Kenmore Undressed

Florence and Italian Bake-Offs:There’s Art and then there’s ART

Yesterday my wife and I did a day-trip to Florence which is about one hour by train from my cousin’s house. We visited Florence two years ago in November and, frankly, the only thing that impressed us at that time were the museums. We found the Florentines and the food a bit cold. Everything was different yesterday. We had a wonderful time exploring the city away from the larger museums and tourist areas. A highlight was the Basilica of San Miniato Al Monte which is an extremely old church. Also, we managed to get some very nice shots of Florence. The weather was perfect:

BUT, just when we thought things couldn’t be better, my family threw us in the car and we went to a genuine Italian bake-off. Now there’s art and then, there’s art. Check these delicious little things out:

The photo above shows various treats that children made. Yummy! By the end of yesterday we got to experience two of the greatest forms of art in the world: Florence and Cake. What could be better?

Sardinia: Summing It All Up

Sardinia is one of those places that makes you want to sell everything and move. For some reason, Sardinia felt familiar to me: its climate, its landscape, its architecture, its frontier spirit and its people. My only complaint is that my Italian isn’t good enough to allow me a deeper look into Sardinia. I promised myself that I’d be more fluent next time. Since pictures tell a better story than words, I hope you enjoy some of the shots below:

Tiscali: Visiting the Nuraghic Past of Sardinia

Throughout Sardinia you’ll see stone structures that were constructed by an ancient Sardinian culture known as the Nuraghics. This culture dates back over 5000 years and predates a lot of cultures including the Romans, Greeks, Phonecians, etc. I was dying to visit a nuraghic site and (be careful what you wish for) one of my relatives took up the challenges: we trecked into the mountains to visit a village called Tiscali. Even though the guide book indicated that the village was a one hour hike into the past, it’s really a two hour hike over some fairly rough terraine. The adventure was worth it.

We knew it was going to be a long day when we saw the starting point of the hike. This was one challenging hike up some rocky paths. It was a fairly hot day as well.

When we reached the archealogical site, it was all worth it. Tiscali was discovered by woodcutters over a century ago. It has only been recently that the site was studied. An on-site guide explained that the nuarghic people who inhabited this settlement would have found it to be a virtual paradise: there was ample food, water and isolation from enemies. The stone houses were arranged inside a huge crater-like pocket in the mountain.

My cousin’s husband, Lelio and my wife pose here after the trek. It was a wonderful adventure and an unexpected bonus to our vacation.

Sardinia’s Interior: Rugged Country, Rugged People

My wife and I did several trips into the interior of Sardinia. It’s similarities to California’s Central Valley, Utah, Nevada and Eastern Washington are striking. One fascinating component of Sardinian life is it’s almost anarchistic attitude toward the “outside world.” The town that exemplifies this lifestyle is Orgòsolo. During the 1960’s it was know for banditry and violence that, to this day, gives the town a bad reputation with the authorities. A fascinating manifestation of this anarchistic worldview are the murals that cover many of the walls in the city (there are murals painted on the mountains and rock around town, but we didn’t have an opportunity to see them). We Americans consider ourselves a frontier people and I found myself relating quite easily to the town and its people. After all, deep down inside we all want to be renegades, don’t we?

As you can see, Sardinia has the look and feel of the Western US. This beautiful landscape is home to some rugged people:

Many of the murals depict famous historical events or people. Above the artist expresses some unkind words for Salvadore Allende.

The murals are beautiful, stark and quite thought-provoking. As we wandered the streets of Orgòsolo we had the sense that visitors were welcome, but only for a little while! Once again, Sardinia was a complete surprise. Oh, by the way, if you happen to run into the two bandits below, call the authorities…………………..they’re trouble:

Sardinia: How I learned to enjoy the beach!

Italy is famous for its food, its hospitality and its ancient architecture. Also, everyone pretty much knows about the large island of Sicily off the south western tip of the peninsula. Sardinia; however, remains one of those off-the-beaten-track spots in Italy that one hears about but never gets around to visiting. Well, I,m here to tell you that I now see why a lot of those old Spaghetti Westerns were filmed in Sardinia: it’s a beautiful land of mountains, cactus, dusty roads, rugged and proud shepherds, farms, vineyards and, yes, beaches. I mean the most beautiful beaches you’ll ever experience. Confession time: I’m not a beach person. I find it hard to sit on the beach. I do love to swim in the ocean, but I don’t have the patience to relax, read a book and soak in the sun……until Sardinia…… Virginia and I spent more time on the beach in Sardinia than in all our years on earth.  Frankly, the pictures barely tell the true story:

I have a lot more to say about Sardinia in later posts. As you can see, the beaches are incredibly beautiful, yet, there’s also a fascinating and rugged world in the interior of the island.

Grocery Shopping in Italy

I love to go grocery shopping. I also like to look at other people’s shopping carts to see what they are buying. Call it a strange personality disorder if you want. Nevertheless, I know some of you aren’t well-travelled and might be curious about the way Italians live their regular lives (when they’re not dealing with tourists). So here are a few pictures (taken discreetly) at a local Supermercato:

In these pictures you’re going to see a lot of things that look familiar. The Italian stores have the same basic set up as those in the US.

One surprise is that Italian grocery stores don’t offer fresh fish on Mondays. If you were looking for a fish fillet or clams today……….

Americans love yogurt, but Italians REALLY love yogurt. This whole section is a shrine to every kind of yogurt imaginable.

SCONTO is sale in Italian. By the way, my cousin cooked up these chickens and they were absolutely wonderful.

Oh, Italians hate standing in line, just like us.

But the clerks are very nice. Probably because they get to sit down on thejob.

It’s the Simple Things that Matter….Really

Sometimes being on vacation means just that: BEING ON VACATION! I believe we Americans suffer from the I-must-always-be-working syndrome. I’m particularly prone to this malady. So today I just want to share some simple things with you:

Peace!

Lucca in Tuscany: Yes, it really is THAT nice!

My grandfather, Tranquillo Lupori, migrated to the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. Since then, only my great uncle, Pete Lupori, and I have returned to reconnect with the Lupori clan. We first met in 1981 when my girl friend (my current wife) and I participated in a foreign exchange program in northern Germany. At the end of the courses, we travelled to Italy and met my mother’s family in Torino and then made our way to Lucca, Italy to meet the Luporis. I had no idea then, what a deep and long-lasting impact the visit would have. Check this out, a picture from 1981:

From left to right: Guido Lupori, my father’s great uncle, Luciano Lupori, me and Primo Lupori. Luciano and Primo are Guido’s sons. In the mirror you can see Primo’s wife and my future wife!!!

Many years later we,ve managed to stay in touch with my family even though it took many years to return. Now all my contemporary cousins have families and all the children are girls (with a few exceptions). I want to share a few pictures of the home (and area around) of my cousin Natalia and her husband Ivano. La vita dolce:

You’re Going to Be Jealous

Everything you’ve ever heard about Italian food is correct! The very word Italy invokes visions of pasta, fresh fish, pizza, salumi, cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables….not to mention the wines. I’m truly fortunate to have family who cook some of the most wonderful food. Torino is located in the Piedmont region of Northwest Italy. It was here that the Slow Food Movement was created. Slow Food, in a phrase, is dedicated to the idea that one should eat locally produced foods and maintain traditional preparation and cooking methods. In the Piedmont, you won’t find the rich tomato sauces found in Southern Italy. Piedmont flavors are characterized by richer butter/cream sauces, light tomato sauces with meat and a huge variety of meat preparations. Well, here are some pictures of some home cooked meals:

Above are pictures of my cousin, Anna, preparing lightly breaded sage leaves. Oh, my these were wonderful. These sage leaves are huge and delicious!

Fried zucchini and sauteed beans, yummy

Here is a version of Italian mac and cheese. It’s tagliatelle with a combination of fontina, parmigiano and other cheeses.

This savory torta was absolutely wonderful. It has a thin light bread crust, pancetta, zucchini, onions and various greens. I sincerely hope you all have an opportunity to visit Italy and enjoy the food here.

A Simple Thing Makes a Big Difference: What time is it?

If you travel to Italy (or most of Europe) the homes have exterior shutters on the windows called serranda.  So what, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you, they literally destroy my biological clock. When Italians settle-in for the evening, or when the sun is beating down (it’s been 95 degrees here in Torino) the serranda are closed……..the interior of the house becomes completely dark. I’m talking NO light.

What makes them so difficult for me is that they intensify my jet lag. I have no idea when to get up. It takes me several days to adjust to being in Europe. My relatives think I’m joking when I tell them the American home doesn’t have this type of shutter.  ”How can you sleep without them?” They also think it’s strange that I never close them all the way.

The home above is a perfect example of the serranda in full use. I’ve wondered if Europeans are actully less sleep-deprived because their homes are so closed-up at night. Perhaps we should adopt them, get a better night sleep and relax a bit more!