscania get their ideals from. For instance, they place a high value on food and how you should only take enough. More than enough means that you're wasting it and it's almost unheard of to throw food away directly because they understand that there are so many people who starve to death.  If something cannot be eaten, like half a loaf of bread or something, they'll make it into a biscotti or a bread pudding dish. They eat or rework leftovers or even just feed the dog with the scraps. Food and mealtimes are always a time for relationships too. I have yet to see a meal here eaten in a hurry or while doing 3 other things. People either take that time to slow down and enjoy their cappuccino (or whatever) and think or read a newspaper or even strike up a conversation with the café owner or others around them if they're by themselves.  Italians aren't nearly as loud here as I expected. In fact, I think they are quite quiet compared to Americans. They wake up early but not too early (which means they definitely don't need a venti mocha frappuchino at 5am). Most stores open at 8:30 and only a few cafes are open at 6am. People take time in the morning to work, come home around 2 or 3 for a reposso (like a siesta) and most stores even close between 1-4pm. They take the time in the evening to hang out with each other. Sunday mornings like this one are great because people have really slow mornings and take time for passagiatas (walks) or to jus sit in the park and think. I mean there are 2 people that have been in this park longer than I have and 2 others that have been here for just as long.

There's really so much to value in living in a smaller town and also in a home stay. I learn so much each day and have such great contacts with people. My API group wonders how I know so many people in this town and really all it takes is introducing yourself. I mean, I pass by the same group of cute grandparents sitting next to the neighborhood fountain every day…and every day I stop by to say hi to them - it's as simple as that! People here are SO friendly and really WANT to make connections with all of us.

Lunch today was pretty amazing! We had lunch with 2 of Maria Carla's friends and her sister who came in from Rome to visit. The first course, the antipasta, was a plate of 4 different cheeses and some kiwis and pears with honey. The next course was the pasta - I had this really yummy soft pasta dish with a great sauce and lots of vegetables. The third course is supposed to be meat but I had a melted mozzarella and vegetable and fried phyllo dough looking thing that was super yummmy. Our last thing was the coffee (cute little espressos) but me and Maria Carla's friend had a café fredda called a ShaKerradda with crema d'whiskey. It was soo delicious! Then, they continued to talk forever and I did a combination of day dream and listen - I mean, this lunch was starting to go on 2.5 hours already :)

Maria Carla told me that I was free to leave whenever I wanted but I stayed because I didn't want to be rude - I mean, I just got a traditional 4 course Italian meal for free! But boy am I glad I stuck around! one of Maria's friends really wanted gelato so we went to the best gelateria in town (Falleroni) and he got us all gelato! It was on my goal list to become friends with the workers at the gelateria so when my favorite gelato guy/barista came in with his wife and new born baby girl, I took that as my opportunity to talk to them.  That was simply fantastic because I could just feel my Italian growing and they started talking about how I'm the girl who always comes in and wants to taste every flavor before buying a scoop so one of the guys took me to the back to see how the gelato is made!

The next 3 hours was a dream come true! I helped make all the gelato! Not only did I help, I came up with some new flavors! ( bananas and caramel, white chocolate, hazelnut, caramel, and honey and hazelnut) I'm currently in the process of working on a dark chocolate mint one hehe! That's when I found out that I had just become the apprentice to not just some gelato guy but THE OWNER and created of the gelateria himself! His name is Nenno and he's like famous in the whole Tuscan area! He started Falleroni in 1974! I learned all the secrets and all the love and I got to taste test every flavor I made during that time (lemon, vanilla, tiramisu, caffe, peach, black berry, pistachio, strawberry, and strawberry-lemon-yogurt) I found out that it's a family run business which explains why everyone is SO friendly! I'm on a first name basis with everyone at the store and they want me to stop in again tomorrow!  I even got to practice my Spanish again because the wife of my favorite barista is from Mexico! What a great afternoon!

In the evening, we watched the beautiful procession for Corpus Domani - there was a whole patterned path made entirely of flower petals on the road - it was so cool! After dinner, I helped Maria Carla dry some rosemary for cooking. I'm excited - I get to meet her daughter and family tomorrow!