Monday, June 30, 2008

In Qualche Luogo Sopra L'arcobaleno

That's "somewhere over the rainbow" in Italian. This weekend a rainbow shined over Pecetto and it was so big and so strong, I could literally see where it touched the ground. I begged Pier to follow it but we were late for pizza and football and so there is no question which one wins that fight. So that is the new Italian word I learned today, arcobaleno, rainbow.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

It's a Tea and Cupcake party!!

Vanessa Valencia at the beautiful and creative blog that I visit often, http://afancifultwist.typepad.com/ (A Fanciful Twist), is having a blog party! This is my first blog party and I'm told that everyone invited posts a picture on their blog having a party moment. So here I am enjoying a delicious cupcake, my favorite party food, hands down. Thank you for inviting me to your party. Next time it's my turn to host....
Anyone visiting can also check out her blog and see everyone who is "at the party"! Also while your here, feel free to check out my cheeky blog all about my adventures living in Italy. Enjoy!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Hay, I Have Seicento Fun Too!!

I totally need this sticker for my car.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Sun!

Now the sun has finally come out, It's warm enough to go outside. The neighborhood kids have taken full advantage if the good weather...
Ah, Brings back memories...

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Vespa Club of Torino!? Where Do I Sign Up?!

Every year members of the Vespa Club of Torino gather in the city center to meet and greet other like-minded scooter people. I stumbled onto the gathering on my way to the book store and instantly made the decision that for next year's meeting, I would have to be a member. First I have to get myself one of these stickers and then I think a Vespa.... This pink on is the perfect one for me!Therefore if anyone is paying attention the following would make excellent Christmas presents:




Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Weather Update

Weather Update! Still not safe to go outside. Nothing but rain. It's looking like all of June will see no sun. This is the scene outside my window this morning. Ho Hum. Blogging might suffer during this weather slump, bear with me...

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

We Took the Road Less Traveled

There is a lovely path that connects Santa Margarita to Portofino. We tried that trail over the weekend instead of taking the roads. We got lots of blisters but had fun and enjoyed the beautiful view.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Wedding Of The Year

This past weekend Portofino saw the 'wedding of the year' between this football player: To this girl:(his high school sweetheart)
On this yacht. If you were in town over this event (which we were) you couldn't avoid the circus of hype buzzing around the small port town. The last tally was $16 million total spent on a 4 day celebration with a civil ceremony, church ceremony, monstrous yacht reception, and fireworks. Everywhere we went we spotted paparazzi hiding in the bushes and lurking in the restaurant windows. We even saw one on the hiking trail we ventured to try and avoid the hub bub.
Here is an article with details and loads of good pictures:

It was exciting to be in the middle of all the excitement. The couple were payed £2.5 million ($5 million) from OK! Magazine for exclusive wedding images. Millions of people will be buying that magazine when it comes out and wishing they could have been there and we were there! Cool huh!
(The photos from todays blog (only) were taken from the Daily Mail web site and not by me.)

Friday, June 13, 2008

Wild Cherries

There are wild cherry trees in our neighborhood so Jolie and I set out to investigate them....














We are off to Portofino is weekend in hopes to catch some sightings of the celebrity studded Rooney wedding extravaganza. Stayed tuned...

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Mozzarella Bar is Genius!

It construction began in 1386, has 3,500 statues, and is the third largest church in the world, It's the Duomo of Milan!

There is plenty to do inside, including a museum, but what I recommend the most is to go up to the roof. The view is great and you can see the spires and statues up close.


After exploring the Duomo and seeing an art exhibition by Peter Greenaway which is a lighting show set to music on a large Da Vinci Last Supper, (very moving), We then had a lunch at the Obika Mozzarella Bar. Yes, that's right a buffet of all different types of mozzarella from all over Italy. Yum. There was also soups and salads etc.
Milan takes a lot of flak from the Italians for not being a very beautiful city compared to maybe Venice or Florence. It's true that during the war Milan was heavily bombed and lost many of its splendors. And surrounding the city is a concrete jungle of ugly outdated apartment buildings covered in graffiti but the historical center is full of things to do and see. Besides the Duomo there is a castle, football stadium, shopping, outdoor antique markets, museums, a plethora of art shows and galleries, restaurants, international bookstores, the American Consulate, modern coffee shops, parades........

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

The Story of a Parisian Courtesan in Love

La Traviata is the story of a woman courtesan, set in Paris, sung in Italian, and we saw it at La Scala in Milan.

We had box seats and had a fantastic view. There's nothing like getting dressed up, having some champagne, then settleling in for a tale of a woman who falls in love and then is forced to leave him. She is only reunited with him when it is to late as she is lying on her death bed. Beautiful, tender, timeless.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Have You Been to Milan? You Simply Must Go!

If you ask any Italian what there is to do in Milan, they will reply shopping and the opera. So that's exactly what we did. Arriving on Saturday morning we hit the shops....or at least their windows.




In case you haven't been to Milan, the color of the season is yellow. It is to be worn with white and gold. That is according to Prada and that is as good as coming from the heavens. Here are a couple of the windows I drooled over.

Tommorow, the opera at La Scala...

Friday, June 6, 2008

Rain Days: 23

Going on 23 days of rain. It only stopped for a bit last Sunday and we haven't seen the sky since. Jolie and I can't go out walking and so we hide under the covers like this.....

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Market Finds!


This weekend at the market....


Operation in Italian!











And some granny shoes, they are really in right now you know.
Next weekend I hope to find a matching floral hat and purse...maybe a shawll.....

Monday, June 2, 2008

Bursting With Cherries!!

All roads lead to Pecetto on Sunday to our own little CherryF estival! I never knew that cherries came in so many kinds and colors. Farmers and cherry venders lined our main street each bursting with juicy red gems....