Why I love the Italian (European) Football Culture

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/25/sports/soccer/25slovakiagame.html?hp

As you know, football (don't call it soccer) isn't just a national obsession. It runs in the blood so it is in the DNA of Italians and a huge part of the culture. I have learned that the best time to go food shopping or to the park is when there is a big game on, and as a result, little traffic and no crowds. I just finished watching the Italy/Slovakia game, and Italy lost (3-2)and is out of the World Cup games. They were the champions of the last World Cup, and so this is especially disappointing. But we did have the pleasure of being in Sicily for final game four years ago. We watched it outdoors in the piazza of the small town we were staying at- the game was projected onto a bedsheet hung by the young men onto the side of the town hall. Unfortunately, a torrential rainstorm came through half way and the tv lost its reception, and our friend Marco (who, with Kathryn, was vacationing with us) ran all the way back to our apartment to continue watching the game.

When I went to get Ray at school today, the Italy game had just started. The classroom had been converted to a TV room. The teachers lined up chairs in front of a small TV and the students - 3, 4, and 5 year olds - had the Italian colors painted on their cheeks and were all sitting quietly and watching the game. They sure start them young, eh?

Why do I LOVE watching football here?
1. Because the English (and non-) teachers I work with all went to the nursery room (where the biggest TV is) after school to watch England play yesterday, armed with beer and wine.
2. Because the carpenter who is working on the garage outside our apartment pulled his car closer to listen to the game on the radio while he continued working (which is surprising as most people go home or to a bar but I suspect he is not Italian).
3. Because the Italian players broke down and cried like babies on the field when the game was over.
4. Because the coach of the Slovakian team did the victory walk around the field, waving at the fans with tears running down his stoic face.
5. Because businesses close, and schools shut down whenever Italy makes it to the finals.
6. Because when Italy wins an important game, you can always here the cars honking for 30 minutes after the game is over - and if you are lucky enough to be in the main piazza, watch the waves of Italian flags out of car windows and motorbikes. The police take a step back and just watch.
7. Because I was able to attend/watch many of the World Cup games held in the NJ/NY area in 1994 and I can remember the Irish fans going absolutely crazy (they won against Italy) and walking on the shoulders of the highways to walk back to where ever they were staying, singing and waving their flags. I didn't get it then, but I do now.

Updates

http://nymag.com/arts/all/approvalmatrix/66753/ - go Kenji! Are those french fries?

We are packing up, finishing off the last days of school, and heading to the beach for a week on Saturday and then to visit the Hoddells in the Marche for a couple of days (they are returning this week from DC) . We have been so busy socially as well that we are pretty wiped out and looking forward to doing nothing but building sand castles and eating pizza (the end of the school year brings tons of events for each of us). I have loads of photos to show, but I left my camera at the last party we attended but will get it tonight at an aperitivo I am going to. Funny, not having that thing felt like I lost my left hand. I take it everywhere with me.

Ray is going to attend my school next fall. He is so excited and this will make my new commute incredibly easier. We are renting a garage a block over from it so it couldn't be more convenient. Here is a photo of him at the new house when we went to visit last weekend. He went straight into the sprinkler with all his clothes on.

I'll write more later -

Movin' to the Country

With one phone call, we know that we are probably moving homes on or about July 15th. We are getting really psyched, and will book a moving company this week so that we get some boxes delivered to begin packing. I am going to do it all myself: curtains, dishes, clothes, hanging lamps, etc. In Italy, unlike in the USA, homeowners take everything including light bulbs. It is common to move into a home requiring a new kitchen and bathroom fixtures (I am talking toilets and bathtubs here) than to have them in place. We agreed to leave all that in our house, though we will take some of our light fixtures - a traditional Venetian hanging light, some sconces we bought on our trip through Sicily (Caltagirone - famous for ceramics), and a couple of our favorite smaller ones. Fortunately, our new house will be mostly furnished in the sense that the only things we have to buy are a dishwasher and a washing machine (dryers are becomming more common, but for the most part Italians line dry and I will have a clothesline, finally! No more laundry on the balcony rail.) and of course some bits and pieces of furniture. At this point in life, I would like to minimize purchasing as that just feels like more of a burden than anything else.

Ray is telling his friends how happy he is to move too - which is a relief as I think we are doing this just in time. If we had waited even another year or two he would have put up more of a fight, I think, but the promise of a new cat and another hamster, and a tent along with a plastic pool seems to do the trick for now.

Plan to visit!


And there are some things I will miss about the city, but I think there will be other scapes to distract me.

May events

There was a lot going on in May. After our stint of "reality" TV, we finally celebrated Ray's 5th birthday with Nonna and Godmother Kathryn and Uncle Marco, our 7th wedding anniversary, an end-of-the-year school party at Ray's scuola materna (Patty, you would not believe how many parents asked me for the recipe for the confetti cake mix you mailed me!), and a rock 'n roll (for a 6th!) and a pirate themed (including parrot) birthday parties. Don't laugh at the scotch tape on the pirate hat I made for Ray - he loved it and the paper eye patch!

Musica

My friend, Kathryn, organized a very successful musical instrument "fiera" - a convention of dealers. We attended last Sunday in Bologna and though it was really loud, it was great fun to see not just the instruments but the exhibits with all the canned bands that show off all the cool products. I hope we will buy a digital piano soon, though Ray really really wants a guitar (half size, of course).

Ciao! (sob)

So our new best friends are on their way back to Milan where they will catch a flight back to LA tomorrow morning. It was so much fun working with Susan, Tom and Stu these past five days. I think they got the footage they wanted, were totally relaxed and we will miss their company. Keep checking the HHI listings and let us know when it airs - you will probably see it before we do. (Unfortunately, I had left my camera at work and only had it for the final day of shooting.) We have to remember to peel off all the black tape around our house where the brands of appliances had been covered. Action/cut/tone!

HH International

So, in the end, it all really progressed and the crew of three House Hunters are arriving in Bologna today. We have a hectic schedule that runs through to next Wednesday and I never lost the ten winter pounds, grew out my butchered fingernails (ah, to work with 5 year olds every day!), got my hair cut, colored and styled, and so on - so you get the authentic Chris appropriate for "reality" tv. I will try to take some photos throughout and hope there are none of anyone losing their patience.














We have been busy just running our regular schedule, but we did manage a weekend escape to celebrate a certain 49th birthday (ouch, well actually a little wine took the pain away) with friends Kathryn and Marco (it's her 34th - double ouch). We went to the same agriturismo that we celebrated at a year ago (www.marzanella.it/) and though it was a little rainy, we were still able to visit the "vulcano" - a natural gas flame that has become our favorite picnic spot (next time we will bring hotdogs on a stick along with the beer and cheese sandwiches).











Above is a game of Italian billiards - I never grasp the goal - those little pegs on the table - to knock down or not?

Lake Garda

This past weekend we went to visit our long-time friends, Marco, Barbara and their 11 year-old daughter Giulia. They owned an Italian restaurant in Times Square for 12 years but returned to Italy the year after I moved here (2004). They have a restaurant at Lake Garda now, but spent the day with us to show some of the local sights, and it was nice to chat with friends who miss NY as much as I do. Ray got his first taste of a real Ducati -now all his model ones just won't do.

I knew him when...

he was just a "little cousin" I used to swing around by his arm and leg. Maybe he will use some of his grub to come do a foodcrawl around Bologna.

http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2010/04/fake_shack_creator_kenji_alt_s.html

‘Fake Shack’ Creator Kenji Alt Scores Six-Figure Book Deal
4/14/10 at 2:02 PM

James Kenji Lopez-Alt, the MIT grad who is better known as Kenji Alt to readers of Serious Eats, Goodeater, and Cook’s Illustrated (Grub Street readers will recall him reverse engineering the Spotted Pig’s deviled eggs) has sold a book, The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, to W.W. Norton (curiously, his editor is Maria Guarnaschelli, mother of Butter chef Alex, and his agent is Vicky Bijur, wife of Serious Eats honcho Ed Levine). Kenji confirms that twelve publishers bid on the book, and he ended up selling it for six figures. So what got the publishing world so stirred up earlier this week?

Alt tells us a little about his plan for the 300-page, ten-chapter tome, which will consist of all-new material: “What I’m doing is taking classic, American foods like fried chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes, barbecue, hamburgers, and fries and using them as a jumping-off point to explain various principles of food science.” There will, of course, be “hacks” along the lines of his method of cooking brick-oven-style pizza, but don’t expect re-creations of restaurant dishes à la Fake Shack — “it’s more ‘the ultimate hamburger’ or ‘ultimate fried chicken.’” The Food Lab will hit bookshelves in the fall of next year.

Aprile/April/Spring/Primavera!

It's been a beautiful spring so far. We went to visit Lake Como in the days following Easter, and I spent the rest of the week off just hanging out in the beautiful weather. Here are some photos to show you what we have been up to - my only regret was not making it to Venice for an afternoon (as Ray is wanting to see more boats) but we can do that in the coming weeks. Oh, and another food article (and again, you can get a similar experience at the Ricci house later this year): http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/travel/11Frugal.html

Here, we had lunch at a local osteria in the Bologna hills where they serve various meats with crescentine (fried dough) - that is the entire menu. Oh, and pickled mushrooms, olives, artichokes and peppers. It is lovely to sit outside of this farmhouse while Ray zips around the tables on his scooter.

Lake Como is beautiful - and one has to take a ferry ride to really appreciate the landscapes that surround it. With Andrea's love of WWII history, we had to visit the place where Mussolini's body was recovered and a couple other related sites. Andrea also loves talking to old locals - here in front of the hotel we stayed at. It was great not to have huge crowds of tourists, though I wonder how these little towns survive the crush in the summer. We had the entire patio to ourselves for a leisurely lunch - that will not be possible from even a month from now!