Italy - Week 2 - January 2015

Italy Week 2 – Jan 29 – Feb 4, 2015

Thursday, 29 January 2015

Nice surprise today. “Cooking with Lucas” had a cancellation in his Tour of Downtown Vicenza and I was able to secure a spot! 

We met in front of the Teatro Olimpico--a theatre in Vicenza, northern Italy, constructed in 1580-1585. The theatre was the final design by the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio and was not completed until after his death. For more info, check out their website: http://www.teatrolimpicovicenza.it

This is the courtyard of the Teatro Olimpico  

Awesome day. Toured downtown Vicenza with 9 other ladies. Army wives. So fun. Loved getting to meet them and hear about their lives in Italy.

We walked through the whole town! Lucas took us to what he considered the best pastry shop, the best coffee shop, wine shop, deli shop, and a trip to a 119 year-old copper shop. We visited a couple of Asian markets and went into the supermarket, EuroSpar. Wow, it was awesome so many fresh items and wine, wine, wine!

Copper Shop in Vicenza started in 1896 by this man's great-grandfather. His grandfather ran it and now it's run by him and his father. Here he's molding a plate.

Hand-made Copper pots, clocks, and more.

The Bacchigilione River runs through Vicenza with bridges crossing the river in several locations.

Prepared food to go. A feast for the eyes as well as the belly!

La Visea -  Nice wine shop with some of the local wines. Here's a wonderful post with all the information you'd need to find it and what the shop has to offer. All with Pictures!

https://bravovino.wordpress.com/2014/10/09/wine-shop-enoteca-la-visea-vicenza/

Original house of the famous Antonio Pigafetta who sailed with Ferdinand Magellan.

Built in 1440. Can you imagine living in a house that old?









Door to the Pigafetta house.




And my preoccupation with cool doors continues.



http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fit.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FCasa_Pigafetta&hl=en&langpair=auto|en&tbb=1&ie=UTF-8

Learn more about his contribution to the voyage here:

https://bravovino.wordpress.com/2014/10/09/wine-shop-enoteca-la-visea-vicenza/

 Fresh seafood market.

After the tour, four hours of constant walking, we stopped for lunch at Lucas' house. 

Lasagna and salad with great wine. 

Cheese and desert wine—the best! 

I’m still reeling over the Lasagna. 

It was a special kind usually only made during the Christmas holidays. This Lasagna had seven meats and included olives and chopped Almonds in the top crust. 
Mama Mia—sooo delicious! 

Hands down, the best Lasagna I’ve ever eaten. 

And what was so amazing is that I didn’t have any issues with the Gluten. 

It’s been amazing how I can eat things with gluten here and not have any problems. I’m sure it has something to do with the lack of GMO’s and other things that we’ve done in the US to make things “better.” Can you say “let’s go back to the simple ways” please?

Lunch "Italian Style"
Super Special Day 

Cheese with dessert wine. 

Yum! 

Buonissimo!

Here’s the "Cooking with Lucas" website if you’d like to check out the great Italian recipes. If you’re ever in the Veneto Region near Vicenza, I highly recommend connecting with him for a class or a tour! http://www.cookingwithlucas.com

Statues on the building in Vicenza's Piazza dei signori. 

http://www.italiaoutdoors.com/city-of-vicenza/697-vicenza-s-main-square-piazza-dei-signori

To see this square with the Christmas lights.

https://www.facebook.com/negrieditore/media_set?set=a.10205400682086630&type=1&pnref=story

The oldest coffee shop in Vicenza.

Although the day was cloudy and a bit dreary, we rode up to Monte Berico and had an awesome view of the town. 

Here's more about Monte Berico: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Berico

Great day! Once home and settled I check the stats on my FitBit.  Walked 16,158 steps for 6.76 miles. 

Friday,  30 January 2015 

Square in Cavazzale

We woke to snow on the ground—about an inch of the thick slushy stuff. So the walk to school with the grandkids was fun. Boots and lots of splashing. Funny, it didn’t stop the women who ride their bikes everywhere to be out and about as usual. Some of the riders are at least in their late sixties or older. They do keep active here because they walk or ride bikes where they need to go. The town is small enough to get what they need in the heart of town or from the market on Saturday.

Saturday 31 January 2015

 

Market day. Walked around the square. Bought fresh garlic (aglio). Wow, powerful stuff. Cooked fresh spinach (spinaci – spin—ah—chi) with garlic, olive oil (olio) and butter. Very Good (Molto Buono!)

Went bowling with the kiddos on post today. Quite fun even though it had been at least 4 years since I’ve gone bowling. Didn’t even break 100. But, hey, came close!

Sunday 1 February 2015

Left early this morning, son and I headed to Piazola sul Brenta to attend one of the largest antique/contemporary markets in the Veneto area. There are over 700 vendors and is held each month on the last weekend of the month. Yep, you guessed it. We missed it. Feb 1 is not the last weekend of the month.

We were a bit disappointed.

The Villa Contini is located here and it is amazing. Here’s a link to the history.

Cobblestone Road in Piazola sul Brenta
that is in front of Villa Contain

http://www.villacontarini.eu/en/villa-contarini.html

One of the many stone faces adorning the arches over the road in Piazola sul Brenta

Gates to Villa Contini in Piazola sul Brenta

Chess board square in Marostica

We decided to drive up to Marostica to go to their market. I adore that square. It’s a giant checkerboard and a human chess game is played in medieval dress every two years. Now that is one chess game I would be ready for!

http://www.visitsitaly.com/images/veneto-im/marostica-im/marostica_chess_tournament.jpg

Wall around the square in Marostica

Had Gelato at 10:00 AM is was wonderful. Who says you can only have gelato after lunch and in the summer? Banana flavor with cheeries and hard chocolate shell. Yum!

Market in the square in Marostica

Church this evening on post. Sermon from Matthew of the temptation of Christ. Yes, the enemy is always lurking and he shoots directly for those areas of our greatest vulnerability.

Didn't watch the Superbowl. The start time here was 12:00 AM. Sleep was more important...

Monday 2 February 2015

Relaxed around the house today with the wee little man. Lovin’ this little guy.

Had wonderful wine tonight! Brought our bottles to this wine shop and they filled it from a spigot!

Tuesday 3 February 2015

Drove with DIL to NICOLI, a local purse factory. Oh boy, you’re talking my language! I’m such a purse hound. Well, I couldn’t resist buying one. A red one!

http://www.nicoliitalia.com/php/eng/collezioni/

Wednesday 4 February 2015

Stopped into Fausto’s a local coffee and pastry shop. Had a cappuccino with a Miele (me-A-lee) Brioche (Bree-ooch) (Honey Brioche). Awesome. On the way home visited the local fresh vegetable market and bought a branch of cherry tomatoes (pomodorini)

Decided to walk to the neighboring town, Montecello Conte Otto, and visit their church. Didn’t seem very far when we drove through. So I dropped the tomatoes off and headed out. Stopped along the way at the local cemetery. Very interesting. As a writer, I love reading the names on the headstones. Gives me ideas for naming my characters. Especially the ones in my stories set in Italy.

Broom hanging on stone wall in cemetery

These cemeteries are very personal. There are eternal lights on the graves with pictures of the deceased and many have live plants on them. Every mausoleum had brightly colored flowers. Very beautiful.

Some families have individual mausoleums.

So I wore my FITBIT bracelet today and by the time I arrived home before 10:30 AM, I’d logged 11,700 steps or approx. 4.75 miles. 

Watering cans in the cemetery for visitors to water the flowers/plants
See the large family mausoleum behind.

A grave site with a garden over it.

Oh and when I got to the church in Montecello C.O. it was locked. AND my camera’s memory was full AND the battery was dying. So I didn’t get any photos past the cemetery. Guess, I’ll just have to go back with a full charge on my phone and all my pics downloaded to my computer. Maybe in a couple of days I’ll have pictures of the beautiful church and bell tower.

Walking path to Montecello Conte Otto

Finished the day with well over 13,000 steps at almost 6 miles.

Until next week, Ciao!

Italy - Week 1 - Jan. 2015

Good Morning Readers!

Buongiorno from Northern Italy!

For the next four weeks, I’ll be posting here on Lagniappe every Thursday to chat about my time in Italy. I’ll have pictures for you and a small play-by-play of what’s happening. I hope you enjoy the tour.

I’ve been here a week and loving it. Still having a difficult time sleeping all through the night. Not sure if it’s jet lag or the powerful cappuccinos!

If you'd like to make sure you don't miss the next installment, I encourage you to sign-up to get my blog post delivered to your inbox by email. Scroll down and look to the right bar for the place to sign-up.

Thursday, 22 January 2015

Arrived into Venice, Italy at 2:20 PM via Frankfort, Germany—my first time in Germany. So thankful my luggage arrived when I did. Always a great way to start the trip. Thanks, to all you prayer warriors who've been praying for me. You are the best!

My son was waiting. So wonderful to see him after more than a year. We left for the small town of Cavazzale about an hour northwest of Venice. Loved riding on the Autostrada and seeing all the different automobiles.

Didn’t sleep much maybe a total of 3 hours on the 12.5-hour trip. Hoping to keep awake to offset the jet lag and adjust to Italy time.

Got a nice welcome when we drove into Cavazzale--a sheep traffic jam. Kinda felt at home. It's the type of traffic jams we have in Meeker.

Wonderful to see grandbabies! All three! Including the newest member, Ryan born on 16 January 2015! 

Isn't he adorable?

 BTW: It's okay to overuse exclamation marks when you're referring to your new grand baby. All rules out the window!

Friday, 23 January 2015

Dropped the kids off at their school. Son and DIL took new baby for a photo shoot while I strolled along the downtown area of the small Italian town of Cavazzale.

Stopped into a coffee shop and had a wonderful cappuccino. The best coffee here, hands down. It’s smooth and bold and just yummy. Italians know coffee.

Also, stopped into a pasta shop. The owner makes fresh pasta daily. Bought a serving of Gnocchi and Polenta. Can’t wait to try it!

Words I’ve mastered:

With the kids:

Andiamo – Let’s go. Hurry let’s go.

Basta – Stop

Out on the streets:

Un – One

Cappuccino – cappuccino.

Buongiorno – good day, good morning

Ciao – hello or goodbye,

una Persona – for one person, and am using lots of hand signals and pointing to objects.

It was my first time venturing out alone. I really wish I could speak the language. It’s beautiful and I feel so separate. So much an outsider.

The people here are quiet and reserved if they don’t know you. But they come to life when meeting someone they know. It’s been interesting listening to their conversations. Animated and lively.  I love it!

Saturday, 24 January 2015

Saturday is market day in Cavazzale. The square in front of the school is transformed into an outdoor market. 

Trucks park in neat rows and the vendors showcase their fresh seafood, fruits, vegetables, flowers, cheese, clothing, leather goods, and kitchenware. It’s fun to see the townspeople come to shop. 





They greet one another and are busy at the various booths purchasing their needs for the week.

I loved the smell of everything. It seems things smell sweeter and more robust here. Could it be that it’s all fresh? Or could it be because I’m in Italy?

Sunday, 25 January 2015

Went to church on Army post with son and grandkids—Daughter-in-law still in recovery mode. If you think about it, could you say a few prayers for her continued recovery.

It was nice to worship with the other families stationed in Vicenza.

Really enjoyed the message—stay stagnate or awaken. Hmm, suppose I’ll have to take that to heart.

Monday, 26 January 2015

Stayed close to home today. Actually wrote some on my Christmas story set in Cavazzale. Prayers for daughter-in-law's healing much appreciated.
  

Tuesday, 27 January 2015

Mornings with the kids are awesome. Upon awaking they’re so sweet and cuddly. I love it. Then the race begins to get dressed, eat breakfast, and don coats, hats, and shoes. I believe that part takes the longest. Even getting the 5 year-old's hair spiked is not too bad. A new experience for this MawMaw.

We walk a few blocks to their Italian school. Today, after dropping the kids off at school, I walked to the Catholic church here. Went in to pray for a while. It was hard to concentrate for gawking at the awesome art, architecture, and sculptures.  Two photos of the shroud of Turin adorned the area above the side doors. So awesome.

Dark stained wood and candles throughout. The ornate altar has a burst of gold and finely crafted relics. The heady fragrance of incense used for years greeted when I walked in. Bringing back many childhood memories. 

A sweet young lady tried to tell me something but I didn't understand her. She kept pointing to a side wing of the church. I think it’s chapel where the morning mass is held. Did I miss out on a wonderful opportunity because I wasn't brave enough to let her guide me to where she pointed? Maybe. From now on I think I'll be braver. Seek out where God is leading. After all, the word He spoke to me for this year is SEEK. If I seek, I'll find.  That verse in Matthew (7:7-8) is one of my favorites.

Returned to the same coffee shop this morning. Met a lady I’d met the day before. Her son and my grandson are friends. She remembered me. It felt nice to greet her and for her response. The lady (owner) there seemed to recognize me and greeted as though she did.

Was kinda nice.

I felt a little more like I belonged. 

Wish I could speak the language. I have a whole new appreciation for people who come to America and don't speak English. It's a different experience when you can't communicate. When you're the outsider. But, seriously, I am reveling in this experience!

I know God is teaching me much through this. The art of truly listening and learning is always a valuable lesson.

Comprehension comes in bits and pieces. 

This time has made me acutely aware of how we communicate through body language and facial expressions. There is so much more to true communication than speaking. As a writer this thorough understanding is immeasurable.

Three ladies were sitting in the coffee shop next to me. I loved listening to their animated speech, their laughs, and watching their hand gestures. I was a bit envious--I wanted to be part of a group like that here. I desire an Italian friend to have coffee with, to learn from and share with. I'm afraid a month is not long enough to find someone like that. Especially here where people are reserved around strangers.

As I sat drinking my wonderful cappuccino, I became aware of using all my senses. Listening to the women speak so lively, the quiet strains of American music playing in the background, the sweet yet bold flavor of the coffee and cream, the small cars buzzing by and people walking briskly in the cool morning air (bundled as though the temperatures were much colder than they are), and the heavy ceramic of the cappuccino mug. It all came together and I'm grateful to have this time. 

Perhaps with prayers and seeking I'll find exactly what God has ordained for this time here.

Wednesday, 28 January 2015

I'm finally getting into somewhat of a routine. Sleep patterns are still messed up, but then again, that happens at home.






See the Italian alps in the distance? 

Today I dropped the kids at school then headed for the coffee shop. After another marvelous cappuccino, spent some time in the church again this morning. There was a mass in the small room off the main church. Maybe I’ll make it to the mass one day. While it’s been a while since I’ve been to a Catholic Mass, I think it would be awesome to attend one in Italian.

Took the long way home today so I could enjoy the sunshine.

Added several hundred words to my story and found the house the heroine inherits from her grandmother. Perfect setting and location. Can’t wait to get her there!

Readers, thanks for visiting Lagniappe.

I pray you find 

"a little something extra" 

in each of your days.

Until next Thursday, Arrivederci!

Marian