Archive for 2008
Love Thursday: Love on the Rocks
I wasn’t going to post today, but since Judith in Umbria is dying to know what’s happening here in Calabria (see her pleading comment to yesterday’s post here) *and* I was blessed with many visions of love this morning, here I am!
Mom is still with us (woohoo!), and we’ve been spending lots of time talking and shopping and cooking and walking with the pooches.
Oh, and also going to the beach, as we did this morning after getting up bright and early to beat the crowd. That’s a joke, by the way, as many of the Italians around here won’t start really going to the beach until next month at the earliest.
But if you’re interested, come on down! The water’s fabulous!
So Mom and I spent a couple early morning hours relaxing by and in the Ionian Sea and then we headed for cappuccini, a visit with P’s mom, two quick stops to pick up rosemary and olive foccaccia from the bread shop and veal cutlets from my favorite butcher and then we came back to the village for lunch with P.
Such a fabulous day and it’s only 3 p.m. as I type this!
So much love in the air and since today is Love Thursday, I’m sure you know that I happened to find some heart-shaped rocks at the beach to share with you:
Love on the Rocks!
Come on Neil Diamond fans (Mom included);
you know you want to sing along!
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
What’s Cooking Wednesday: Tomato and Red Onion Salad
One of the best parts of having my mom here is a built-in buddy for market–hopping–and I’m talking about every market within a 40 kilometer radius.
Of course we’re having lots of fun in our travels, but all this marketing also means we’ve been enjoying even more fresh fruits and vegetables than usual…more hands to carry market booty! Woohoo!
As you probably know, I love tomatoes. So for today’s What’s Cooking Wednesday I’m sharing my absolute favorite way to enjoy fresh summer tomatoes (those in the US especially, be careful about salmonella right now!).
Here they are paired with “le cipolle rosse di Tropea,” the famous red onions from Tropea, a gorgeous town on the Tyrrhenian Sea, which is on the other side of Calabria (for those who don’t know, I’m on the Ionian Sea). These onions are some of the sweetest red onions in the world and are well-known not only in Italy but also throughout Europe–if you’re here, be sure to give them a try!
A tomato and red onion salad is a quick, easy, refreshing, delicious dish that is great at midday when the last thing I want to do is turn on the stove. It is dressed simply with olive oil, fresh basil, oregano and salt, and you’re welcome to throw in whatever other veggies you like; we especially enjoy cucumbers in this.
Along with the salad, P and I usually have something else uncooked with it, often local suppresata, cheese and bread but this is another favorite:
Bel Paese cheese spread on bread topped with prosciutto crudo
Doesn’t get any better than this after you’ve enjoyed a morning at the beach.
Tomato & Red Onion Salad
3 large tomatoes cut into bite-sized chunks
2 small red onions from Tropea, sliced
Olive oil, fresh basil, oregano and salt to taste
The longer you let the flavors mingle, the better this is, so I recommend making it early in the morning for lunchtime.
Buon appetito!
Gardens of Palermo: Villa Garibaldi & Villa Bonanno
Welcome back to Palermonday! This week we’re moving on the gardens of Palermo.
Palermo once had so many public gardens and parks, it was known as the “Garden City.” Cherrye and I only got to see two of them as discussed below, but you can read about the other gardens here and here.
Villa Garibaldi was very close to where we stayed near the end of Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the harbor. It was designed by architect Giovan Battista Filippo Basile between 1861 and 1864 in Piazza Marina, which had been used for Aragonese weddings, victory celebrations, and, unfortunately, public executions.
Nearby is Palazzo Chiaramonte (the seat of Palermo University), Palazzo Galletti, Palazzo Villarosa, the Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Miracoli, and Palazzo Fatta. There is also a free theater (Teatro Libero) in the square.
The gardens surrounding Villa Garibaldi are definitely intriguing, partially because the area always seemed kind of dark even in sunlight. There were always plenty of people, though, even a photo shoot for some kind of family celebration and lots of dogwalkers (and dogs, of course).
Some of the most interesting features inside the park are the exotic plants, in particular the Ficus magnoliodes–creepy as all get out and one of the largest in Italy.
Also in Villa Garabaldi is a memorial for Joe Petrosino, the NY police officer who was killed in Piazza Marina while in Palermo fighting organized crime; we saw the memorial on our way to the hotel the first day, but I forgot to go back and take a photo. This one will have to do until I get back there.
The other gardens we visited briefly were at Villa Bonanno in the middle of the city, not too far from the Porta Nuova. Villa Bonanno is behind Palazzo dei Normanni and the gardens’ main attraction is an enormous statue of Philip V of the House of Bourbon.
Honestly, Cherrye and I *could have* seen more of Villa Bonanno, but we were tuckered out by that point and used the fabulous scenery, e.g.,
as a backdrop for our afternoon riposo before we took on the famed Capuchin Catacombs . . . which I’ll tell you all about next Palermonday!
guest blogger: tamara of american girls in moscow (part V)
Welcome to the last stop on the From Russia With Love tour of Moscow led by guest blogger, Tamara of American Girls in Moscow.
On Monday, we visited Gorky Park, Tuesday was Sparrow Hills and Victory Park, Wednesday was Novodevichy Monastery and yesterday was the Cathedral of Christ the Redeemer and Alexander Gardens. Last stop? Coming right up!
Seventh (and Final) Stop: Red Square
Our tour now comes to an end at the very heart of Moscow—and Russia, Red Square. By now you’re probably tipsy from all the champagne you’ve been drinking in the limo, but straighten your hair and hold on for just a bit longer! You can see GUM department store on the left, St. Basil’s straight ahead, and the Kremlin to the right.
EVERYONE who visits Moscow takes this picture… As do many newlyweds. You can see some of my favorite pictures of St. Basil’s Cathedral here.
GUM department store is another beautiful and historic spot for photographs. Completed in 1893, the halls have certainly seen changes during the end of Czar Nicholas II’s rule, the 74 years of the Soviet Union, the turbulent first steps toward building a capitalist economy and democracy, and the opulent decadence of Moscow’s ultra-rich who now frequent the high-end designer boutiques inside.
You might wonder why there haven’t been pictures of brides during this photo essay of where they stop to get their pictures taken… I just can’t bring myself to intrude on their big days. They’re already surrounded by friends or professional photographers; it would be so rude of me to try to take pictures, too… My goal as I grow as both a blogger and photographer is to take more pictures of people; such pictures can tell rich stories…
I leave you with this bride; she was waiting for the photographer to finish setting up across the walkway. Join me at American Girls in Moscow any time; I really enjoy sharing my adopted city with others who haven’t been here!
A *HUGE* thank you to Tamara for compiling this photo tour, and to everyone, be sure to visit Barb of Art and Barb Live in Italy for this week’s La Buona Cucina Americana recipe: Cole Slaw!
And buon weekend!
guest blogger: tamara of american girls in moscow (part IV)
Here we are on Day Four of the From Russia With Love tour of Moscow led by guest blogger, Tamara of American Girls in Moscow. On Monday, we visited Gorky Park, Tuesday was Sparrow Hills and Victory Park, and yesterday was Novodevichy Monastery. Ready for today?
Fifth Stop: Cathedral of Christ the Redeemer
Our tour is now winding down… We’ll drive the short way back up the river towards the Kremlin, stopping at this imposing white and gold cathedral.
The original structure was actually blown up on Stalin’s orders in 1931 and the site was occupied by an outdoor swimming pool until the Mayor of Moscow decided to rebuild the cathedral in 1994.
This church welcomes the “Who’s Who” of Moscow on important religious holidays and the very famous often get married here. Everyone else is welcome to attend services and pose for pictures outside.
The ornate bridge behind the cathedral is a very popular place for photographs. On one side you can see the Kremlin; on the other is the House on the Embankment (a residential house built by Stalin—whose notable inhabitants often disappeared during the night during his infamous purges), the Red October chocolate factory, the ugly sailing monument to Peter the Great, and the New Tretyakov Gallery.
Sixth Stop: Alexander Gardens
Since most Russians choose to get married between May and September, it’s a natural choice to stop for pictures at these beautiful gardens that line the brick walls of the Kremlin. You can see other pictures I took of this place here.
The colorful patchwork of flowers echoes the yellows, greens and reds of the buildings rising behind the brick walls—and really make the white of a bridal gown stand out.
I’ve often seen couples posing here. A boy that had a crush on Katya when they were five once told his mom that he’d have his picture taken here with Katya one day—when they got a married. His mom pointed out just how long he’d have to wait, but that didn’t faze him a bit.
(He’s such a great kid! We really like his family, too! That wouldn’t be so bad!)
The fountains are a special part of the gardens; they flow between the border of the gardens and Manezh Square. Based on Alexander Pushkin’s fairy tales, they’re a perfect setting for the many lovebirds and children who pose there for pictures. Katya “fell in love” with Pushkin at school this year, as all Russian first-graders do; she loves to talk about the various animals, the prince and princess…
Come back tomorrow for the final stop on the tour–Red Square!
P.S. Happy Love Thursday everyone!
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
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