Black Forest

December 31, 2006

We've had a full week. Michelle and Melody arrived on Christmas eve and it's great to have familiar faces around. We spent a lazy Christmas day watching White Christmas, eating and taking a walk. Thanks to everyone who sent presents along with Michelle, it was so special for us. The next 2 days were filled with sightseeing and it was good to show Milan to visitors. Being a tourist is so much different than living somewhere and we enjoyed pointing out all the good parts of the city. On Wednesday night we flew to Frankfurt on a very late flight and got in at the airport west of Frankfurt around 1:30am. After staying in an ugly but comfortable bed and breakfast, we drove to Frankfurt. It turned out to be more modern than I had thought, but I'm glad that we saw it. It was very cold and rainy there, but we enjoyed the cathedral and a nice lunch.

Then, we drove into the Black Forest to our next bed and breakfast in Haslach. It was a tiny little town with cobblestone streets and nice shops. We had a german dinner and played charades that night and got up early to continue our journey. Next stop: France. Since we were so close to the border, we decided to go to Strasbourg. I love this city. It is big enough to have real commerce, but has maintained it's old world charm. There's a river through the middle of the city like in Paris and it seems to have a good balance of history and innovation. The Christmas markets were still on and the city was bustling with people. It also felt nice to speak French again.

After that stop, we drove through some of the French countryside, which was very pretty and then back to the Black Forest. We made our way to Menzenschwand, a small village in the valley of some tall hills that were covered in dense pine trees. It was different than any of the other places and peaceful. We took a long walk and witnessed some kids practicing their ski jumps on a hill of artificial snow. There was no snow anywhere we went this week, although it was pretty cold. We dined on more german food, which is so many potatoes, big slabs of meat and big tall wheat beers. Our guest house there was run by a lovely English couple and they had a collection on english movies, so we watched one and played Uno. The next morning, Ben and I dropped Michelle and Melody off in Freiburg at the train station on their way to Salzburg. Ben and I wandered around Freiburg, which we loved. When we arrived, the sun was just rising and as we walked into town, we were joined by a dozen people all carrying big baskets. After a while we realized they were all heading to the outdoor market that surrounded the big church in the middle of town. It was a beautiful sight, this huge red church surrounded by carts of vegetables, spices, flowers, meats and cheeses. Germans seem so much more peaceful than Italians and we loved being around them.

Ben and I drove up through more of the Black Forest and saw cuckoo clock country, where there are tons of them. We stopped in a couple small towns, but none of them were as nice as the ones we had already been to. We flew back to Milan that night and now are back here. It was a great trip and we are awaiting to see how MIchelle and Melody fared on their own.

Buon Natale Tutti

December 23, 2006

As we approach Christmas, Ben and I wanted to say Merry Christmas to Everyone!
Our holiday season has been a busy one. Ben just finished his exams which were challenging, and I have finished my job at the English school. My boss and I agreed that me not knowing Italian was a bigger problem than she had thought it would be. And the classes were out of control, so I am glad to be done with that. I also just finished reading War and Peace, which was a great accomplishment for me.
I bought a christmas tree and decorated it, but I have been missing all our ornaments that we have packed in Memphis. As you can see above, i tried to make some ornaments out of some modeling clay that Cynthia and Heidi sent me. But you can see how that turned out.
Michelle, my sister and her friend Melody arrive tomorrow to spend the holidays with us and we are planning to drive around Southwestern Germany for a couple days while they are here.
We miss everybody a lot and hope that you are having a great holiday season and getting to be with the ones you love.
Merry Christmas!

Fun and the Winter Wonderland

December 10, 2006

Ben and I just returned from an amazing trip to Switzerland. We had so many unbelievable experiences. It started on Thursday (Thursday and Friday were city and national holidays in Milan). We rented a car and drove with Catherine and Bryan north. The day was dreary and raining. Milan has been that way for a while now and it does get depressing. On our way, we kept going through mountain tunnels. Ben kept saying each time, that when we got out of the tunnel, it would be sunny with blue skies. But that didn't work, until we went through a 17-km tunnel and when we finally emerged, we were greeted with blue skies, sunshine and the snow capped mountains of the Alps. We couldn't believe it and were all yelling. We got out of the car and took pictures. It was an incredible moment.

We arrived in Bern (the capitol) at dusk and were amazed at the beautiful city. It was like no other place I've ever been. Very medieval and rustic. From our hotel rooms, the roof tops looked like something Peter Pan and Wendy might have flown over. I was especially happy because right away I found some Ben and Jerry's and Starbucks. We went to the Christmas market and looked around. The four of us had some "gluwien" , which is like spiced wine. Everyone stands around drinking it from these green mugs in the market and it was very festive. For dinner we wanted some traditional Swiss food, so I had fondue and the others had sausages, chicken or eggs with potato's that looked like hash browns. It was all very artery clogging, but good. The next day we visited the Munster, which is the big church, and we went to another Christmas market. After shopping for awhile (and finding a wonderful chocolate shop), we got back in the car and headed for Grindelwald, a mountain town near Interlaken.

The drive there was beautiful, but there was no snow on the ground. Our hostel was nestled in between the mountain peaks and our views were of green hills dotted with the swiss A frame chalets. While we hung out and played cards, it started to snow. By the time we went out, it had snowed 6 inches. We went to a nice bar where this british band was playing and it was a lot of fun.

The next morning, it had not stopped snowing, so we had a great breakfast of local cheese and yogurt and bread and then headed up to the town. The walk up the hill was beautiful and fun with about a foot of snow. Every house was so ornate and lovely to see in the snow. We ended up at the sports centre (free passes came with our hostel room). There, we all put on skates and Bryan taught us how to play hockey (he used to play pro hockey). We were the only ones on the ice and had a great time. After that we went to the indoor pool where they had this huge tunnel slide that went outside and shot you back into the pool. Very fun.

That evening, our hostel was hosting an "Opening of Winter party" But since there hadn't been any snow til then, no one was around in the town. For the party, they had a band come to play. We thought it would be like a rock band or something, but no. It was a huge orchestra, like a marching band. They all arrived in santa hats and played strange songs, like by Green Day. We watched them practice outside our window in the snow, and it was very odd. The "drum major" was this girl who didn't conduct at all, just jumped around playing air guitar and then kneeling on the ground and posing with a menacing look on her face. It was so weird.
We ended up staying for the party, which was so fun. Not only was it in the snow (still coming down), but they had made bars and tables out of the snow and had lanterns all around. And the food was served from a huge black cauldron over a fire. So we stood around the fire and met a lot of the band, who were hilarious. We met a guy who actually made cheese and one who made robots. Apparently, most young people who live in a small town in Switzerland are in one of these bands and they travel around some weekends and basically just party and have fun. I never though band dorks could be so cool. You'll see from one of the pictures that I got to learn how to play the trombone. By the end, the band was performing for the four of us and the owners of the hostel who were really nice. Afterwards, we went out to this crazy bar with them all.

What a fun experience and Grindelwald is really a great place. Incredibly beautiful and fun.

First Italian Thanksgiving is a Huge Success

November 25, 2006

After many trials and some discouragements, our Thanksgiving Party for Europeans was a victory for all. I started baking on thursday, making pumpkin bread with the ingredients that Heidi and Cynthia sent me (thanks ladies). Some trouble arose, when the gas in our building was turned off in the middle of the day and when I couldn't find a can opener. But all problems were resolved and the pumpkin bread was baked as well as some brownies. That night, Thanksgiving night, Ben and I and Catherine went to a restaurant that served a turkey dinner and had American football on a big screen. We had a good time, but there's something not right about eating thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant.

The next day, i stayed home all day and made an apple pie, (with crust from scratch), and stuffing (from scratch as well, it is not fun to cut up 10 cups of bread), and cranberry sauce. I found the cranberry sauce at the Asian store in tiny jars, so I bought two and added pears and clementines to the sauce. Catherine came over that night to make chocolate chip cookies, which was tough because she had to make brown sugar by mixing molassas and white sugar. She also brought over the turkey she had ordered and picked up from a butcher. It was 6 kilos (13 pounds) and looked weird (see picture). It wasn't tied up at all and was all stretched out, plus it still had some feathers on it. Yum!

The big day arrived and Ben and I woke up early to start figuring out what to do with the turkey. We plucked it as best we could and stuffed it with vegatables and covered it with butter and put it in the oven. Then we made the green beans, mashed potatoes (Ben's speciality), and cooked the stuffing. I also made stuffed mushrooms and Catherine made devilled eggs.
The first guests to arrive were Diana and her boyfriend Maximilliano. Diana works in the administration of Ben's school and is from Genova. Maximilliano (Massi) is from Milan and works as a broker for shipping companies. They were hesitant to try the devilled eggs, but eventually really liked them. Then Bryan arrived, a classmate of Ben's who is from Western Canada and is an ex-pro hockey player. Then Elisa, one of Catherine's collegues from her job who is French. And finally Leo came, an Italian from southern Italy who is also at Ben's school.

They were all shocked to see the turkey and how big it was and were very interested to know what everything was and how they were supposed to eat it. We all sat down and dug in. Everything was great and despite being very worried about the turkey (there being no button or meat thermomoter) it was delicious!!!!!
It was such a fun party, and I don't think I've ever had so much fun at one of my own parties. I am so grateful to have friends in this new place and for them to be so fun. Dinner started at 4pm and they just all left at around 11pm. The food was great and everyone enjoyed getting to know one another. Yay! Enjoy the pictures. Our camera is terrible at indoor shots, but we did the best we could. Ciao!

Stuffed

November 19, 2006

Ben and I just returned from quite an Italian day! A guy Ben rides with, Patrizio, introduced him to the Francesco Moser riding team here in Milan and he's been on a couple of rides with them. They invited him and me to their end of the year luncheon which was today. At 11:30, we walked to the nearest bike shop to meet Patrizio, because we had to walk outside the city limits to meet his friend who was going to pick us up. Apparently there was a ban on cars driving in the city today because of pollution. It doesn't really make sense, since one day of no cars won't really help the overall problem, but whatever. So the three of us walked to right outside the city limits. Patrizio's english is pretty good, but it takes us a long time to understand him and vice versa. Ben says he's a really good rider and is around 40 years old.

We were picked up by an older couple, Roberto and Mille and drove southeast to the suburbs. We arrived at a restaurant about 20 minutes from Milano and I get to meet some of the riders Ben has been biking with. They are almost all over the age of 50 and have their fashionable wives with them. We met a lot of people and some who knew a little english. Our dictionary came in handy many many times.

So we finally sit down and the president of the club who is the sweetest old man welcomes us and it seems like everyone thinks it's really funny that we are there. Which is the response I get all the time at dance class. My teacher will spot me come in and say "Hello Melissa." and then everyone will laugh. It's a little disconcerting, but what are you going to do? So, thus begins a long chain of foods delivered to us and speeches given and trophies handed out. It was touching to see all the men so proud of their accomplishments and it made me think of my dad in his running club. But...5 hours later, Ben and I had Italian food coming out of our ears and were tired of people coming up and making jokes that we pretended we understood. I don't know if any of you have ever eaten for 5 hours straight, but it is a weird feeling. We had 15 courses and lots of wine. Here's the list: Prosciutto crudo, salame nostrano, coppa piacentina, cosciotto salmistrato, sottaceti, (antipasti, and all sorts of cured meats)
Crostino all ciociara ( little pizza),
Mais con crema di salmone ( basically-grits with salmon sauce),
Risotto canadi con fughi porcini e salsiccia (rice with mushrooms),
Penne capricciose (pasta with meat sauce),
Fesa di vitello giambonata (veal),
Brasato con polenta (slow cooked meat with polenta),
Tagliata agli aromi (rare beef slices),
Patate al forno e finocchi gratinati (potatoes and fennel),
Sorbetto (lemon sorbet),
Dolce della casa (cake)

I was ready to quit before we even got the Prima course (which is the pasta course), but I ate everything and of course Ben did too. Just the logistics in the kitchen were baffling, the group of 75 people must have used 100s of plates and silverware.

We sat next to the only girl on the team who knew English a little and that was nice. During the awards, which went on throughout the entire time, the President at one point looked at me and asked Ben if he could kiss me, which he did. They were all really nice and jolly. Oh and at some point they handed out packages to just the ladies and I received a strange crystal clock (that doesn't work). Ben and I had conversations about America, nutrition, italian food and marriage with the Italians around us, but mostly talked with each other. It is exhausting to try and figure out what people are saying from 3 words out of the hundreds that they say to you. But everyone is so happy when an idea is understood, but it is always followed by awkwardness since now you must begin working on the next one.

A word about bathrooms in Italy. Some of the "bathrooms", even in nice restaurants, are just a hole in the floor- for women and men. It's pretty weird and we don't understand how older ladies deal with it. So if you are planning on coming to visit us, you have been warned!

We had a good time and the food was all really good, but I don't know when I will able to eat something again. It was a good experience to observe and be a part of real Italian's lives. So, Buon Appetito!

Autumn Days

November 18, 2006

Life is going well for us in Milan. We haven't had any trips lately because Ben has been studying for mid-terms. School keeps him pretty busy, but he is excited about all he is learning.
Another subway strike yesterday kept us in watching movies and cooking. We still haven't found a good restaurant to go to, which is odd, but our neighborhood is not too hip.
Last weekend, Catherine and I tried to go to a Mozart concert, but when we arrived, of course, they announced there had been a misprint and there was no concert, but they would show an Australian movie (dubbed into Italian) about mental patients learning a Mozart Opera, and Oh, they were missing the first 5 minutes of the film. Typical occurrence here, and I am starting to expect something to go wrong everywhere I go. I find that I have slowed down a lot since being here and the constant urgency of living in New York has faded a little.
We are planning on having a Thanksgiving dinner at our apartment next saturday with some Italians. They are baffled by the idea of having a big meal in the late afternoon, and I'm sure some of the food will seem funny for them. I am also planning on educating my students on Thanksgiving, since they have never heard of it.
It remains mild weather here, which is nice, although sometimes it is foggy.
I have been taking lots of ballet class and are starting to make friends with some of the dancers.
We have started to go to an Anglican church here which is good. It is English speaking and most of the parishioners are British and American. We are looking forward to their annual Christmas Bizarre which happens in December.
We are missing all our loved ones thinking about the upcoming holidays. Everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Lugano, Switzerland

November 7, 2006

Catherine, Ben and I went to Lugano last weekend and had a wonderful time. I had been before in 2000, and it was just how I remembered it. It's has steep cobbled stone streets leading down into the piazzas on the gorgeous lakes. The mountains around the lake are a lot taller than the ones at Como. And you can see the giant, rocky Alps in the distance.
We rented bikes and rode around the lake. Even though Lugano is only an hour and half from Milan, I could really tell we were out of Italy. Things are cleaner, brighter and people are more helpful.
We took a funicular to the top of one of the mountains and enjoyed the spectacular views from up there. I really love the mountains and the lakes. It was pretty cold there, we were wearing coats, hats and gloves.
Then we had a great meal and found some swiss chocolates to buy. They were delicious.
I really like Switzerland and we hope to get back for one of the famous Christmas Markets before the holidays!