We're off to The Netherlands and Belgium!

Last July E and I decided to start researching where to use my hard-earned airline miles for another big trip to Europe. We had to book nine months in advance in order to get seats on reward flights, so we went for it!

But then nine months went by really, really fast. April seemed SO far away that we suddenly panicked last month and got to planning. Traveling to Europe is a lot of work! But now we're off tomorrow to The Netherlands and Belgium, with a long weekend trip to see our dear friends in Milan, Italy on the way. My youngest sister and her husband are meeting us in Amsterdam halfway through the trip and we can't wait to see them and show them around Europe on their first trip out of the country.


Bruges, Belgium

I've been so down after our house robbery, but the past three days have been packed with good news after good news and now we're leaving on this trip! (and with our good friends are house-sitting, so I'm much less anxious to the leave the house.)

We would love to hear any suggestions on restaurants or sites off-the-beaten-path in the Netherlands or Belgium (Bruges and Brussels) if you have them.
 (And we just found out we'll be in Amsterdam on Queen's Day!)

Souvenirs from Italy

I was excited that Catherine guest posted for me about buying souvenirs when traveling. it helped me prioritize the things we could and should come home with.

While food was one of the best parts of this experience, I couldn't take many of the things I would have loved to, home with me (Mozarella de bufalo? yes, please.)

I'm still not sure what E will bring back with him next month, here is what I took home from our Italian adventures:




1. The church in Milan gave us this beautiful espress cup set from an Italian brand, Thun for our anniversary. It's a 2011 exclusive set for us to remember the anniversary we spent there.



2. After we tasted Rosanna's creme di limoncello, a recipe from the Napoli region, I had to take some home with me - so delicious!

3. The balsamic vinegar we had in Italy was leagues above anything we've tried in the US. This balsamic reduction is fabulous for caprese salad and seafood.

4. We were gifted some Illy espresso grounds from a family in the church.

5. Italian stovetop espresso maker. This is the old school, better tasting espresso maker (Kate and Rob agree!) You saw a version of this in my post on Italian breakfasts, and I couldn't bear to give up my morning caffe con latte! We were told this is the best brand you can find.

6. Shoes! I got these Italian leather sandals at a local store (brand is Sonoitalyana) (see them styled here)


7. I was not planning to buy any more shoes...when I stumbled across these sexy heels on clearance and couldn't leave without them. (see them styled here)


8. I took two of these kilo bags of espresso beans home (4.5 lbs total). We have a grinder, so I grind up a couple days worth of grounds to make in our stovetop maker.

9. Sfolie was one of my favorite pastries in Italy. I ate these often, and took home a jumbo package which I'm slowly working through... (and not sharing!)

Greetings in Italian

I can hardly believe I'm home. Italy feels like a faraway dream. I'm still thinking through and processing a lot about what I experienced there (and living vicariously through E who is there for another month) so I hope you guys don't mind me sharing some more reflections and thoughts from the trip...this time about Italian greetings and etiquette.

Cheek Kissing

On the plane ride to Italy, E and I flipped through a travel book for some tips on Italian culture before we arrived to prepare for the culture shock. We had been warned by previous visitors that the expectation at church was that we would greet every single person when they arrived, and greet them again/say goodbye after every event.

We knew that it was customary to kiss both cheeks, but were misled about which cheek goes first! We had read it was left cheek, right cheek - which seemed natural to me - but it turns out its the opposite! (only a few awkward near-misses before we figured this one out)

source

E would greet every man with kisses (more like a light cheek touch with a kissing sound), and all the older women and children, but not usually women his own age.

I would greet every women with cheek kisses, all the older men and children. The nonni (grandparents) were usually a little more affectionate with some real kisses on the cheek.

The occasion, and level of emotion seemed to dictate how long you would hold each other, or whether or not the cheeks were actually kissed. :-)

It took me a few weeks to not instinctively put my hand out for handshake prior to the kisses. (This is proper for the first few times you meet someone, then you can stop putting your hand out). Finally after watching the ladies for a little while I began to greet with just a light holding of one shoulder, or just leaning in for the kiss-kiss.

I have to say I fell in LOVE with the cheek-kiss and cannot figure why it isn't customary in the US!

Greetings

We had studied a few words of greeting before we arrived in Italy, but didn't know the rules of when to use them or how. Here are some tips we picked up!

For greeting formally before 2pm, buongiorno = good day

after 2pm, buonasera = good evening

When you are leaving or saying goodbye:

buona giornata = have a good day

buona serata = have a good evening

Ciao = (informal) hello/goodbye

ce vediamo _____ = see you _____

you can say it on its own, or add a dopo (later), a domani (tomorrow), a venerdi (on friday...or fill in any other day of the week)

When eating

For a wine toast, you say "Salute". & don't drink before the toast!

(humorous note, our hosts thought it was so funny that Americans use the same word for toasted bread and a glass clink!)

Everyone repeats "buon appetito" after the host says it, before eating.

I learned that it is impossibly to compliment a meal appropriately, unless you speak Italian.

It's proper to say either buono or buona -- the gender is determined by the gender of the name of the food which you are eating!

Since I never knew this I usually said buona cena = good dinner. (I'm still not sure if this was right or not!)

It was really fun, although awkward at times to learn a lot of the social customs and words, but we were so thankful for our patient hosts!

Lake Garda and Sirmione

Two years ago, when we were planning our honeymoon I had on the top of my list to visit the Cinque Terre, five coastal cities on the Italian Riviera, connected by a rocky path with a gorgeous view. (also, Trofie pasta originates from this region, and its pesto is famous.)

When we attempted to spend a day here on our honeymoon, our plan was foiled due to a train derailment and repairs leaving only a couple of hours in Riomaggiore (no time for the hike). I was really disappointed, but E promised to take me back.

So, when we knew we were going to Italy for this summer and would have one day off a week, I told E that was at the top of my priority list. When we arrived and talked to our hosts about wanting to visit, there were other road blocks -- no direct route from Milan would force us to spend more than 1 day gone and over 100 euro just to travel there.

I sadly gave it up, until a neighbor asked if we wanted to spend a day with them so they could practice English, and they would drive wherever we wanted to hike! We immediately suggested the Cinque Terre, and made plans to go in our last week.

Unfortunately the night before we were supposed to leave they phoned us that their teenage daughter was hospitalized with bronchitis and they had to stay home....

Strike two for Cinque Terre.

I was so sad I wanted to cry all night (drama queen alert). We decided to stay home the day we'd planned to go out, and asked for another recommendation of a place to visit on Thursday.

Our hosts suggested Lake Garda, the easternmost of the three large lakes in the Lombardy region north of Milan. Without other options or energy to plan, we booked train tickets and took off the next morning.

photo credit

We took a train to the southern central portion of the lake, Peschiera del Garda.

(there is an old military fortress that might be worth touring here)

monument to fallen soldiers

After wandering around the town and the marina, we decided to rent bikes (bad day to wear a maxi dress!) and ride to Sirmione - a beautiful little town on a peninsula in Lake Garda that we stopped at on our honeymoon, and we could resist visiting again.

I would recommend this bike ride to anyone and everyone. (You can see on the map where Peschiera is and then out to the peninsula of Sirmione.) It's about 7K of biking, and was the most relaxing gorgeous bike ride - on the lake front going through sleepy towns. we loved it.

the views needed no enhancement.

We'd decided at this point in our trip (based on the fact that we were eating so well with the families in Milan), that we weren't going to spend our limited funds going out to eat. So on our bike ride we stopped in a local market and picked up beer, bread, meat, cheese, fruit and chocolate for lunch (spent less than €10!)

dipped our toes in the water and enjoyed this view.

Sirmione is gelato central, with a shop every where you look. We may or may not have had two servings while in Sirmione. :-)

Check out the size and the amount of flavors at this shop!

We decided to make it our life goal to come back and stay in the Palace Hotel Villa Cortine.

We were so glad we came back to visit Sirmione.

Grocery Shopping in Italy

As you all have seen, Italian food here has been amazing...we've eaten a large variety of regional foods with different families. But we don't eat with a family every night, so I've had the opportunity to cook a little at our flat.

The pastor's wife here, Cristina, has taken me to several different shops each week. Here's a sampling of my selections on a normal trip.

Croissants €1

scamorza cheese €2.5

prosciutto €1.4

fresh mozzarella €1.5

fresh pasta €2

fresh ravioli €2

can of tomatoes €.7

eggs €1.5

nectarines €1.75

peppers €1.5

bananas €.45

avocado €.5

lettuce €1

Total €18.80

Italian grocery stores look pretty similar to the US. But what I love about shopping in Italy is that even the chain grocery stores have really great delis and bakeries...the best! So you can be confident buying meats, cheeses and breads. Also, the eggs are all fresh and local. My parents' have egg-laying chickens, and these eggs looked just like them -- chicken crap covered, none the same shape or size.

I tried to get produce more from the market than the grocery store, but we weren't around on the first two Tuesdays - which is the only day its open.

There was a local bakery, about a 3 minute walk from our flat, so some days I would walk over there in the morning and make a few selections for the next few days. Usually two normal sized loaves or rolls would cost € .75

For milk, we went to a local latteria (latte = milk) and purchased fresh, local milk in refillable liter bottles. It was so strong and rich. YUM. €1

In all, we spent about €20 ($30 or so) a week on groceries for breakfast, lunch and about 2 dinners.

Date Night

The other night E and I were craving a movie (the first we've watched in a month!)

we counted pennies for pizza, and enjoyed it on our couch/bed while watching a movie.

(ps. our host family taught us to cut pizza with scissors!)

Felt just like home...

A Day in the Life

I've been looking forward to writing this post for a few weeks, so I hope you guys enjoy it! This week I spent a day taking photos and documenting what a normal day of life in Italy is like for us. Every day is a little different, but here is a peek into our life!

7am -- alarm goes off. We've been having trouble sleeping because of the heat, and for some reason between 5-8am has been the easiest time to sleep....so SNOOZE

8:30am -- hop in the shower

9:00am -- breakfast of apple tart and caffe latte

9:30am -- get dressed, ready for the day

10:10am -- tackle the breakfast dishes. Living in a small space we have to do these dishes after every meal...

10:30am -- I get a lot of satisfaction out of cleaning this area. Feels so much better when its sparkling! (The pastor's wife gave me a hint to cleaning the stainless steel - vinegar!)

10:35am -- take OOTD (Outfit of the Day) photos for Latte Loves Style on the patio. Usually I have to tie the camera to the fence and use the timer, as not to bug E (who is in the study all morning)

10:40am -- head to the weekly outdoor market in Bollate for the first time

10:55am -- this place is crazy! I've never seen so many different kinds of vendors -- clothing, shoes, rugs, curtains - in addition to the cheeses, cures meats, fish, produce, and breads.

I would estimate there were around 200 vendors. huge!

I find a doppelganger of my ex-bf's dad. Which I guess isn't SO odd, because he is Italian-American...but funny, because he's also a police officer!

11:14am -- Totally overwhelmed with trying to order cheeses and meats in Italian (and not knowing what to get), I decide to purchase some pesche noci (nectarines), 1€ for 1 kg This is about $.65 per pound!

11:40am -- I also stop by a clothing vendor and get a couple of tops for my sisters at €3.5 each, and one for myself.

11:52am -- arrive back at our flat, and it's time to start working. I sit at the kitchen table, plug in our internet pin drive and get started.

1:00pm -- It's already 26 C in the flat (about 78 degrees) so I change into my new top to keep cool.

2:30pm -- I take a short break for a light lunch of caprese with E. Fresh mozarella is cheap here and tomatoes came from a neighbor's garden. The pastor's wife prepares it with dried oregano and basil and salt -- so that's what I did.

2:48pm -- back to work....and on it goes.

3:00pm -- i snack on these amazing cookies called Macine. must be dipped in milk!

4:16pm -- take my real lunch break, and go for a walk with E to stop by some friends' to find out when we'll leave for Cinque Terre tomorrow. They are not home (this turns out to be a bad sign), and it is beastly hot. We pop into a grocery store to cool off and pick up jam.

4:39pm -- arrive home with croissants and jam, and I log back into the computer.

7:04pm -- Vittorio picks us up for haircuts at his brother-in-law's salon.

7:20pm -- I realized I have no way to bring a photo of the Katie Holmes pixie cut I wanted to try, and some difficulty communicating. I show the stylist approximately how much I want cut (a lot) and hope it turns out!

7:55pm -- tada! it's much shorter. and I have straight bangs! Not exactly what I was thinking, but I like it.

8:10pm -- we head to Vittorios for dinner with his brother-in-law and his BIL's gf.

8:25pm -- antipasti. Lox on bread, as well as red pepper spread and this incredible shredded cured meat that I can't remember the name of. YUM

8:45pm -- Daniela brings out parsley-tossed cold potatoes, bread and tuna stuffed olives

9:00pm -- the main course -- swordfish filets! baked with olives, tomatoes, and shredded bread. they were SO tender.

9:30pm -- fresh fruit is brought out after every meal. I forgot to snag a photos of the grapes, apricots and nectarines we ate

9:52pm -- ice cream comes out! Chocolate and creme brulee mini ice cream loafs. The creme brulee had this amazing sugary crust.

10:30pm -- the boys smoke while we all chat. Vittorio is the only one who knows English and Italian, so he spends most of the time translating.

11:10pm -- Vittorio and Daniela drive us home.

11:30pm -- sleepy computer research. We found out earlier in the evening that the couple who were going to take us to Cinque Terre have a sick daughter so we can't go. It's technically our 'day off' so we spend time trying to figure out an alternative plan that won't require 2 + hours on the train or too much money.

12:12am -- we give up, and decide to go to bed and see what tomorrow brings. Zzzzz