I Won the Oil Shop Giveaway at Italyville!

I've been meaning to post this for some time now (sorry Joe!). Back in February Joe over at Italyville.com had this giveaway contest for some really good olive oil from oliveoilshop.com and I won! It's very rare that I win things, so I was pretty thrilled (I'm easily pleased).
Joe's got a great blog. He's is a first-generation Italian-American, born and raised in Massachusetts and posts lots of great recipes, pictures and talks about life growing up Italian. Joe travels back to his parents native Calabria often and posts really beautiful pictures of his ancestral lands. Hop over and check his blog out, I promise you won't be disappointed!

I Need You to Try Something On

Getting back to my trip to Milano, that night that I arrived and was so tired, the Italian had said to me that he needed me to try something on. I was so tired that I said ok, can I try it tomorrow and he said yes, of course of course. I had forgotten about it for most of the day and it was Christmas Eve. He told me to take my time getting ready because we weren't due at his home until dinner. He also promised to take me to il centro (downtown) to see all the Christmas decorations. We took the underground into the center and there were people still out doing last minute shopping. I then remembered to ask him what it was he wanted me to try on. He said oh yes, and had this strange look on his face, then he pulled out a little brown box and said, "I hope you will marry me"



It was so cute! I was not expecting it! I thought he wanted me to try on like a sweater or something. Of course I said YES YES YES!! SI SI SI!! It was the happiest Christmas Eve of my life.



We celebrated by having an Espresso e cornetto at Bar Cova. A swanky little place on Via Montenapoleone. Think Rodeo Drive.




















And so it is official. We are engaged, extremely happy and so deeply in love! We are hoping to be married in the fall but it will really depend on when he can finally get here, then we can start making our plans.

I am really behind in all the posts I have planned but there have been many changes, which I also plan on posting about soon. I have a lot of catching up to do!

Le Tre Torri

Once we arrived at the hotel I was so exhausted, I laid in the bed and didn't want to move. The Italian asked if I wanted to go have dinner with his family and I felt so bad because I was too tired. I needed to bathe and I knew once I did that it would be a matter of minutes before I knocked out cold, but I was hungry. I told him that I really wanted to but I was just too tired to muster up the energy. He understood and offered to go out and get me some pizza. I agreed as this would give me a chance to take a shower and freshen up.

I stumbled onto the website of Le Tre Torri somehow when searching for a place to stay. The price was right and it's right on the green line which goes to the neighborhood where the Italian lives with his family. I had him go and check it out and it seemed like a nice place and the owners were very nice. The room was a little spartan with Ikea furnishings but it was clean and suited my needs. It's not really a hotel but more like a self-service room rental type place. They also offered free Wi-Fi. The Italian was a little skeptical about the neighborhood called Lambrate because it has a bit of a past but they seem to have cleaned it up and it was very convenient when we wanted to go into the center of Milano as well as going to his families house which we would drive to rather than use the metro. I really recommend this place if you need an economical place to stay in Milano. The longer you stay the more discount they offer. There is a communal kitchen and dining room as well as a washing machine. If I had to, I would definitely stay there again.



The Italian promised to bring me back a really delicious pizza. I was starving so I was really looking forward to it. Well, he didn't disappoint! Wow, I don't know if it was because I was starving but this was among the best pizza I've ever had in my life. Trattoria Pizzera La Cappelletta was near the hotel and seems to have a little history. This is what is written on the box:

Narrano leggende che ai tempi dei Romani, nel luogo ove ora sorge la Cappelletta vi fosse un santuario cristiano. Forse era solo un sasso, ma con il passare del tempo e' diventato un simbolo, che ha acquistato una forza e una simbologia da caratterizzare un intero paese quale era Lambrate. Oggi purtroppo non la si nota quasi piu', sommersa dalle case e dalle auto, ma e' bello sapere che un luogo cosi' ricco di spiritualita' a cui generazioni di lambratesi hanno affidato le loro preghiere, sia sempre qui a portata di mano.

The pizza was like no other pizza I have ever had before. The crust had a bit of a sourdough taste to it and it was absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, because I was so hungry I didn't think to take a picture of it until after I finished it, so I took a picture of the box instead. He just bought enough for me as it was way too early for him to eat dinner. He stayed with me until I fell asleep, then he went home to eat with his family. I asked him to please give my apologies to his family but I was just way too tired. He kept telling me not to worry, that they would understand. When he came back from his dinner I woke up and he let me know that his family completely understood and that they looked forward to meeting me the next day which was Christmas Eve. I was so relieved and went right back to sleep.

Airport Meetings & Destination Milano

I went to bed around midnight on the 21st knowing I had to be up 3 hours later. There was just so much to do before I left. I had a 6:30am flight and what with all the snow storms going on all over the place, I figured I better get an early start just in case. My friend Darcy graciously offered to drive me to the airport at the ungodly hour of 3:30am. Thank goodness for good friends! She also took care of my car for me while I was gone which saved me close to $200 had I parked at the airport.

The best part about having to be at the airport so early was the coffee! I love Coffee People! They used to have shops all over Portland but now they only have 2 locations at the airport, so this was truly a treat!



I was about the 3rd person in line to check in and the guy behind me commented on my stack of suitcases. "You don't travel light, do you?" I laughed and said, "No, I've never been one to backpack anywhere. Plus it's Christmas so I'm smuggling gifts!" Turns out he's from New York and a graduate of the Maritime Academy in the Bronx which is located in the neighborhood I lived in for 4 years. Nice guy. He came into Portland on a ship and said that he really loves the city :-) He mentioned that he liked it a lot better than Seattle. We got to talking about what Portland is known for and he specifically said he loved the variety of beer here and that the East Coast just doesn't have the quality beer that Portland does. I loved hearing that, I just wish I were a beer lover! I'm more a wine person. I do enjoy the Ruby from McMenamins but that's about the size of it. He wasn't on my flight though, so once I checked in we wished each other Happy Holidays and off I went to the gate. While waiting for my flight a woman sat next to me and we started talking. It turns out she is my neighbor, literally lives across the street in the townhomes and she is married to a man from Italy. Quite the coincidence! She was going to NY to visit her daughter who is in college. She was a vicitm of the snow storm that hit the East Coast and was actually supposed to fly out 2 days prior. This trip started so well having met these two nice people. This is what I love about traveling. Meeting diverse people from everywhere. These two I happened to have a bit in common with :-)





















When I arrived in NY I walked over to Terminal 1 and went up to the departures area to check in for the next portion of my flight. I should mention that the first portion was on Delta and the second portion was on Alitalia, which is a Skyteam partner of Delta. I arrived to the news that my flight was to be delayed 9 hours due to snow at Malpensa. I was really disappointed because every moment I have with the Italian is precious, so every moment spent in Terminal 1 was a moment lost with him. Alas, I had no choice.



Initally I called my friend Rachel who lives on Long Island and she was happy to come and pick me up but I told her I needed to check with the airline to see what they wanted the passengers to do. They asked that we check in and wait at the gate in the event that the snow stopped and Malpensa was back up and running. So I called Rachel back and told her I'd have to stay there. I really wanted to see her and her son who I haven't had the pleasure of meeting since the last time we saw each other was when she came to visit 2 1/2 years ago. The airline gave us a $10 voucher (which buys you all of a bottle of water and some pretzel's in NY), so I settled in and started watching movies on iTunes. One by one I watched several planes take off, Paris, Mexico City, Taipei, another flight to Paris, Munich, etc. I started to feel like I was on the movie Terminal! No communication from the airline whatsoever. I felt particularly bad for the families with small children. They were all restless and crying. The parents exhausted. This sort of put it into perspective for me and I stopped feeling sorry for myself asap!



When they finally announced boarding, in true Italian fashion, everyone bum rushed the gate. Forget boarding group 1, 2, 3 and 4 in that order, it was every man, woman and child for themselves!



It was a long uncomfortable flight and I got absolutely no sleep. I felt like a zombie when I finally arrived around 4pm Milano time which is 7am Portland time (the next day!). It took about an hour to get my luggage, then when I finally walked out the door, I looked through the crowd of faces and didn't see the one I was looking for. Then out of nowhere I got the biggest hug and kiss. I was so happy! Exhausted but happy. It was as though not a moment in time had passed since we were last together. I'll admit that I was a bit worried about this as distance and time sometimes puts a damper on relationships but I was immediately put at ease with his warm reception. We took the pullman (which is what the locals call the bus, which is not a city bus but more like a Greyhound bus) to the Stazione Centrale, then took the underground to my hotel.

Slip of the Tongue...??

So as most of the world knows, the "youthful" and often tactless Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi made a remark about our new President Elect being young, handsome and even "tanned". Hmm..anyhow, here is how some Italians have responded to his remark:

http://www.notspeakinginmyname.com/

La Dolce Vita.....Says Who??

In my spare time I like to read blogs from all over the world. It seems lately that blogs originating in Italy are posting about the same things. Whether it's dissatisfaction with prenatal care, strikes, depressing beauty contests, bad organization, or political angst, it all points to one thing. Life in Italy isn't as "dolce" as we like to dream it is. Maybe it's become "Hollywoodized" by movies like "Under the Tuscan Sun". Not only have I read all these rants and raves, I've heard them first hand by Ale, the Italian and collaborator of this blog.

It seems Italy's political system is a disorganized mess. After everything I've read and heard, I wouldn't be shocked if there were some kind of revolution being planned. Healthcare, albeit free (well, who are we kidding here, nothing is ever free...taxes!) or rather socialized, is not the best. I mean, who tells a pregnant woman who wasn't overweight to begin with, to lose weight while pregnant????

Nepotism.....it runs rampant in Italy. If you don't have friends or family in high places, then you are just out-of-luck. Or, if your family doesn't have 30,000 Euros to get you into medical school, then you are just not going to get anywhere. You might get a job, but you'll either get paid peanuts or nothing at all. People complain, but nothing changes. Professionals are choosing to leave Italy to find better opportunities. Crime is getting worse because the polizia does nothing to the illegals and they continue to commit crime because they are well aware that they will get away with it.

Don't get me wrong, I love Italy. It's absolutely beautiful. I love the culture, the art, the food...etc, but it's just not all it's cracked up to be. I feel so bad when Ale tells me about how he could wait years, even decades and still never advance in his career because he isn't "well connected". What is happening to this country that is so rich in history and art?? How can a country function when they would rather hire the guy who is so and so's cousin, rather than the guy who is actually qualified for the job??

Lately people have been asking me why I don't go to Italy to live with Ale. Well, the answer is simple. What would I do there?? I'm still learning how to speak the language. Ale has a Master's degree in his field and can only get 6 month to 1 year contracts for work. One of which was not renewed for this fall. There are temp agencies here in the U.S. that can do better than that. Ale is frustrated with all the walls he keeps coming up against and it hurts me to see him that way. I would much rather he come here and work to his full capacity. I want to see him get the recognition he deserves. Until things change, I'm staying put and Ale will come here as soon as he possibly can. Maybe in the future, or perhaps for retirement. I don't know, but even with all the political problems we have here in the U.S., it's still going to be a better situation for the both of us.