day at the pier market

This morning I woke up with enough time to make it to the early Pilates class at the gym. It was a nice break from recent anxieties; and on my drive home I passed the outdoor farmers' market at the pier. I've always wanted to visit this market, but never seemed to remember in the middle of the week. We used to frequent the Saturday market which is at the Amphitheatre adjoing the Anastasia State Park - and now still go occasionally, especially during Christmas to get gifts for family & friends. We enjoy supporting local vendors as much as we can. Well, since I didn't have a strict schedule today, I decided to head back to the pier to pick up some fresh fruits & veggies - and also bought a big jar of local gallberry honey.



After perusing the line of booths, I decided to spend 50cents to take a walk on the St. Augustine Beach Pier. After living in St. Augustine for 8 years, visiting multiple times before that, and even living several blocks away for the past 5 years -we've never been on the pier itself. It was a slightly overcast day, but there were many spring-breakers on the beach, and a handful of fisherman at the end of the walkway. In the first photo with pelicans, you can see a surfer in the water with no wetsuit! - The Surf Station reported the water at 70degrees today...but still a little too cold to catch me on a board...not too much longer though I'm sure. Hopefully Chris and I can have a mini-date soon to walk the pier together and enjoy a Rita's!

my mood in italian

"These days we (Italians) are the world's leading manufacturers of emotions. perhaps we should apply for a patent, and bottle them. We could sort out the country's finances in a trice." -Beppe Severgnini, La Bella Figura

This past week I haven't really written much, because nothing big has really happened - no task on our "to-do" list for the move was crossed off - and I had to get over some frustrations about the process. There have been 3 of the bigger tasks that I've been trying to start completing: plane tickets, apartment contract, and tuition paid. It seems that as soon as I'm almost about to complete one, something throws us off track again. Of course, I keep telling myself that things still aren't too bad...I mean, we're moving to Italy. I do feel blessed that we can even be in a position to do this without having to make entire life-altering changes with our lifestyle, jobs, etc. And we're both looking forward to this opportunity being a chance for us to slow down a little and take in some wonderful, yet simple, experiences -and I, for one, have it as a resolution to learn more patience through our entire saga. It appears that Italy is a place that will force you to learn patience (or either pull out your hair trying) -I hope to accomplish the former.

The opening quote is from the book I just finished reading, "La Bella Figura" by Beppe Severgnini. I feel that it is so true, that for some reason that most cannot locate, Italy brings out emotions for a wide range of people. We don't know why, exactly, we're drawn to this country. We have no blood ties on either side, no long-time friends from Italia, and have only been brief tourists -but even before we visited, there was something about it that we thought we'd like to be a part of one day. Of course, there is the fact that I've formally studied the many artistic masterpieces, that we both enjoy the history of the ancient ruins that makes Italy stand out among other countries. Almost everyone can be attracted to the postcard images of Italy with sunflower fields, pastel mosaic towns on sea cliffs, and Roman fountains - but there's something else that I can't put my finger on, that draws us to something more than this. It's partly the language, the rhythm, the non-perfection, the juxtaposition from the suburban. I'm looking forward to the cracks in the buildings, the stucco that is patched, the staggered roof-lines, and crooked streets. I sometimes daydream about being able to speak Italian fluently with a fruit vendor.

Of course, I'm nervous at the same time - but that's exciting as well. I know that there will be times that we get frustrated, and days that we may possibly take for granted that we're living in Italy as we go about a busy day's routine. Even now as we're less than 5 months away from leaving, I find myself trying to take in more of our home in Florida each day. Beach walks are becoming more frequent and the water's warming up...summer is going to fly by!

I'll finish with another of my favorite quotes from Beppe Severgnini, (which rings true as we currently are examining prices of a tiny apartment)...
"Tuscany is an ancient, literary setting. it risks being perceived as a sort of Nativity scene, with statuettes of picturesque little Tuscans, busy doing this and that, and visitors, like the three kings, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Especially gold, but cash and all major credit cards are also welcome."

places to see :: ischia ponte

Next on our list of "places to see" is the Isle of Ischia, just off the coast of Naples. More specifically, we'd like to visit Ischia Ponte, which is the location of the fictious town, "Mongibello", in one of our favorite movies, Talented Mr. Ripley. During our trip to Europe in '05 we had a handful of places we wanted to visit from films that we liked - including our "self-made" Amelie tour in Paris to find the Deux Moulins cafe in Montemarte where much of the film was set and the famous scene in front of the Sacre Coeur ...
Francis Mayes' home "Bramasole" in Cortona from "Under the Tuscan Sun"...
and a trip to the beautiful Positano, also featured in "Under the Tuscan Sun". We tried to find out where the town of "Mongibello" was during that trip as well, but found out only after we were back home, (from The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations) that it was a fictious name...and we passed right by it! Well, Ischia Ponte, we'll be back to visit you soon! - and maybe we'll join in song with the priests as we exit the bus.

music in the deep end

This past Monday night, we attended a show by the instrumental band, Explosions in the Sky at the Lightner Museum here in downtown St. Augustine. This museum is the old Hotel Alcazar built by Henry Flagler in 1887 and was one of the premier spa resorts in the world. It boasted the "World's Largest Indoor Swimming Pool" at the time and today the deep end is home to a quaint lunch cafe. You can see in this old photo a man standing on the balcony on the left for scale, and a fountain on the right. There were also gymnastic hoops hanging from the ceiling of which swimmers could swing over the water. Our friends from Cafe Eleven and the St. Johns Cultural Council helped organize this event which was a wonderful time for college age to baby boomers.

Photo: Jared Swafford
We were able to set up a table for Rosa Loves to sell shirts and spread the word on our cause which got a great response! Overall it was a fantastic night to experience the wonderful culture here - it was great to see so many people out appreciating the music and unique atmosphere!

our 2 homes (pt2)

Part 2 in the "our 2 homes" series of posts is about food...the food we love from our home in St. Augustine, (and the south US in general) and the wonderful food we will be transitioning to in Italy. This morning I met several friends at a fun beach cafe down the road from our house and enjoyed an Açai smoothie with granola (one of my favorites) - and I was reminded how much I love the growing number of healthful/unique restaurants we have in St. Augustine. Even just here on the beach, there are several of our favorite stops that we can walk or ride our bike to, like the the hole-in-the-wall baja burrito stand, the veggie wrap & smoothie restaurant on the front porch of the local surf shop, and Cafe Eleven (previous post on Valentine's Day) - all of which we will run into at least 5 people we know at any given time! Also, Manatee Cafe where we eat breakfast almost everytime friends come in town, Fusion for the veggie version of the Yum-Yum sushi roll, and the new Present Moment Cafe which is St. Aug's first vegan/raw restaurant! These are the places I'll miss most I think from St. Augustine.

Now, on to the food we're most excited to have in Italy: seasonal vegetables (verdure) from the market (mercato), fresh cheeses (formaggio), homemade breads/pasta (pane/pasta), quality wine and coffee (vino, caffé). I'm especially excited about the "caffè completo" mentioned in the post by Shelley The Coffee with 3 Fs". Pesto, tomatoes, olives, lemoncello, olive oil, and of course pizza comes to mind as well...

Buon appetito!

next book please

Well, I just finished reading my book for March (in my book-a-month goal...I know this isn't a big feat for some, but with all the busyness in our lives right now, it's a good aspiration). And, I'm staying ahead of schedule which is exciting. The book I just finished is "The Myth of a Christian Nation" by Greg Boyd. It will be hard to put this one into words -but it was heavy, and my book is now filled with underlines, stars, and highlights. Chris initially sent me an article from the NY Times about Dr. Boyd last spring; and after reading more about his radical sermons (that made about 20% of the congregation leave) about how the majority of American right-wing, conservative voters have fused the "Cross and the Sword". This book outlines in a very balanced way that this was in NO way Jesus' example or purpose. Without beginning to not do the book justice by speaking too much about it, excerpts and reviews from various points of views are found here: NakedReligion, DaveDoesTheBlog, ConversationAtTheEdge.


Since I'm going back and forth between more serious books to novels/entertaining books, my (early) libro di aprile is "La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind" by Beppe Severgnini. This book was recommended by our friend, Crystal who will be moving into our house with her new husband Caleb (**added note to clear confusion: NO, they are not married yet to those who thought they missed it, the wedding's in the fall) and becoming "house-sitters, pet-sitters, and peace-of-mind-makers" for us while we're gone. (more on this in a later post). I stopped by our library today and picked up a copy and already am breezing through it! Very entertaining and I'm excited to continue through the sections such as "The highway, or the psychopathology of the stoplight", "The eat-in kitchen, the nerve center of domestic counterespionage", and "The countryside, where we show that Italians are the worlds' leading manufacturers of emotions".

On a quick, unrelated note: moving along with the apartment hunt...I hope to have everything officially on paper by the end of the week (already getting our first taste of how a task that should take "x" amount of time, in Italy may take about 5x this -but part of this is because of time differences with email/calls, etc.) Hopefully good news will follow soon...

places to see :: grotta palazzese

Ok, I have another list of entries I want to add to my "series" lists (currently: new Italian words, our 2 homes). I've found random posts, websites, photos, etc of very interesting places to visit while we're in Italy or during the time when we plan to travel around Europe after our studies. I figured that posting them on the blog will be a reminder to me, at least, of the places I've found instead of making a physical list of them for the months to come. The first is Grotta Palazzese in Polignano a Mare, Bari on the southern east coast of Italy (just north of the heel of the boot). Listed as one of the "Most Romantic" restaurants in Italy, this hotel (which is carved out of hte face of a cliff) boasts an outdoor restaurant set inside a natural cave with breathtaking views of the Adriatic Sea. Open only from May - October, patrons can enjoy gourmet food while watching the waves crash next to the dining "room" and the blue reflections from the grotto dance on the cave walls. (Click on the photo above for a larger view and if you look closely, you can see the railings of the restaurant in the center of the cliff!) I imagine that we may visit this place on our way to Greece (since many boats leave from this area of Italy) which will probably be our first stop on the Europe-circuit after we finish our classes!

il prima telefonata italiana

On Monday I received a phone call in the afternoon. A man with an accent asked for me and then introduced himself as Aldo from an agency in Florence that I'd emailed about several apartments for rent. We spoke for a while about the details of a handful of flats, specific locations, the rental process, etc. When I hung up I smiled, because for some reason this call made me feel one step closer- I guess since it was more personable than dozens of emails. Even more exciting was on Tuesday when I bought an International phone card and made my first call to Italy. I think I rehearsed what I was going to say in Italian about 10 times before I picked up the phone. I've heard that many expats that live in Italy and know the language still have a hard time on the phone. There were 2 phone numbers for the office, and after only hearing a recorded message that I couldn't quite make out after dialing the first number, I tried the 2nd. Because I was so ready to hear "Pronto!" (the Italian "hello" on the phone), I didn't notice that the man actually said "hello" in English before I went on with my Italian (broken I'm sure) introduction sentences, "Buon giorno, posso parlare inglese? Io parlato con qualcuno ieri...". (Good day, may I speak English? I spoke with someone yesterday). Before I finished, he very nicely said, "Yes, of course" -it was Aldo, and in his voice I could tell he was smiling (and probably thinking, "hello - didn't this girl hear me answer in English?"). We spoke for a while and he was very patient with all of my questions. We even had a good laugh over the problem with the word "stove". I was trying to make sure that the apartment has a stove, since I can't see one in any of the kitchen photos. He said that his English "had a barrier" and so I tried to remember the word for stove in Italian (after trying to explain: the four heating elements to cook, you use with pots and pans, you can boil water, normally located above the oven in the US). I remembered that our stove is labeled (as we did with various things around the house) as "strive" - so I said this word which confused him even more. We decided that I'd email the word or picture and he'd get back with me. As soon as I got of the phone, I found my dictionary and realized I'd looked up "stRove" not "stove" when I labeled the kitchen! Whoops. It's now correctly "fornello"!

Well we also have talked again since this conversation and we are about 95% sure that we've finally found our future abode. VERY EXCITING. I don't want to ruin the surprise until it's in writing - but then I'll show photos and links about the neighborhood. But one thing that is so amazing is that a fellow blogger, Melinda, whom I've mentioned before offered to be our "eyes" in the apartment hunting since we're across the ocean. We email quite regularly and I'm so excited that she offered to help - hopefully by early next week we'll have her feedback and the paperwork complete! ....more to come