What Fills My Plate

THANKSGIVING ... is at the top of the list of special occasions I did not want to miss when moving to Italy.   But where in the Veneto to obtain a turkey?   I had never seen a whole turkey in any market.  One could walk all over Padova and not find one gobbler anywhere in the meat markets.  They don’t exist.  The closest thing would be a leg and thigh, attached, or you can also buy breast of turkey.   Italians do not  eat a whole turkey, never see them, and they do not roast them or cook them whole.   I knew they had turkeys, just not whole ones. I began to look harder.  My quest was successful after I questioned my local macellaio (butcher) if he could provide a whole turkey.    I began a long explanation, recounting the history of Thanksgiving in America.   He smiled and told me that my request could be met, and what date would I want to pick it up.  Thanksgiving was a go! I described the size I needed, and th...

There is a local watering hole I frequent, which I call the “Old Farts Bar”.  We have several bars in town where one can get a number of different kinds of coffee drinks.   Old Farts is only patronized by tottering old men, well past the age of 70.  It is a deep-rooted “men only” establishment.  Not more than once or twice have I seen a woman venture inside,  sitting by what I gather would be their husbands.  These old men have been beaten down by a lifetime of hard work, wear and tear.    Italian life hasn’t always been easy.  You can expect sudden loud clearings of throats and noses, coughing and snorting.  If they see a friend on the street, a greeting will be bellowed out to get their attention.   They know everyone in the village and have an opinion on everything.  The only woman inside this bar is the barista, a knock dead 30 year old with shiny well kept hair and big black glasses which partially hide her da...

In America you can get a driver license within a minimum of time.  You take the test, pass it and drive your own car to show  your driving skills.  You pay the fee, less that 50 dollars, and they take your picture and you are out the door.  In Italy a beaureaucratic mess awaits you.  If your country does not have an agreement for older licensed drivers from other countries to trade in and be issued a new license without testing (How do they drive in Sri Lanka, for instance?) you will experience your bank account shrinking as you pay over 600 euroes directly into the pockets of a driving school, a doctor who gives you a ridiculous 4 minute exam, and the government establishment which grabs the rest.  It is a shameless creation of government, over designed, and strengthened by a law that by its very essence plunders its citizens.  Topping it off is an exam obviously created by people who have nothing to do all year except think up more than 7,000 tr...