Celebrating The Iguana King’s Birth
Happy Birthday Dad and Buon Compleanno!!
A New Bike
Ciao, tutti! . Sorry I’ve been remiss in my web-missives lately. Things here are BUSY! The hotel/restaurant hasn’t opened yet, still waiting for the operi (workers) to finish the restoration and for the government to approve the hotel and restaurant licensing. But we’re getting closer! The bathrooms are all installed, the furniture is starting to arrive, and the pool is almost done!
Marco, our kitchen engineer, is outside as we speak installing the kitchen in the restaurant–ding! (Marco is one of the three operi that I’ve met so far who speaks a little English. He’s whistling “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” this morning). I can’t wait for everything to be mounted so I can polish that brand new stainless steel until it gleams! The tiles on the kitchen wall are white, the arched ceiling (beautiful brickwork that unfortunately we had to cover up because of health regulations) will be a pale yellow I think, and there are two sets of big french doors, so I feel the kitchen atmosphere is going to be bright and cheerful.
I’ve really been slacking on the website here, and still have not posted pictures from Sarah’s wedding or our trip to Toscana. Luca and I also went to Pontechianale (this absolutely adorable tiny town in the mountains that is 45 minutes from the Italian border with France) for a day-and-a-half trip. I promise to try and get to it the first minute I have!
In other news, Luca bought me a mountain bike! And he did it in an especially poignant way, (or as we say in Italian, “Ha fatto una bella figura“) because, rather than just going to buy an expensive new one, he searched for a used one in good shape, gave it a tune up and painted it Big Bird Yellow! Hotness. I just need to get a chestino (cute little wicker basket) for the front of it so I can use it for grocery shopping and blend in with the local 80 year old contadini (farmer-types who don’t get into the city much, and if they do manage to go to town, it’s usually on their bike sporting un bello chestino). Luca says I should use it for mountain biking rather than grocery shopping, but I think I can use it for both. 🙂
Matrimonio
Sarah’s wedding was fun! It was nice having a little mini-reunion, and even though it was way too short and we were missing a few people (ahem), I know that at least Carrie and I had a good time! I’ll try to post more pictures later this week.
Piemontese Food
I’ve been in the US this week–and what a quick week it was! I came home for Sarah’s wedding and got to catch up with family and friends a little too. Heading back to Italy and the Sinio gang this afternoon.
Before I left Italy (actually, a long time before I left), Gigi and his family took me out to dinner at a great little restaurant where we had spaghetti with fruits of the sea. Anna isn’t a big fan of fish, so she had pizza instead, and Gigi introduced me to a great new digestivo called San Simone afterwards. Yummers!
Cristiana and Luciano (Chanin in dialect–pictured above) also invited me to eat with them. This time at their house for a wonderful and traditional Piemontese dinner. Cristiana’s gradmother (left) and Carmela, Walter, Bea, and Guiseppe joined us as well. We started with cocktails and then moved into the kitchen for the real feast: focaccia (Chanin used to be a bread maker!), torta salata (like quiche with lots more veggies), vitello tonato (boiled veal, sliced thin and served with a homemade tuna and anchovie mayonnaise), asparagus with fonduta, two types of lasagna (pasta al forno), roasted bell peppers with garlic, that had been slow-cooked in oil for two hours, the cheese course, bunet (a traditional custard dessert made with amaretti cookies and cocoa–everyone has their own secret recipe for bunet), and strawberries (diced and macerated in their own juices)! You can imagine how full we were afterwards–but everything was soooooooo good!!
Coming Home Next Week
Ciao, peeps! What’s up? Lots going on here–construction is coming along slowly but surely. This week the bianchisti painted all the rooms in the hotel and four bathrooms were installed. We’re working on the lawn and garden a lot–starting a professionally landscaped garden is a serious undertaking! I had no idea. But after spending hours picking weeds out of the lawn by hand I have a newfound appreciation for the task!
I’m coming home next week! I’ll be in LeRoy from the 7th-14th-ish and hope to have time to catch up with everyone then!