CALABRIAN VACATIONS - Guest Blog by Cherrye Moore

Introduction by Bill

All the years we were wishing to be in Italy, Carol was living vicariously through others who did live here and who shared their lives and their experiences through their blogs. Cherrye Moore particularly caught our interest because she is one of very few bloggers who lives in Calabria, where our Italian roots originate. Her blog has provided much insight as we plotted and planned to join the expats for a year. She and her husband Peppe own il Cedro B&B and were most gracious hosts when we visited them in Catanzaro. It is a pleasure to have Cherrye here as a guest blogger to tell you about the delights of summer in Calabria.

Choosing a Location for Your Calabrian Summer Vacation

Calabria has more than 500 miles of coastline and hundreds of beaches just waiting for sun-worshiping tourists to stop by. In fact, many people agree the beaches are Calabria’s main draw-besides being undeniably stunning, some with rocky crags, other with swooping cliffs and some with blue-green waters and hidden caves-they are less-touristy than beaches in other parts of Italy and remain some of the cleanest beaches in the country.

If you are hoping to enjoy a Calabrian summer this year, then you should decide if you want to move around the region or if you’d prefer to stay in one place. Here are the pros and cons of each decision.

If you Decide to Move Around Calabria

If you decide to move around, you’ll want to choose a central location to use as your base and likely stay in one B&B or hotel throughout your stay.

Pros:

• - You will be able to explore beaches on both the Ionian and Tyrrhenian coasts
• - You can visit a different place each day and see more of the region
• - You can stay outside of a major beach area, thus having less traffic in or around your hotel or B&B
• - You will have the chance to explore new restaurants or agriturismi

Cons:

• - You will need to rent a car
• - You won’t be able to walk to the beach
• - It could be more stressful than staying in one place
• - There will be traffic driving to the various beaches

If you Decide to Stay in One Place in Calabria

If you decide to stay in one place for your summer trip to Calabria, you should choose a good beach area and make sure they have nice restaurants and a good nightlife.

Pros:

• - You can choose a hotel with beachfront access
• - You won’t need a car to get to the beach
• - It will be more relaxing if you aren’t battling traffic

Cons:

• - If you don’t rent a car, you will be limited to the somewhat unreliable and unpredictable public transportation
• - You’ll need to choose a beach town that has a variety of restaurants and a good nightlife so you don’t feel isolated-if you do find a busy beach town, there will likely be a lot of other people
• - You will miss out on many of Calabria’s other villages and attractions

So what would you choose? Would you prefer to spend a week in one place or be able to venture around the region?

Cherrye Moore is a freelance writer and Calabria tour consultant living in southern Italy. You can read her writings on expat life at AffordableCallingCards.net or about living and traveling in Calabria on her website, My Bella Vita.

Trionfo!!!

When we first arrived in Soriano, I had some letters to mail, so I took them to the post office. The system was a little confusing...unlike the US Post Office, you don't just get in line and wait for the next available window. There are categories of service and you can only accomplish certain tasks at certain windows. You have to take a number. There are two choices on the “take-a-number” machine. One choice allows you to wait for service to buy stamps, mail a letter, mail a package and other things relating to mail. The other choice allows you to wait for an assortment of banking and bill paying services. Without this knowledge, you might take the wrong ticket, wait for your number to be called, then be told that you must go back to the beginning and start over, with the correct type of ticket.

After standing at the “take-a-ticket” machine trying to read the instructions and with a little help from a fellow customer who seemed to know the ropes, I finally figured out which kind of numbered ticket I needed. I pressed the button, took the ticket from the machine and sat down to wait my turn. More confusion. The tickets have a letter and a number. A through E; 1 through 99. I had C33. I noticed an electronic board on the wall above the seating area. The letters A through E ran vertically down the side and the numbers alongside each letter changed. As the numbers changed, a clerk at one of the windows would call out the next number and serve the next customer. It sounded like Bingo night: C32...B6...D89...A75...C33...Bingo!! I jumped up and looked at the board to see which window was serving C33 and then I heard...C34. Crap! The nonna who had C34 was a pro. She was already standing, waiting to pounce as soon as her number was announced. I timidly approached the counter alongside the Nonna, waving my numbered ticket. The clerk shrugged and told me to wait because I was too slow.

OK, lesson learned.

Next time was a little different. I had to pay a parking ticket. Now this is an interesting process. When you get a parking ticket, you go to the stationary store and get a bolletto, which appears to be a universal form for paying official bills. Italians receive bollettos in the mail from the utility companies already filled out with the amount they owe for gas, water and electricity. For parking tickets, you have to fill out all the details yourself, but you pay at the Post Office. Another lesson learned. The challenge, however, is which numbered ticket to take when you arrive at the post office. What service is this...paying a parking ticket? Certainly not stamps and letters. Must be the other one. I pushed the button, got the ticket and didn't sit down to wait my turn. Instead I hovered near the counter waiting to pounce when I heard my number...Bingo!!! I was ready. I gave the bolletto to the clerk and told him that this was my first bolletto and I hoped it was filled out correctly. He smiled and said it was. I paid my 38euro, received my receipt and was done. I felt so proud moving from Beginners Poste Italiene to Intermediate Poste Italiene.

Time for Advanced Poste Italiene. Another letter to mail...no sweat. Got my ticket...E17. Waited in pouncing position. Moved quickly to the counter when I heard my number called. And waited…and waited...and waited...while the clerk continued her conversation with the customer at the next window. And I waited some more. Finally, she turned to me and said “A67”. I waved my ticket so she could see E17. She looked at her computer screen and repeated “A67” and shrugged. OK now what? So I pointed to the board and tried to tell her that according to the board, E17 was the next customer at her window and that I wasn't deferring to A67. And she DIDN'T ARGUE!!! She just shrugged again, took my letter and my 60 centessimi and called again “A67”.

I have triumphed over Poste Italiene!!! You can't imagine the sense of accomplishment. No, I mean it...you can't know how great this is!!!

Continuing Education Poste Italiene: I found myself the winner in an online contest held by Michelle at BleedingEspresso. The prize was a copy of Dianne Hale's fabulous book, “La Belle Lingua”, which had just been released in paperback. I don't usually win things, so you can imagine my delight...then dismay...to realize that the book would be mailed to me from the publisher in the US...and be delivered (I hoped) by Poste Italiene. Well my stars must all be aligned or something, because in yesterday's mail was a neatly addressed package delivered right to my door. “La Bella Lingua” had arrived, without any hassle or...dare I say it?...without any tariffs due. Score one for Poste Italiene!!!

Trionfo di nuovo!!!!!

THINGS ITALIANS EAT (in two languages)

When I was about 9 years old, my family lived in Long Island, NY. We were the typical 2nd generation Italian-American family. Mom, Dad, 3 kids, Levittown, little league,catechism. My immigrant grandparents lived in the Bronx and most Sundays, we would drive to visit them, eat pasta and hang out with the cousins while the aunts and uncles yakked it up over a 3 hour meal. Once in a while, usually during the summer months, my grandparents would come out to visit us in the suburbs. It was always a special treat to have them visit, until the day I saw my grandmother out in our yard (and in the neighbors' yards) with a bowl in her arms, picking weeds and tossing them into the bowl. I looked around to see if any of my friends were out and might have witnessed this bizarre spectacle. What the hell was she doing? My mother later explained that she was picking dandelion greens for a salad and that in Italy everyone picked, cooked and ate wild greens. Yuck, I wasn't eating dandelions.

Fast forward lots of years (I'm not telling how many). And here I am in Italy, the guest at a friend's home and I'm invited to go out into the field and...pick weeds...to cook... and eat!! Sheesh! It was cicoria, a dark leafy bitter green that is a very popular vegetable here. So I ended up coming home with about 5 pounds of these weeds in a plastic grocery bag, roots, mud and all. You really need a heavy duty kitchen if you're going to clean and cook weeds because it makes a huge muddy mess in your sink. You know, chopping off the roots (mud and all) then soaking and rinsing the green leafy parts a gazillion times to get off all the residual dirt and any little critters that have hung in there for dear life. (this is not a water-conserving enterprise, cleaning weeds) I do not have a heavy duty kitchen. I have a tiny little kitchen, not much bigger than an airline galley kitchen with one small shallow stainless steel sink. I'm very happy with this kitchen...it's just not meant for weed cleaning.

Finally, I'm satisfied that the greens are clean enough to cook. Now I need to just pick through each leaf, tear off the tough stems, so that we only have to eat the tender weedlings; a time consuming process that leaves about 70% of the original volume of weeds in the trash heap, 30% cook-able. It takes only 2 huge pots to boil the tender weeds. Once they're done, then they need to be drained and the boiled leaves then need to be fried in extra virgin olive oil, garlic and hot pepper flakes. By this time, the original 5 pounds of weeds is reduced to about 16 ounces of actual edible food.

I've eaten this in restaurants, and it's delicious. It is served as a vegetable course (contorno) alone on the plate. I embellished a little and cooked some prosciutto sausage, served it with the cichoria and a hunk of bread and a glass of red wine. Yum.

Quando avevo quasi 9 anni, la mia famiglia abitava a Long Island, NY. Eravamo tipici delle famiglie italo-americane del secondo generazioni. La mamma, il papa', tre figli, Levittown, Piccola Lega, catechismo. I miei nonni erano immigrati dall' Italia e abitavano allo Bronx. Di solito andavamo ogni Domenica di andare a trovargli. Mangiavamo la pasta, e gocavamo insieme con i cuigini, mentre i zii chiacchieravano e mangiavano fino alle 3 ore.Da tanto in tanto, di solito nell'estate, i nonni andavano da noi a compagna. Era sempre una goia quando venivano da noi. Un giorno, pero' ho visto mia nonna nella giardino(e anche negli giardini dei vicini). Aveva nelle braccia una scodella. Stava raccogliendo le erbacce e le stava mettendo nella scodella. Dio mio,che cosa stava facendo?? Fra poco, mia mamma mi ha spiegato che la nonna stava raccogliendo le foglie delle dandelions. Aveva detto che in Italia tutti stanno raccolto, cotto e mangiato le erbacce. Boh!! non sto mangiando io le erbacce!

Andate subito avanti tanti anni (non sto dicesndo io quante). Eccomi qui in Italia. Sono l'ospita alla casa degli amici e glieme dicevano di andare nel campo per......raccogliere le erbacce...di cuocere...e di mangiare!!! Mahhhh!!

Cicoria e' una vegetale fogliata, verde scura e amara. E' molto mangiata qui in Italia. Allora, al fine del giorno, ho arrivato a casa con un sacco di erbaccie....quasi 3 chili incluso il fango.

Se dovete pulire e cuocere le erbacce, avete bisogno di una cucina grande e durevole perche' si fanno un grand casino fangoso nella vasca. Sapete, tagliando i radici (con il fango), poi bagnando e risciaquando le foglie verde tantissimi volte di rimovere tutta la sporcizia e qualsiasi cimice che rimangono. (si sta pulendo le erbaccie non e' amicevole del ambiente...si sta usendo molto l'acqua). Io non ho la cucina grande e durevole. Ho la cucina piccolissima e carina, come quello che si trova nell'aereo. C'e una piccola vasca d'acciaio inossidabile. Mi piace molto questa cucina.....ma non funzione bene per pulire le erbaccie.

Finalmente, sono soddisfatto che le erbaccie sono abbastanza pulita di cucinare. Ora, devo togliare le foglie per scegliere quelle piu' buone, piu' delicate. Cosi, mangeremo solo le erbaccissimi. Ci vuole tanto tempo che al fine, produrre 70% delle erbacce originale da spazzatura e 30% da mangiare. Ci vuole due grandissime pentole di bollire le erbacce delicate. Poi, dovete buttare l'acqua. Poi, mette le erbacce bollite nella pentola con olio d'olive, aglio e pepperoncino. Quando sono pronti, l'originale 3 chili d'erbacce sono ridotti di quasi 500 gr di cibo commestibile.

Questo contorno ho avuto mangiato negli ristoranti. E' buonissimo. Di solito e' mangiato da solo, pero' l'ho preparato con un po' di salsiccia di prociutto e l'ho servito con pane rustico e un bicchiere di vino rosso. Stupendo!

QUARTIERE COPPEDE

Carol and I will be walking down a street, pass a beautiful ragazza and she’ll say something like “Did you see that beautiful girl?” to which I’ll respond, “No…I was admiring the façade of that old building.” It’s not that I don’t appreciate all the beautiful Italian women; but almost everywhere we go in Italy I fall in love again …with the architecture. Architecture has been my passion…no, an obsession since I was a kid. Only other architects understand this; and my dear wife has tolerated it for over 38 years.

Recently we took the train into Rome and I was blown away by what we found. Tucked away in the northeast corner of Rome, away from the tourists and souvenir vendors, we discovered Piazza Minco in the Quartiere Coppedè. The neighborhood is named for the architect who originally planned and designed many of the buildings, Gino Coppedè (1866 to 1927). Begun around 1912 and completed after Coppedè’s death in 1927, the villas and large apartment buildings employ architectural elements of Imperial Roman (as was dictated by the governing commission that hired Mr. Coppedè).

That’s enough of an architectural history lecture…enjoy the photos and music.

BILL’S FIVE WORDS (I didn’t get to play the first time around)

Now that I’ve earned the title “ass-farmer”, I’ve decided to join in on the fun with five words that I grew up with. As a kid I never understood why the old Italian men drank those strange smelling, bitter tasting concoctions before and after meals. Now that I’m an old man I’ve come to appreciate the Italians’ affinity for bitter flavors in food (arucola and cicoria) and beverages (Amaro and Campari). So, in celebration of bitter flavors, here are my five favorite words:

Digestivo – (Dee-jess-TEE-vo) is a beverage served after a meal to assist with digestion. Typically it is one of the many brands of amaro (bitter) liqueurs; an acquired taste.

Amaro – (Ah-MAH-row) is the Italian word for bitter but it is also the generic name of an alcoholic beverage made from herbs that is typically served after a meal. There are many regional brands but my favorite is Amaro Lucano from Matera in Basilicata. On the label is a picture of a beautiful young woman, striking a “come-hither pose” with her hand her on hip and a seductive smile, promising hours of pleasure and…oh,sorry, I didn’t mean to get carried away.

Aperitivo – (Ah-PER-ee-tivo) is a drink that stimulates the appetite. “Cocktail” in English, it sounds much more poetic and musical in Italian. Whether it is a chilled glass of Prosecco, a Cinzano over ice or a Campari and soda, nothing is more refreshing after a lazy afternoon of basking in the Mediterranean sun.

Campari – (cahm-PAH-ree) is a bitter red liqueur served as an aperitivo; again it is an acquired taste. Try it for the first time by mixing with tonic, bitter lemon or grapefruit juice in a tall glass of ice and a slice of orange…paradiso!

Grappa – (GRAHP-pah) is the Italian version of what Americans call moonshine (corn whiskey or grain alcohol). It’s a hard liqueur distilled from wine grapes (stronger than brandy and cognac) with between 35% and 60% alcohol content. Ok…technically it is not a bitter flavor but one tiny sip will take the wrinkles out of your shorts. Many years ago, my first experience with grappa was very unpleasant, probably because it was poor quality…it tasted like paint remover or something you’d use to clean machine parts. Today grappa is made from high quality grapes and, although still an acquired taste, it is enjoyed after evening meals or as a “pick-me-up” in your mid-day espresso (caffé correcto).

Those are my words. They may not add to your vocabulary but after developing an appreciation for bitter flavors, you’ll be using the words and enjoying these beverages almost daily. Salute!

MY FIVE FAVORITE ITALIAN WORDS

This is really exciting. It's the first time our little blog has been tagged to participate in a multi-blog event. It started at www.Italofile.com, with Favorite Italian Words; the Sequel, and it's spread like virtual wildfire. Now, if I understand this correctly, we're supposed to link back to the source - (Italofile.com) and also link to the blog who tagged us - Michael at www.culturediscovery.com.

Then we need to tag a few other bloggers, so how about Valerie at www.2baci.blogspot.com and Linda at www.lindyloumac.blogspot.com. Now I just need to leave a comment at Italofile, and I think I'm done! Now to my favorite five...

Chiacchierare (KEY-AH'-KEY-EH- RAH'-RAY) I love this word because it sounds just like what it means.....to chat or gossip. Imagine 5 middle-aged women in a coffee bar, smoking cigarettes, drinking cappuccino and shooting the breeze.

Scampagnata (SKAHM-PAN-YATA) A picnic, but more than a picnic...the kind of frollicky, romping through the tall wheat fields picnic; a country outing.

Uffa (OOO-FFAHH) (This is an Unofficial spelling) I hear this word used as an all-purpose expression for frustration. You're sitting in traffic and late for an appointment...UFFA!! You've dropped a raw egg on the kitchen floor...UFFA!! You've waited an hour for your online banking site to load, then you lose the signal...UFFA!! You get the idea!!

-one (OH-NAY) ; -ini (EE-NEE); -accio (AH'-CHEE-OH) OK, OK, so these are not actually words but I like them! They're suffixes added to the end of Italian words to modify their meaning. Italian's use these almost more frequently than they use the original root word, which is charming and cute, but sometimes very confusing. Here's how it works:

-one makes the original word bigger...naso = nose, nasone = BIG nose

-ini makes the original word smaller...pomodori = tomatoes, pomodorini = little tomatoes; (kinda like the hookah in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but I digress)

-accio makes a good word bad...parola = word, parolaccio = bad word

There is a tie for my 5th favorite word.

Mamma (MAHM-MA) Always a lovely word, but particularly amusing when said by a grown man answering his cell phone, as in “Ciao, Mamma.” Besides, it's Mother's Day, and I'm a Mom and I like the word.

Agriculo (AG-REE-COOL-OH) One summer, many years ago, when Bill and I first began coming to Italy to visit family in Calabria, we had only a very sketchy grip on the language. After several glasses of wine, Bill was trying to contribute to a dinner conversation about methods of raising food in early 20^th century Calabria and he used the word “agriculo” to refer to agriculture. Well, he got part of it right. Agricoltura and agricolo mean agriculture and agricultural...but -culo means butt, rear-end, derriere...and so Bill invented a new word...assfarming! The cugini were laughing their #&@&* off!!! And Bill is still inventing words.

WHAT RECYCLING?

After we posted “Their Days Are Numbered”, our friend Michael wrote "How (NOT) To Implement a Recycling Policy in your Town" that explains the rules and details for Soriano’s recycling collection program. Well, May 3rd has arrived and it looks like things haven’t changed much…see for yourself.

Vi presento Massimo

Massimo is a part of the family that owns our morning coffee bar, Il Chiosco dei Tigli (Kiosk of the Linden Trees)…but everyone calls it “Luigina”, after the woman who owns it. Anyway, Massimo is always there taking care of one thing or another. He can usually be found greeting customers, taking orders or thumbing through Il Gazzetto dello Sport. In addition to the cappuccino and homemade crostata (sweet pastry filled with jam, ricotta or chocolate) we go to Luigina's bar because it has a good internet signal. We are rarely there without a computer. Massimo has taken an interest in Bill and his computer. He seems to enjoy the slide shows that Bill has made for this blog.

The other day, after the usual morning greetings, Massimo pointed out his Meta Sport car to us. We proffered the appropriate oohhhhs and aahhhs as he explained that it's not exactly a car, but a “mini car” that requires a “patentini” (loosely translated = little license). That's the same class of driving license that one needs here to drive a Vespa. As you can see from the pictures, it's quite small…2 passengers, smaller than a SmartCar. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that the entire car is fiberglass...roof, hood, doors, fenders...tutte. It's obviously not meant to be driven on serious roads or at high speeds. But its very cute.

Massimo generously posed with his Meta Sport and even gave his permission for us to put this up on the blog. I assured him that I would write the post in Italian, so he could read it! Grazie, Massimo!

La famiglia di Massimo possesse il bar Chiosco dei Tigli…pero' tutti lo chiamano “Luigina”, il nome della proprio signora. In ogni caso, Massimo e' quasi sempre li, sta facendo qualcosa. Di solito si puo' trovarlo salutando i clienti, portando il caffe' oppure leggendo il Gazzetto dello Sport. Andiamo alla “Luigina” perche' c'e la crostata fatta in casa(con marmalatta/ricotta/cioccolato) e il caffe', e anche perche' li c'e' il buon signale del'internet. Sempre portiamo il computer. Ci sembre che Massimo sia interese nel Bill e il suo computer. A lui piaciono i slide shows che Bill ha messo sul blog.

L'altro giorno, Massimo ci ha mostrato il suo machina Meta Sport e ci ha spiegato che ci vuole solo il patentina. E' la stessa classe di patente che ha bisogna di qualcuno che guida la Vespa. Come potete vedere delle foto, e' piccola…2 persone...piu' piccola del Smart Car. Quando l'ho guardato piu' vicino, ho scoperto che e' costriutto di lana di vetro…il tette, le porte, i parauti…tutte. Ovviamente non dovrrebbe guidare sulle strade serio o all' alta velocita'. Ma e' molto carino.

Massimo e' molto gentile e ci ha datto il suo permesso di mette qui la sua foto. Gli ho detto che scrivei in italiano...cosi, puo' leggerla. Molto grazie, Massimo!