What Fills My Plate

 Buongiorno, I have neglected the blog for too long.   It has been a  hectic month, seems like one catastrophe after another.  But now, on the morrow a small vacation will begin as we cross over into Austria to our go-to town of Mauthen.  The cat will be cat sit by Orietta's mother while we will cool off in that small non tourist village. Mauthen is just across the border and the drive over the pass is very scenic and curvy.  This border was a battle line during WWI.  Austria-Hungarian troops fought against Italians assisted with a battalion of British artillery soldiers.   They endured the harsh winters while  bombarded, spied upon and shot by snipers.  Millions died on the war front. On the north side (Austrian) as you descend into the valley below you pass a small cemetery which serves to remind one of those who gave their lives.  I must admit that my high school history teacher neglected to mention this war front and i...

 Buongiorno!  Another fine day with some misty clouds.  Have you had your coffee and roll today?  I did not, going full American with eggs, and toast.  Breakfast of champions!  I am curious as to what you ate for breakfast. Random thoughts today.  Yesterday I had an appointment in Monselice, which is a large village about 25 minutes from my home.  The village is medieval and so the streets are small, tight, and parking is... well, if you get a spot, you feel lucky.  I always drive around and around the block where I have the appointment until something large opens up.  The spots made by the city are small and I am so much of an American that I would suffer to squeeze the back of my car to back into a small hole.  Finally I found one and felt lucky.  From this spot I was able to look up and see an old ruined castle on top of the hill.     Once I was dining on the street in Paris and cars were passing by this tiny ...

            What a great day in northern Italy. The sun is bright, the sky is blue, the fields are green.  My cat sits in the window dreaming of catching the flying  insects on the other side of the window.  A window that is closed because the cottonwood trees are losing that little snowflakes of cotton that are floating  in the air.  Those snowflakes and the dust cause my allergies to spike making it difficult to breathe while my eyes feel like someone threw minced jalapeños into them.  There is hope as on Wednesday it is predicted to feature rain, and this will clean the air somewhat.  One can only hope.  It was a good weekend.  Everyone seemed to be out and about enjoying the sunny weather.  We went through our volcanic hills and stopped at the other side to see a small castle.  Then for "pranzo" we had lunch at a fish restaurant.  It was a nice day.    Here it is also poppy season. an...

  Hello from sunny Italy.  You can go out and feel the warm sun for most of the day here.  Rain predicted later this evening.   There are a lot of Italians out with a stop at their local bar.  (coffee, mostly.)  You see my espresso, which consists of a bit more than 2 large tablespoons of strong coffee. Here is a snapshot of my local coffee bar, you can see it is clean and it is time for most people to begin to leave and continue their day.  10:40.   I remain and write in Italian, working on my vocabulary list. You can also see few jackets, Spring has arrived!   The barista is busy cleaning tables and her working area.  Today she was busy and my request was met with a short comment.  This makes me miss the bar in Due Carrare where I went almost everyday for ten years,  Covid closed it.  I miss seeing my friends there.   It is difficult to make friends in Italy.  People who visit coffee bars ar...

Scroll down below foto  and CLICK ON  READ MORE TO OPEN   And....I'm back.  Greetings to all.  I want to first catch up on life, etc.  The next  blog will be more about life in sunny Italy.     My last posting was made in 2022, covid had destroyed most of my motivation.  It was such a mess, creating shutdowns, lockdowns, and economic turmoil . I still wash my hands much harder and longer than before covid.  I stayed in the house as asthma and old age were factors in surviving.  Tom Seaver, Larry King, Gaylord Perry, Trini Lopez and Charley Pride, all famous people who were victims known by old guys like me. Jumping ahead in time:  We moved to a suburb of Padova, Abano Terme, famous for thermal water used by a great number of hotels here.  We have old Roman ruins of thermal pools.  The Romans were like us, loved to travel and enjoy new things.  They would pack up and leave for over a year to travel....

  Finally , a visit to Italy’s first Starbucks which has opened in Milano.   My wife had a knitting convention in Milano and she came   through with some photos to show my blog readers.   I had written about this Starbucks insertion a few times, and it certainly took some years to finally open for business.   Previously, the originator and American owner of Starbucks had promised never to open a Starbucks in Italy, but as you will see, he changed his mind. The plan was to purchase the old main post office of Milano which is across the plaza from the Duomo (huge cathedral).   The main shopping area for exclusive clothing, etc., is also just steps away, so a great influx of tourists was to be expected to make a visit and leave their euros behind.   You must have heard stories about construction jobs in Italy and how turtle speed is the progress.   This project is a prime example.     The Entrance Brewing Display This is not your normal Sta...