I Don't Like To Say Good Bye

The summer is officially over in Italy, the beach is almost empty, the street vendors have gone and some of the shops are closing for the season. For the first time we have worn our sweaters and jeans. We are ready to come home but leave a little bit of our hearts here since we fell in love with this country. I know we will miss the people who became part of our journey and we hope we will see them again. Valeria said it best "I don't like to say good bye" so to all of you who have made us feel like home you will be with us, always. Arrivederci Senigallia

A Senigallia Sunset

I Almost Cried

We explored more than I had expected this summer since our original goal was to immerse ourselves in the day to day life of a small Italian town. Most excursions were clumped together in day trips such as Assisi, Urbino, Gubbio, Loreto with our good friends Phil and Sue Anne who stayed with us for a memorable week. We also visited Serra de Conti, Jesi, San Giminanno, and the Le Grotte Frasassi, each held its own magic. We did manage to fit in Cinque Terre, which was at the top of my "must see" list in Italy for two glorious days. The five towns were isolated and cut off from the world until 100 years ago and tourism did not exist until the 1960's. These jewels are perched on incredibly steep mountains that literally fall into the sea, it's history speaks of hardship and a determined people to tame the most difficult of terrains by terrace farming. Now it is a paradise for hikers. Jim and I set out from Loreto to Monterosso al Mare, it was only 4 miles but the assent is about 1,000 ft up and then 1,000 ft down. For those 3.5 hours we were entirely captivated by the beauty and wonder of nature, it was the most magnificent hike I have ever done.

Our son Eric and Aya, his girlfriend, visited from Japan and they wanted to see was Venice, so we went. Yes it was crowded, no it did not smell, and yes I think it is the most romantic place on earth. Wish we were there with about 1/10 of the people but eating our picnic lunch of prosciutto, tomatoes, gorgonzola cheese with Italian bread on the steps in St. Marks Square was priceless. Another great side trip was Perugia with our daughter Beth and her girlfriend Aaryn, what a treat, literally chocolate everywhere.

Winding down and starting to count the days until we return home, Jim started thinking about Florence. The last time we were there was 12 years ago (literally for 6 hours), I had gotten unexpectedly sick so the visit was cut short. We went, our new motto is "never to put off what you don't have too". Found a reasonable hotel right next to the Ponte Viccchio (thank you Karen Brown) with a view of the Duomo. Our main goal was to get to the Uffizi, we were ready to embrace the masters of Renaissance Italy. We decided to jump into a guided tour which whisked us up to the front of the line. The guide, in a very logical and informative way, moved us from one master to the other with wonderful details of the life and times of Florence as well as of the artist and artwork itself. Anyone who has ever wanted to see Michelangelo, Donatello, Da Vinci, Della Robbia or Botticelli up front and personal has got to experience this museam which by the way is the oldest in Europe. I could not say I had a favorite Rennissance artist until I entered the room with Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus" and "Primavera", I almost cried. They were enormous and took my breath away they were just that beautiful! The artist was sensitive, seductive, innocent and telling a story all at the same time. I think I could have stayed there all day. Lucky for us there was a special exhibit of Caravaggio's work and his students as well so we stayed in the museum until our heads started spinning. The Duomo had Jim glued to its facade later that day and he only pryed himself away to then attach himself to the doors of the Baptistery. We of course saw Michelangelo's "David" in all his splendor. I will attempt to put up some of the photo's but it will just give a glimpse of the genius of the time. I never came close to crying looking at my Jansen's.

Its a Small World

Did you ever go to an Italian restaurant and when you got your espresso it was about a thimble full of coffee? Jim estimates about 10 cups here adds up to one in the US. Gelato, the Italian version of ice cream is made with milk not cream, it has less calories per scoop but here you get much less of it. A double scoop here is about 1/2 the size of a single in the US. and the spoon is what we would use for a baby, so small. Soft drinks are in small bottles, no super sizing exists. There are also very small bathing suits for both men and women on mostly lean bodies. But in this small world everyone is always eating. Italians do not exercise in the same frantic and obsessive way we do, how do I know you might ask. Well... we joined the local Gym and go every day, Jim and I work out for at least an hour like Americans do, we push and are focused, the Italians work out too, in between talking and socializing. Seigallia's gym is small and opens mostly from 9-12:15 then reopens mostly from 4-9. but some days only 5-7 and not on Sundays. Of course no one told us they were closing for vacation last week and only found out when we saw a note taped to the door that could have said "gone fishin". Its August and the whole country goes on vacation. The eating part..... O.K. 3 meals and no snacking and except for lunch its small meals. Portions are small and fruit is always included at the end. After "dinner' its almost mandatory to go out and walk, everyone does. Wine is like water here. We go go to the local cubby hole of a store that's only open Saturday mornings unless the shop owner feels like working. We get a gallon of local wine for about $12.00. It seems everyone is drinking wine at every meal but I have yet to see "drinking" as a pastime or social event without food. In fact if you order a beer or wine without something to eat, they bring you small bowls of things to munch on. It just unheard of to drink without eating in Italy. Gas is expensive at almost $6.00 a gallon, Italians have very small cars to conserve on gas. Its no wonder we cannot import these cars because if your not small you just don't fit into them! We are discovering this small world and it makes sense, Jim keeps talking about doing more research on smallness so right now there is about a 50% chance he is coming home, we'll see.

No One Walks Alone

In this country that is as technologically as advanced as the US with the use of computers, i-pads, cell phones and every other bit of equipment, there is one distinct difference. I have yet to see someone excuse themselves in a restaurant to take a call, and I have never seen anyone talk on their cell in a restaurant. No anouncements need to be made in any public venues to turn off phones and rarely is someone talking while walking down the street. The greeting "pronto" is "hello" in Italian so its easy to recognize since its only used to answer the phone. Everyone has a cell phone, I have seen them used at the beach and in a outdoor cafe occasionally, but the calls are quick to the point and people do not linger. Most of all when talking they are considerate of others. I have not seen texting at all, i-phones are here but most Italians use a simple cell phone no fancy computer attached. In the US we text constantly, and often have a cell phone attached to our ear while excusing ourselves "just take this call" or text while driving, eating or in the midst of a group activity. Its become normal for us to check our e-mail, the weather, have our "apps" send us messages we feel obliged to view the moment they are sent and "naturally" we have respond to text messages within minutes if possible. Its that little "ping" sound that signals an urgency we seems to respond too. Why has this phenomenon not made its way across the Atlantic? We figured it out..... in Italy what makes the phone thing so different is the joy of the group dynamic. Everywhere you look people are congregated, there seems to be no one that walks alone. Everyone is talking and engaged with the group or person they are with. It would seem totally rude to be with others and have a private conversation, it is just so contrary to the Italian sense of inclusion. So we realize we have been blessed without the constant ringing of cell phones or annoying people talking so loud on a cell you are included in a one sided conversation without your consent. Here if you want to have a conversation just start talking to someone, believe it or not they will answer even if they don't understand a word you are saying.

Rotunda A Mare

Senigallia has a brilliant piece of architecture that is a community center and gathering space built on a pier suspended above the water. It is the only one of its kind in Italy. Jim and I heard an icredible free classical piano concert in the interior performance/gallery space which probably holds tops 200 people. The exterior is magnificent with a elegant promanade that leads to the structure from the street as well as the gentle curved pedestrian walkways that surround it. There is always an event of some sort at the Rotunda, as I said it is a community center. It is very difficult to find a time when the Rotunda is quite but we got lucky one evening so I took some fun photo's to share and to remember the beautiful sunset. Senigallia is an old Roman fortress that was built between two rivers that emptied into the sea. The ancient connection is still there and the Rotunda is an unmistakable tribute to the people's love affair with the sea, in Senigallia it literally feeds them. The fishing boats come in about 7 am and if you get up early enough you can get your fish for the day while they are still flapping. There are little stands for the fisherman to sell their wares on the pier and I discovered this is one of the hot spots in the early morning. Anyone who knows me realizes going to a fish market at 7 am is a challenge but I just had to see this slice of life and yes, I did. I am working up to scaling and cleaning but just not there yet so no crawly or flapping sea things in paper bags for me from the fishermen. Jim has a relationship with the fish lady at the end of the pier she will at least clean out the inside but charges a little more. Valerie (we are on a first name basis) takes over when the fishermen leave at 7:30 and she is open until 11:30. She is also very helpful in telling us how to cook things we have no idea what to do with. We have been so thankful for people like her who we will miss for those small bits of kindness we have found here. Still trying to figure out where we will find fresh fish back home.... any ideas?

O.K. I Just Love it All

As Jim and I took our daily 5 mile walk along the Adriatic beach in Senigallia we were discussing how this culture is almost communal and how much sense it makes. I love it that everyone mingles, it is very social, people do things together all the time. It it natural to be inclusive not exclusive even to strangers. I have not heard anyone yell or get impatient. We have not seen pushing, cutting lines, trying to get ahead or going first. In fact we both commented on how we have not really seen scowls, sad faces or worry. Even on the Autostrada where you can go as fast as your car can move there is a courtesy, I have never heard a car horn honk or flash lights to get you to move. Patience is expected in Italy and being on time is a flexible term. As we have crisscrossed this country I made an observation that most people live in apartements. Even all the new construction I have seen is large buildings that would hold at least 6-8 units, not huge buildings but two story rectangles usually close or in a town or village. Suburbs as we know them do not exist here. Italian people need to congregate and talk..., they all talk alot... with lots of hand motions but not with the bravado, obnoxious, demanding or the self-importance that is truly an American signature. One of the women we have gotten to know said Italians think of Americans as fat and loud with lots of money. I think that is a fair assessment compared to Italians.

So here are the top 10 things I like about Italy

Food is incredible

People are very friendly and considerate

Living and working are more balanced

Italians always look impeccable and are georgous

Language is easily approached

Italians are passionate and expressive but not obnoxious

Ecologically conscious

Family oriented

Incredibly beautiful country with magnificent art old and new everywhere.

So I came to the conclusion I love it all, the only thing missing is that all the people I love are not here with me.... except Jim

Run Around Sue, In Italy!

If you like the Lindy hop, Sha-Na-Na, Elvis, Chuck Berry, Wanda Jackson, original Pompador haircuts and lots of official memorbaila from the 40's and 50's believe it or not Senigalia Italy is the place to be. From the 1st to the 9th of August this town hosts the most incredible party (for 10 years running) if you are into this genre. Vendors with all kinds of vintage cloths, shoes, tatoo parlors and the seedy side of this era with hard core as well as the soft fun 50's air head stuff is all here. From everywhere people flock to Senigallia and the party begins in the morning and except of course for "siesta" it goes until 4 am. Jim and I have taken dance lessons every night since it started (in Italian) and have really improved our "flips and turns". Everyone is dressed and it feels like "Grease" but of course everyone speaks Italian, it is a hoot. If you really are interested go to www.summerjamboree.com Jim has his Hawaian shirt pressesd and ready to go and I am sporting my Marilyn Monroe dress and we are styling in Italy. If you see any postings of my pin up photo's, its not really me just an alien who took over my body for a few crazy months in Italy.

What is this ?

Jim and I noticed the large rotunda in town was being set up with folding tables for 6, blue on one side, red on the other and a few that had half and half down the middle. Since there are events going on constantly we didn't pay much attention but it looked like a huge outside wedding was going to take place. The next day we were walking past the rotunda and it was teaming with people, I mean packed, lucky for us we run into one of the three people we've met in Senigallia. So Jim says "Paoula what is this"? She explained, "once a year all the surrounding towns bring their best food (gastronomica tipica) item and prepare it in this huge portable kitchen in back of the square. Its sort of like a food competition. Paoula asked if we wanted to join her and her friends and we did. So under the stars we sat and had the best meal ever on paper plates. Jim had tagliatelle ai frutti di mare, I had Goncchi all'anatra we shared a side of caponata and salad. Jim won a local game of smashing the walnut as it rolls down hill with a mallet (sponsored by two Italians in monk costumes), they were impressed with the Americano and of course what is the prize? A Panini, which we had for breakfast the next morning. So if you are visiting the Marche area of Italy the festival is called cucinedeborgo and is held in different towns all over the region during the summer so the Italians can do what they do best, cook and eat together. By the way the blue tables were for fish, the red for meat but all serve pasta.

Yes, I actually made that risotto pictured here with our friends Sue Anne and Phil who visited. Jim is so Italian now he is speaking with his hands!

Rediscovering my heritage

All my grandparents were Italian, my parents were called the "fist generation" since they were the children of immigrates. My fathers parents came from the north of Italy near Turin and Piacenza and my mothers parents from the same town about an hour south of Naples called Trendenara. As for food, I now realize how lucky I was having an Italian heritage, we ate really well. My grandfather Angelo Acccarino made his own wine from the grapes he grew that he brought from his hometown in Italy. We all drank wine (diluted with club soda or ginger ale) from a really young age. His wife and my grandmother, Christina Paolino Accarino spent her life in the kitchen, she loved to cook mostly from the fresh vegetables from Angelo's garden. I am convinced that Jim married me after he ate my grandmother Christina's cooking, ask him, he'll admit it. Pietro Conti and Florence Zanazzi Conti my fathers parents owned a Italian delicatessen in Bensonhurst Brooklyn so of course I had been exposed to the best that was imported from Italy from cheeses to meats to any speciality item you could imagine. I just found out my father would make the mozzarella for his parents store. Grandma Florence always made fresh pasta for holidays, it was too good to be true. Here in Senigallia there are a ton of restaurants but except for one that serves "kabobs" there is only Italian food. Jim and I have now samples about 6 different restaurants and I seriously do not know why anyone would want anything but Italian food. Anyone who knows me knows that food shopping in a supermarket is the last thing in a long list of domestic chores I do not enjoy. I am finding that going from small speciality shop to a farmers market I can deal with. Even better I love having the time to actually make something only bought hours before it is cooked. I am relearning and rediscovering my heritage, and if your Italian, food is a big part of it.

Always Moving

I think this is the first time since I was 21 that I am without a car. I wondered why I was so tired tonight and it dawned on me that here we are always moving. After breakfast we need to get our food for the day and that means walking to the fish store, farmers market , bread store and sometimes the cheese store, then back to put it away. Today we took a bike ride about 5 miles out of town to check out a rental car place and then back. Made lunch then walked to the beach. I really can't just sit on the beach for too long so Jim and I went for a beach walk for 1.1/2 hrs, between 4-5 miles, then went for a quick swim. I remembered there was a class at the gym I wanted to take at 6 pm so I walked back to the house got dressed and got on the bike to go to the gym. Was too early for the class so just did my normal routine of 1 hour after a 15 minute walk/run warm up. Back on the bike to the house and started dinner. After dinner did work on my computer and now that I think of it, I'm exhausted.

All the women wear bikini's

Jim and I commented tonight on how diverse the population is and how everyone young, old and middle of the road seem to mingle together. Its easy and accepting here, just the way life is, it doesn't seem to matter what part of the spectrum you fall in. Generations are not separate they are all part of the same fabric in each family, neither kids or old people are treated "special" everyone has their place and is expected to do what they can for the family unit. They take care of each other, I think that is the bottom line.

Either the Italians know how to deal with stress or there isn't any. I guess I should qualify, everyone is expressive when they talk, hands flying and melodic voices getting louder and softer but the uptight, rigid and unpleasant looks I am so used to in the US are not here, I know I am not imagining it.

O.K. so this may seem like a small thing but to me it spoke volumes for self acceptance. Women here wear bikini's, or nearly everyone. It does not matter how old you are or how many wrinkles, its just the beach uniform. I must admit I feel a little strange since my bathing suits are one piece and the only women wearing one piece suits are usually at least 70-80 years old and even that is a minority. I'm even considering getting a bikini to be part of the crowd but have not bit the bullet yet. I've said it before but the people are so good looking, the Italians dress up and look incredible all the time. With that note its time for my beauty rest, I have a lot of catching up to do.

Italian Suggestions

I know in the US when you get to a traffic light it means you can stop, proceed with caution or go depending on the color of the light. Italy also has traffic lights but not nearly as many and they are like "suggestions". If there is no traffic at the light well... it makes sense to just keep going, its O.K. The Autostrada which is similar to our NYS thruway also seems to have a "suggestion" of 110 k speed limit, that seems to be just an idea to consider. The trains seem to have a similar Italian bent. Yes, of course there is a timetable and trains fortunately don't jump the tracks but the estimated time of arrival or departure has to be taken with a very large grain of salt. I think if a train was actually on time it would be considered odd. One would also think the person behind the counter who sells you a train ticket might know where to actually get the train, not so..... they have no idea, even though they give you an answer, don't believe them, you have to look at the screen on the platform. I also know that Italy seems to have delays or strikes so often that depending on any public mode of transportation is a calculated risk. Senigallia is a walking town, everything is close enough to walk to or if you really want to get speedy you can bike. So far our feet have not failed us but my bike lost its breaks twice, not to worry, I just kept going and paid no attention to the Italian suggestions.

Finding the translations and cooking

We are getting better at putting our new life in order and one of my goals was to continue my workout schedule at the gym. Yes, we did find a gym only a 15 minute walk or 10 minute bike ride, its not elaborate but the staff is friendly and helpful and will help if you ask, in Italian of course. For three days now Jim and I have muddled around and finally I decided to get serious, I needed to know how to convert kilos to pounds. I was never a math whiz so Jim tried to explained to the trainer that the bar and weights needs to add up to 50 lbs for chest press, when we finally got that figured out and through the first translation everything else fell into place. Now I know what I am doing and this little accomplishment really made my day.

Of course one of the best things about Italy is the food. Senigallia is on the sea so the fish and seafood is exquisite. We can walk to the shrimp boats in the morning and get the days catch right from the net. The other day Jim and I decided to make fresh Mussels (which we have never made) and Pasta with Marinara sauce, we had so much fun and it turned out great. Here in Senigallia I have turned the corner and really learning how to cook Italian, even my mother would be impressed.

Learning La Bella Lingua

We started almost 8 months ago when I bought Rosetta Stone's Italian so Jim and I could start learning some basics together. Jim had more success than me and actually did about 6 lessons, I only did 1. Then we took a short course "Italian for Travelers" two months before we left the US, Jim of course did all the homework and make all the classes. I did not. Jim carries at least 2 dictionaries and a map, I carry my camera and watercolors. I ask how much things cost, Jim has been paying. We really don't have much choice but to try to speak this beautiful language since this is not a tourist town except for Italians. So we stumble and make alot of signs for words we don't know and slowly we are speaking a little. The sounds are getting familiar, we can buy things at the markets, we point if we don't know the name of something, we ask for help and everyone is friendly and really tries to communicate. Today at the beach our neighbouring sun worshipper started to talk to us in English that was as bad as our Italian but for about 45 minutes we got to know each other. Just so happens she is a realtor who works for a company here in Senigallia that sells in Dubai, Lybia and Egypt mostly to investors. What a hoot to be discussing investments in the international market and we could barely speak each others words.

Mission accomplished we now have our bags, I am quite relieved. Got back front he airport and jumped into our bathing suits and headed for the beach. I hate cold water and would rather just look at the water no matter how hot I am if its too cold. The Adriatic is not a bathtub like the turquoise Caribbean but its close, the best is I could see all the way to to bottom, the water is a light green color and so clear I could see my toes even with the water up to my neck. Did a fabulous power walk in the water, it was good. Came home got unpacked (finally) and headed out for some more exploring. An observation that Jim and I have made is that there are a substantial amount of kids here and they act like kids but they don't scream, they are not out of control nor do they act wild or throw tantrums. Jim is convinced its diet, these kids are not loaded with sugar or unnatural hormones or preservatives.

Something very sane about this way of life, everyone rides a bicycle, in fact there are more bikes on the road than cars. No helmets but for some reason it seems O.K. no one is in a race, its just how you get from one place to another. Our hosts left us two bikes, we are doing a long ride tomorrow morning.

There is a spinning class on the beach tomorrow and Jim and I are going to see how we do.

Its a great day, got our luggage now I can go to the beach and swim!

It was an slow day waiting to see if the airport would call about our bags, finally decided we are just going to bite the bullet and go tomorrow. Hopefully Rome has sent our bags to Ancona only 15 minutes away but since there is no one in lost baggage claim until Monday, a visit is our only choice.

So the thing about Italy which is really great is the sleeping thing in the middle of the day and then at about 5 pm everyone starts their day AGAIN and has dinner somewhere between 8-9, after that everyone is outside until midnight! Kids, babies, old people, everyone. There were two concerts tonight, the first which started about 10:30 was a pretty cool kinda Italian Rap mixed in with a little heavy metal, I think I'll call it Ratal. It was packed with the younger set and lots of fun. Then at 12:00 Italy's favorite female vocalist, no I don't know her name but I will find out. There were lots of revolutionary type stuff in some of the booths so I think she is a little like Joan Baez in her early years. It was a live concert that was broadcast and a really big deal. I stood under the sound stage and got a pretty good look at everything. Both concerts took us all of about 3 minutes to walk too since we are in the center of the old city. What a treat to have live entertainment every night for free! Jim and I have been cooking, its easy everything is made with olive oil, lemon and garlic. Did I mention the wine is good and cheep and the cheese awesome.

We are not on the same clock as the Italians, getting up too late in the morning, and not sleeping in the afternoon and going to bed too late. We did walk on the beach last night until 9:00 p.m. had dinner about 10:00 so we got that down pat. There is entertainment every night in the town forum its free, under the stars, last night it sounded like African dancing we didn't see it but its loud enough we can hear it from our apartment. Just can't wait to get our cloths. Hopefully today.

This is our 3rd day and our hosts Elizabeth, Pierpaolo and Chris have left for Rome to fly to the US, we are now officially on our own. We had a great dinner last night outside in the garden with Pierpaolo's mother, aunt and two cousins, the highlight of the meal was fresh egg pasta with tiny little clams sauteed with garlic and olive oil, they came right from the beach yesterday morning. The walled small city is quite now that its the mid afternoon and nothing is open, everyone has had lunch and is napping or relaxing. We managed to go to the market and buy fresh fruit and vegetables and came back to make lunch. The beach is absolutely beautiful, light sand, no seaweed and perfect temperature. They did loose our luggage and until tomorrow we are living in the few things we have, its fine.... we're in Italy.